My Son was born June 20, 2007….He was 18 weeks when we found out he had already made it to Heaven, but it was another 7 weeks 5 days before he would be born naturally in God’s timing.
Corban weighed 7 oz. and was a little over 7 inches in length.
The black smudges on his skin are from the ink on my fingers…I took a full body imprint of his back side and the ink rubbed off on his arms and sides.
Now, I want to share something before my next couple of pictures….when I was waiting for Corban to be born, I was told many times to expect that his skin might tear very easily, to not expect him to be very intact.
So when Corban was born, he was still in his amniotic sac…we opened the sac and there he was…I must say he did not look very attractive….I took every possible picture…His skin was darker, his eyes did not seem very defined, his hands seemed a little webbed….. We were going to have a funeral 3 days later….
In order to get him home from our birthing center we placed him in water so that he would not decompose…or rather it would help slow the decomposition….
what happened next was just a miracle in the works….his skin, as soon as it hit the water started to slowly peel away…at first I was just frantic…and saddened…the next morning when I went in to see my son….I was jumping for joy, just so ecstatic…the skin that peeled away was like a thin layer of the amniotic sac….at least to me it was…. what was revealed are the pictures you see above…beautiful pink, every minute detail so clearly visible, just glorious… I set to work bathing my son. We had three older children and I wanted at least two of them to be able to see their baby brother… painstakingly with tweezers, I removed, the little extra pieces of skin…the only place where you can see now that there was an outer layer is around his eye-brows. Corban is just beautiful, just perfectly formed like God said!!
The pictures below are right after he was born before we took him home with us.
This picture above is the only one I have where his eyes are actually open!!
These pictures below are from a Professional Photographer that came to our house from the organization… Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.org they donate their services to families that gave stillborn babies and take the most precious photos and give them to you free!!
Thank you for sharing in the life of our son Corban.
God Bless~~
4 comments:
Melissa... this was timely that you posted this. This was all happening with you 5 years ago, when I was getting ready to leave on my trip to SD and CO.... and we are once again, leaving on vacation for SD and CO. Exact same trip, 5 years ago. Exact same blog, 5 years ago. :) We haven't taken this trip since. I remember very well going through this with journey you, and the extreme sadness I had.... when I told my mil about what you were going through, and her limited worldly mind she voiced that it was God's way of saying you shouldn't have anymore babies (the comment from her REALLY bothered me and had stuck in y brain).... and just look at your family 5 years later!!! God has continued to bless your family greatly since Corban by increasing it. Because of this experience you had with Corban, even my life is different.
You are a blessing in my life Melissa! Love you friend!!
Jessica
Much love back to you Jessica, you have blessed me this day with your comment. We can never go wrong when we listen and follow the Lord. It is always so sad to see the thought processes of those who are not believers. We know what they are missing out on.
Have a wonderful and blessed trip!! I am sure it will be under much happier circumstances! :-)
Blogger 4kids1mom said...
Oh Melissa. Bless you. He was formed perfectly and looks like an angel. I'm so sorry for your loss.
December 3, 2010 11:37 AM
Missionfieldof5 said...
Thank You :) He has had a greater impact on this earth so far than any of my children and I praise the Lord for that!
December 3, 2010 12:01 PM
Homemaker's Heart said...
(((Hugs))) I'm so happy that we both had such treasured moments, photographs, and spiritual growth from our wee ones.
December 4, 2010 2:33 AM
Kathryn said...
He is beautiful, and you are a brave woman. I have never posted my "just after birth" shots online, because a dear friend looked at them once, and told me she was going to pass out. I was CRUSHED. I thought she was beautiful. She was a full-term size baby, but as your doctor warned you, her skin peeled easily. I have been able to "fix" some of the pictures with Photoshop, but I'm too afraid to post them for fear of the reaction I'd get...my heart could not take insensitive comments where she is concerned. I'm proud of you, and so thankful you shared these pictures. Corban was beautiful and precious. Love you Melissa!
December 4, 2010 2:46 PM
Missionfieldof5 said...
Oh Kathryn....yikes...I think I called you Kathyln the other day...I am so sorry!!!
Now I know why you keep hesitating, I have heard you say in posts that you might consider doing so...but now I completely understand....
We just have to give an extra measure of grace to those that would give their gut reactions and not realize how those words would impact us.
We each have to do what is right for our own situations. (((Hugs)))
There is a special bond that you, Tamara, myself, Shari and all those others that we know who have gone through this type of loss...only we understand completely what it is like and the impact of others words and actions.
December 4, 2010 3:32 PM
Carmen said...
Melissa, Corban is beautiful. You have such beautiful picture of your time with him. And, how special that you shared the pictures with us! You and Your Family are always amazing. (Hugs)
December 4, 2010 5:03 PM
Missionfieldof5 said...
Thank you Carmen (hugs back)Truth be told, I wish there was a way I could share him with everyone everyday, just like my other children...not necessarily wishing he was here that is obvious...lol...but wishing there was a way I could share his picture when everyone points out what a great family we have...and just get the knowledge out there about what babies look like when they are so little....
That they are not just miscarriages, they are human bodies.... :)
Medical science does not consider babies to be human's until 20 weeks...that is when they qualify for a death certificate....Corban was 18 weeks when he stopped breathing.....
in any event, I treasure looking at him and seeing how my other children look like him :)
December 4, 2010 11:17 PM
Heather said...
Melissa, My heart always aches for you and your family and the pain of the lose of you beautiful Corban. So many women go through the pain of a still born child. You have always shared that pain with your readers and I know that many have found strength and courage in your posts. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Heather
December 12, 2010 3:40 PM
Missionfieldof5 said...
Dear Heather,(((Hugs))) Thank you so much.
I choose to not go through this life with Corban, living in fear or in the depths of despair, that would just not be a testimony to who God is and what he is capable of doing. And this is not to say that everyone of us with a stillborn do not have a positive testimony, each of us has our own story none is any better than the next.
Father God gave me a beautiful child that is worthy of being shared...I think, because he is so well preserved that he(Corban) can be a testimony to many out there about how young a baby is formed in the womb...they are perfectly formed at a very early age!
I'm just like any other mom with children though...lol...I just love to show them off ;)
December 12, 2010 4:01 PM
Doris said...
Thanks for subscribing to my blog. I checked your blog and was amazed to see the pictures of your tiny Corban. You will always treasure those pictures. Blessings. I will follow your blog on Google Read.
March 5, 2011 1:48 PM
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