Tag Archives: grieving parent

Alexander and I went to Shoprite 2 or 3 times a week to do our grocery shopping.  In the early days of grocery shopping, he’d sleep in the car seat as I went through the aisles.  As he got older,  the store became a fun, teaching environment.

Sometimes, we’d stop at the in-store Dunkin Donuts and get a smoothie before heading to the produce aisle.  As we strolled through the produce, I would point out apples, bananas, oranges, and other foods.  He never mastered saying bananas but enjoyed saying apple and pointing them out out to me. 

Alexander loved to eat and I usually had to give him a snack on our grocery journeys.  As I put stuff in the cart, he would reach for the Nutri Grain bars, a juice box, or perhaps a cheese stick.

At the last minute yesterday, I decided to make a trip to Shoprite and get food for dinner.  I was fine until I entered our store.  I started bawling as soon as I passed the flowers.  I quickly got the few items I planned to buy and left the store.  I can only imagine what the other customers must have thought of me as I was walking through the store with tears streaming down my face.

I tried but I just couldn’t stop crying.  Alexander and I had some good times together on our visits to Shoprite and the trip just made me miss him that much more.

I’m not sure where I learned about SIDS but it must have been one of the baby sites I visited when I was pregnant with Alexander.  Like so many other parents, I thought SIDS was something I didn’t have to worry about once Alexander turned 12 months. 

After Alexander passed, I spoke with his pediatrician who told me that while Alexander was at the upper end, SIDS could happen as late as 20 or 21 months.  True, SIDS and SUDC are both unpredictable and unpreventable but pediatricians should tell parents about the potential risk to their children.  I’ve talked to many parents recently and every one has said they learned of SIDS on their own and not from their child’s doctor.  Pediatricians vaccinate our kids against disease and warn us about so many other things, why not this?

The odds of SIDS or SUDC happening are certainly low, but I would rather be frightened by a little knowledge and try to do something, anything to prevent.  The devastation of losing my child is much worse.

I’m in a contract tennis group that plays on Sunday evenings.  It was the best night for me to play because I could count on Dan to be home to watch Alexander.  Tonight was the first time I played with the group since early December.  They all know what I’m going through so it was nice to not have to explain anything.

I couldn’t focus on playing.  I don’t know why but I kept seeing Alexander lying motionless on the table at the hospital.  I tried to always be there for Alexander and when he needed me the most, I was powerless to help him.

We long ago stopped our nightly use of a video monitor with Alexander.  Our house is so open that we could hear Alexander from any of the rooms.  We only used it if Dan and I were sitting in the backyard after putting him to bed.  Since Alexander’s passing, I’ve found out about Angel Care monitors.  Unlike the video monitors, these movement monitors alert parents when their child stops moving for 20 seconds.  If only I’d known about them before our tragedy.  There is no guarantee Alexander would still be here with us if we’d had one of these monitors but at least, we would have been able to get help for him sooner.

I was supposed to be at a conference this week.  Instead of Dan and Alexander coming to pick me up from the airport this morning, Dan and I went to Michael’s to find a Valentine’s wreath for Alexander’s grave.  Our favorite floral designer, Brenda ,was working and she was able to help us put together a small bouquet as well.  I would have much preferred spending today enjoying the beautiful weather hanging out in the park with Dan and Alexander.

With wreath and bouquet in hand, Dan and I stopped for lunch before heading back to Trenton.  The food was fine but it was hard looking around the room and seeing kids at various ages and thinking about the future we’re going to miss having with Alexander.   No Sunday afternoon lunch with his parents telling us about what’s going on at school. No teenage dates.  No hanging out with his college friends.

One of the projects we planned to do this year was to convert the open space on our second floor to a family room.  The space started life as what Dan affectionately called the “art library”.  Once Alexander started getting older, we quickly realized a family room would make a better use of the space so we’d have a comfortable place to hang out with him.  Even though he won’t be here in person to enjoy the family room with us, we’ve decided to move forward with the project.  We bought a couch yesterday for the room.  I was sitting on it this morning and I could easily see Alexander curled up next to me reading a book.

It’s just so hard not to have him here.