"It's hard to say goodbye when you never got the chance to say hello"

October is breast cancer awareness month, bullying awareness month and another that many don't know. October is also pregnancy and infant loss awareness month.

As you have probably read by now, earlier this year we suffered a miscarriage. I have been there for friends who have been through one in the past. While I could absolutely sympathize the hurt they were experiencing, I never truly understood what that hurt was really like. Until I was faced with that same crippling pain. 

I am a talker. It's how I heal and work my way through problems. I don't bottle things up, I have to get them out. It was hard to openly talk about it but, I'm glad I did. For many reasons! 

1. The support was overwhelming! In a good way.

2. Openly talking about this helped my husband and I both work our way through the grief.

3. Several people reached out to me. Telling me they too have been through a miscarriage they couldn't bring themselves to talk about. How talking to me has helped them. How my words helped them express exactly how they were feeling when words failed them. 

That is what makes me glad I opened up about it. I help people everyday through ther health, weight loss and fitness struggles. It never occurred to me that I would be able to also help others through an extremely hard and generally silenced experience. 

Before we miscarried I could count the number people I knew that experienced this on less than 1 hand. Now, I know dozens. 

You think miscarriages are not a common event because it is rare you hear about them. Here's a sad statistic for you. 1 in 4 women will experience a miscarriage. Seems pretty high doesn't it? Because it is high and very very common. 

Pregnancy and infant loss awareness month isn't intended to be a pity party. It is a month for grieving parents to honor their Angels and raise awareness to help the many parents who are suffering in silence that are feeling alone in their grief. To let all those know, they are not alone!

It's nice to have a comforting shoulder to cry on. It's also extremely helpful sharing your story with those who truly understand what the experience is like because they have been through it too.