Susannah would have been 5 today (3/21).

[Justme]

New blog.

 

No snarking here, I can't snark over the death of a child. It seems they had no clue there was anything wrong with her before she was born. I wonder what was wrong with her. A genetic disorder perhaps? I remember they were married 4-5 years before getting pregnant with her.

[Deleted03]

You mean the Maxwells?

titus2.com/blog/index.php/2012/03/21/5-years-ago/

[ophelia]

I think so. BTW.. her name is Susannah :-)!

[Justme]

I think so. BTW.. her name is Susannah :-)!

Yes! Sorry, it's been a long day.

[NurseNell]

She was born a few weeks early but weighed over 5 lbs. She never breathed on her own after birth. I wonder if she had a brain bleed in utero? It must have been so hard for her parents.

[library_youth]

As I read the post, I was worried they were going to tell us at the end that Melanie had miscarried the latest. I'm glad that wasn't the case.

She has such difficult pregnancies, I wonder how many more kids they'll manage to have. Maybe this baby will be their last.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It wasn't mentioned in the post but how old was Susannah at birth (gestational age)?

From what I know at least 28 weeks is not pushing the envelope to the ultimate edge, though obviously I hope the current "bun in the oven" stays there for the proper length of time and is born completely healthy with no issues.

Melanie is only human and I'm sure she's comparing dates, and the stress must be awful. I can only wish her the absolute best of everything.

[Guest Anonymous]

I hope Melanie managed to get to spend time with her own side of the family while the Maxwells were away last week. It must be terribly hard to have to be so fucking grateful and 'blessed' all the time, when your heart is breaking for a stillborn child and you are having early contractions with the one in uterus. I hope her mother and her old church friend are around for her. :(

And I hope someone is thoughtful enough to give special hugs to Mary, who always has Susannah on her mind and heart when it comes to times of remembrance and thanksgiving. She was very young when Susannah died and it must have been super hard to take in, given that they have virtually no other contact with babies in the family.

[NurseNell]

It wasn't mentioned in the post but how old was Susannah at birth (gestational age)?

From what I know at least 28 weeks is not pushing the envelope to the ultimate edge, though obviously I hope the current "bun in the oven" stays there for the proper length of time and is born completely healthy with no issues.

Melanie is only human and I'm sure she's comparing dates, and the stress must be awful. I can only wish her the absolute best of everything.

I don't think it said, just that she was a little early. She weighed 5 lbs 2 oz. It must be incredibly difficult.

[lilwriter85]

I hope Melanie managed to get to spend time with her own side of the family while the Maxwells were away last week. It must be terribly hard to have to be so fucking grateful and 'blessed' all the time, when your heart is breaking for a stillborn child and you are having early contractions with the one in uterus. I hope her mother and her old church friend are around for her. :(

And I hope someone is thoughtful enough to give special hugs to Mary, who always has Susannah on her mind and heart when it comes to times of remembrance and thanksgiving. She was very young when Susannah died and it must have been super hard to take in, given that they have virtually no other contact with babies in the family.

This. I have read up on the Maxwells in the past few months I recall reading about Mary and how she still remembers Susannah today.

[Guest Anonymous]

This. I have read up on the Maxwells in the past few months I recall reading about Mary and how she still remembers Susannah today.

It must be especially scary for Mary who has never attended church or school or friends' houses in living memory and so will never have experienced a pregnancy that is a straightforward and happy, healthy period in a woman's life. All she must know about pregnancy is that it made her mother morbidly depressed, and makes Melanie perilously ill. Anna Marie's pregnancy will hopefully give her some belief that things can go smoothly and that God doesn't just use childbirth to screw with women's bodies and minds. :|

[NurseNell]

It must be especially scary for Mary who has never attended church or school or friends' houses in living memory and so will never have experienced a pregnancy that is a straightforward and happy, healthy period in a woman's life. All she must know about pregnancy is that it made her mother morbidly depressed, and makes Melanie perilously ill. Anna Marie's pregnancy will hopefully give her some belief that things can go smoothly and that God doesn't just use childbirth to screw with women's bodies and minds. :|

Good point!

[Third]

How terribly sad. I feel for her parents. I cannot imagine. It could have been nothing they could have tested for or prevent. It could have been a birth injury etc. Sometimes these things happen. I am on a message board for special needs kiddos and some of the horrible hands these children have been dealt is awful.

A friend of mine her baby died and she had to have her stillborn and they cannot tell her why. I cannot imagine a third trimester loss or loosing a child like this.

[Deleted03]

I always find it so creepy that they are smiling on the pictures. I know everyone is entitled to their own way of grieving, but I think that I'd be crying the whole time. I dunno...

[Third]

Everyone I know who's had to have now I lay me down to sleep photos tries to have smiling photos along with the crying ones.

[Guest Anonymous]

I kind of get the photos. I don't think they accepted that Susannah would not pull through at first, and were trying to put a brave face on it and remain hopeful.

The song was just really, really sad. Joseph would have been just 15 when he wrote that, and it was sweet and heartfelt, but I always feel so sad when I hear children singing about going to be in heaven. I must be so damn hard to grieve when you have to live as though this life doesn't matter. Mary and Jesse were what, 9 and 11 (?) and singing a 'goodbye' song that they would see Susannah again in heaven. I know that lots of people believe and find that comforting, but in the Maxwell context, I feel heartbroken for the living children to have gone through that.

[Mommy22alyns]

So sad. :(

[NurseNell]

I kind of get the photos. I don't think they accepted that Susannah would not pull through at first, and were trying to put a brave face on it and remain hopeful.

Yes, my thought was they were filled with hope. And why wouldn't they be, she looks like a beautiful, healthy baby. She really was a very pretty baby, lots of hair unlike most newborns. She was over 5 lbs so no reason to think she wasn't going to make it.

I can only imagine how difficult today was for her parents.

[fundifugee]

Yes, horribly sad.

Next time, please warn about the music. Dear lord, my ears are bleeding. I guess it is my fault for going to the blog, you go to the Maxwell blog and you can expect to be inadvertently assaulted with their singing from time to time.

Fucking Steve, some of those kids may well have some skill and talent but totally lack some basic tuning and diction skills. SOTDRT and 'my kids don't need formal music education' strikes again. Idiot.

[flojo]

It is very sad. Heartbreaking for them.

[Guest Anonymous]

Yes, horribly sad.

Next time, please warn about the music. Dear lord, my ears are bleeding. I guess it is my fault for going to the blog, you go to the Maxwell blog and you can expect to be inadvertently assaulted with their singing from time to time.

Fucking Steve, some of those kids may well have some skill and talent but totally lack some basic tuning and diction skills. SOTDRT and 'my kids don't need formal music education' strikes again. Idiot.

I am not a fundie and got no music education that would improve my singing, either? :? I get snarking on a commercial CD, but this was a song written by a 15 year old boy, sung by a whole group of CHILDREN, in honour of their deceased niece. I give them a pass....

[deborahlynn1979]

How tragic. It makes them all seem so real and human for once. I didn't listen to the music, but did watch the slideshow. Almost brought me to tears.

[MamaJunebug]

JMHO, The tune is surprisingly good in a mountain-genre kind of way. Will never know if the kids naturally sang with such a twang or f they felt it was appropriately mournful.

Looks like Melanie's folks are shown. I wonder how much they're allowed to be involved w their daughter and her daughters.

Very sad event, for sure

[YPestis]

New blog.

No snarking here, I can't snark over the death of a child. :cry: It seems they had no clue there was anything wrong with her before she was born. I wonder what was wrong with her. A genetic disorder perhaps? I remember they were married 4-5 years before getting pregnant with her.

I was already following the Maxwells when they were undergoing the Susannah pregnancy. Melenie had problems with the pregnancy pretty early on. A prenatal scan indicated there were structural abnormalities and then later on, she had a difficult time keeping the pregnancy and was placed on bedrest.

Even before the baby was born, Nathan wrote that they were searching for hospitals with a good NICU because they knew the baby was not going to be born healthy. They never stated was was wrong with the child, and maybe they don't even know.

Anyways, once the baby was born, the family remained hopeful but things quickly showed she wasn't. Nathan said he and Melenie made the decision to remove her from her ventilator after the doc gave his prognosis. I actually thought their actions throughout all this was very nonfundie.

They received good prenatal and postnatal care. They didn't go crazy with DO EVERYTHING in the face of futility and they let their baby girl die peacefully in their arms. It was a sad situation for everyone but I always had a sweet spot for Nathan and Melenie for suffering through that with such grace.

[Guest Anonymous]

[ Nathan said he and Melenie made the decision to remove her from her ventilator after the doc gave his prognosis. I actually thought their actions throughout all this was very nonfundie.

They received good prenatal and postnatal care. They didn't go crazy with DO EVERYTHING in the face of futility and they let their baby girl die peacefully in their arms. It was a sad situation for everyone but I always had a sweet spot for Nathan and Melenie for suffering through that with such grace.

I thought I read that they didn't have to take a decision to remove life support because she passed away naturally? http://www.titus2.com/blog/index.php/20 ... ll-update/

Regardless no snark from me and no expectation that anyone should even think about handling he loss of a baby with 'grace'. I'd give anyone a pass for anyone behaving anyway from stunned silence to throwing a batshit crazy fit. It must have been the darkest day of their lives. As much as I hate the thought of more babies being born into that family, I do hope that this pregnancy is healthy and safe for Melanie. No-one deserves to lose a child like that.