After losing her third child due to complications from a tubal pregnancy, Lila and her husband Tim were devastated. When she conceived again following the loss, she was both excited and nervous for her rainbow pregnancy.
"I gained an amazing appreciation [of the] delicacy of both pregnancy and my own life," Lila wrote on Laura's blog in a post sharing photos of her daughter's birth. "One year after experiencing our loss there I was holding the most precious gift of all, our fearfully and wonderfully made rainbow baby, Audrey Joy."
A rainbow baby is one born after a miscarriage or stillbirth. "Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath.
What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.
Lila told birth photographer Laura Fifield, “I was heartbroken and my husband was terrified at the thought that he had almost lost his wife and mother to his children. Through tear-filled eyes I cried out to God asking 'why?' I was scared and confused. I got only one response 'through this I will bring joy.'"
The couple were able to conceive again shortly after Lila’s emergency surgery, and just one year after their heartbreak they are now holding their beautiful baby girl, Audrey Joy.
Lila’s words beautifully capture the essence of a rainbow baby, “I held tightly to God’s promise. This experience brought my husband and [me] closer to each other and to God. I gained an amazing appreciation [for the] delicacy of both pregnancy and my own life.”
