What is a Rainbow Baby?

So I have talked about our babies being Snowflake Babies. But they also happen to be Rainbow Babies. A Rainbow Baby is one that is born following a miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss. 

I just love the imagery behind this term. When a beautiful and bright rainbow appears after a storm, it gives hope of things getting better. We appreciate rainbows more after experiencing the storm in comparison. Even as I think about the story of Noah, and God's gift of the rainbow, I am reminded that a rainbow is a promise of sunshine after the rain, of calm after storms, of joy after sadness, of love after loss. After experiencing the heartbreak of losing a child, the beauty of new life is such an incredible blessing, absolutely a rainbow after the storm.

People think that once your Rainbow Baby {or Babies} arrives you are somehow all better after your loss{es}. There is an assumption that you finally got the baby you wanted, as if your Rainbow Baby is somehow a replacement for the one who is gone. While there is an incredible joy that helps in the process of healing your broken heart, there will always be an empty space in your heart for the one{s} you lost. Your heart will always wonder who they would have been, what they would have looked like {in the case of miscarriage}, how they would have fit into your family. 

So while a Rainbow Baby is not a replacement, he or she is still an incredible reminder of God's faithfulness. While we may never understand why we had to lose 6 babies before we were able to hold our 2 Rainbow Babies, we know that God is good. After experiencing so much heartache and pain through infertility and loss, we rejoice in the beauty of God's rainbows.