Life After Baby Loss: A Companion and Guide for Parents

I am so glad i came across this book, just started reading it and I couldn’t stop. As a momma who has experienced a miscarriage and a loss of a baby. I felt like someone else understood what I am going through. Thank you for sharing this beautiful book with the world.

I wish I would have read this book sooner. This book touched on subjects and feelings I have felt so guilty for thinking and have held on to. It was so relatable and made me feel like I am not alone in my new life of living with grief. She talks about her personal experience of Infant Loss and miscarriages, how she and others feel and how to overcome some of the intense feelings that weigh on us. If you are needing some guidance I would definitely recommend this book!I will say I am not an avid book reader and once I started this book I didn't put it down.

I can’t remember when I started following Nicola on Instagram but it wasn’t long after she lost Winter. Her sincerity and complete lack of self pity touched me from the very start. As a mum of 2 under 2 and struggling with PND, the way she wrote about Winter (and now Raven too) helped me to appreciate what I had (and have) as well as reducing me to tears most evenings! Her writing is just beautiful so when my neighbours grandchild died suddenly, we were all stunned and I didn’t want to be the person who said the wrong thing, or worse, nothing at all. I knew which book I had to turn to. And it helped, so much so that I ended up having a long conversation with the mum when I saw her, we laughed, we cried we talked about Nicola’s book and we hugged on the doorstop (I’ve met her only once briefly before) and I gave her the book after she asked for it. I hope it helps many more in their time of need. She is an amazing woman.

Oh how I wish this book had been around 3 years ago! When my son died, I did the only thing I (as a self-confessed bookworm) knew how - I scoured the Internet & local libraries for something to help. I wanted to know I wasn’t alone. I wanted to know that the thoughts & feelings which overwhelmed me we’re normal, and I desperately needed to learn how to navigate them, how to survive & that one day the grief which suffocated me wouldn’t feel quite so heavy, that I could live with it and live a life filled with more than the empty space my baby left behind. I found several resources, but none quite hit the mark.Enter Nicola, whose own son Winter died just weeks after my own. Life After Baby Loss is exactly what it says on the tin - a companion, a guide. It is not a memoir, although Nicola does draw on her own experience of both neonatal loss & miscarriage, it is about you - the reader.In her intuitive yet gentle way, Nicola provides a loving hand to guide you through life after loss; from surviving the raw intensity of first weeks and months, through to navigating anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Christmas. Each chapter provides a different focus, offering profound & relatable insight into some of the thoughts & feeling you may experience, as well practical tips & suggestions for ways to ease the heartache, manage your emotions and comfort societal expectations.Each chapter is summarised in bullet points, making these practical tips easy to digest and return to as and when, and the inclusion of Nora’s beautiful illustrations throughout add to the accessibility of this book.‘Life After Baby Loss’ encompass all losses, from miscarriage through to neonatal death, as well as acknowledging & validating the full spectrum of emotions which accompany it, including those we often shy away from admitting, such as guilt, or jelousy of others’ pregnancies.This book is a must read for anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby, in whatever circumstances, but it is also a fantastic resource for their families, friends, colleagues, as well as healthy care professionals, to enable them to offer bereaved parents the support & compassion they need.Huge well done Pea - Winter will be so incredibly proud!

I’m a mother to a stillborn child, Ike was our first and much wanted baby.Nicola’s book appealed to me because I know she has been through some similar experiences and I thought if it read about other people’s personal stories then that would help me feel less alone. What I wasn’t prepared for was how skilfully she draws on her own experiences whilst still managing to make you, the reader, very much the focus of the book.I bought some other baby loss books at the same time as ordering this one and some of the others are a bit self indulgent (sorry I know that makes me sound very cruel but I think I needed something that was more about how I could find ways of coping). This book made me feel that Nicola was speaking to me almost like a close friend who understands and wants to help.I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone, not just bereaved parents but for those wanting to gain insight too. I know that there is no cure for my grief, but now I am armed with some tools to help me navigate living the rest of my life without my precious son with me.

I loved reading this story, losing a baby is the most devastating pain you can go through, I lost my beautiful girl Ebony Grace 12/10/17 born sleeping at 35wks, the love I have for her is so strong, moving on is not easy but our little angel wouldn't like to see us sad or forget about her... all I can say no one is alone on this taboo subject of stillborn our stories need to be told just like how Nicola Gaskin has done.

As a mother of an angel baby I have felt the grief caused by having your child die in your arms. I'd recommend this book to anyone who feels lost and has unwillingly joined the babyloss community. Nicola shares her true thoughts and gives great advice on keeping memories when at the time it's hard to even think two minutes ahead let alone hours or days, it is not written to tell you how to grieve but to tell you that you are not alone and it's ok to feel however you do.Well done Nicola, Winter must be watching over so proud of his mummy. XxSophie AshtonKolby's mummyKolbysfootprints