Episode 13: “Hope, Unattached to Outcome” After Stillbirth and Twin Miscarriage with Shannon Pike
“Hope, unattached to outcome.”
This is the mantra of my sister-in-loss Shannon Pike who is featured on the newest episode of the Rainbow Baby Podcast.
Shannon and I originally connected through Instagram after our babies, Ellis and Marie, were stillborn just 11 days apart. Shannon and her husband Edward since experienced the devastating miscarriage of their twins and most recently in fall 2019 Shannon gave birth to their rainbow baby, Freya.
Edward, Shannon, and their first daughter, Marie.
Shannon shares honestly and articulately about her relationship to pain, joy, fear, and anxiety after the stillbirth of her first daughter Marie and the miscarriage of her twins, and how she was able to stay present while pregnant with her rainbow baby.
Through her journey, Shannon ultimately realized that she couldn’t put all her hope in another baby and instead needed to cultivate, “hope unattached to outcome.” Shannon’s experience of spiritual growth through darkness has been such a light to me and I know it will be for you, too.
Shannon talks about:
her personal definition of a rainbow baby
hope and anxiety when things in life get really hard
trying to conceive again after loss
the importance of kick counting for every pregnant woman
whether or not to use an at-home doppler during pregnancy after loss
how to visualize laboring a rainbow baby after a traumatic stillbirth
returning to the same doctor and hospital after loss
creating a birth plan and including your lost baby
her postpartum experience
She also shares many helpful ways she coped with pregnancy after loss that I hope to mirror one day when I’m pregnant again.
I hope you enjoy this episode.
And please share this podcast with anyone you know who is walking through life after pregnancy loss, whether they are trying to conceive, currently pregnant, or parenting after loss.
Show Notes:
Information about kick counting during pregnancy including a free downloadable app at countthekicks.org
Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair by Miriam Greenspan
Get to Know Shannon
Shannon grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she met her husband, Edward, in middle school. They didn’t date until college and have now been together for nine years and married for four. They have a sweet mutt named August who helped them through grief with infinite love and calm energy.
As a Tech Marketer at a healthcare software company, Shannon finds fulfillment and purpose in her work and has a profound appreciation for staying busy and focused on professional goals while walking through difficult experiences in her personal life.
Shannon loves her life in South Austin—the great food, music, weather, people, and all around vibes! She also enjoys being outside, practicing yoga, and writing about grief, life after loss, and motherhood.
She’s grateful for every ounce of love that has been infused into her life—her family, her husband, her daughters, her dog, her friends, and her sisters in loss.