Please Welcome To The World…

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been in touch and my apologies for going absent with no word or update. The last 8 weeks have been quite the unexpected and wild ride.

Sometimes life throws you a curveball and it requires every ounce of your energy to accept, adjust and find a new way through.  

First and foremost, Sean and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our son…

Ciarán James McLoughlin!

Ciarán arrived two weeks early after a fast and furious labor on Thursday, May 14th, weighing 7lbs 2oz and 21in long. We couldn’t be more in love with him and feel incredibly honored that he picked us to be his parents.

What you may not know, is that a few weeks before Ciarán was born, we learned via a routine ultrasound that he had what is known as CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.) Basically Ciarán was born with a little hole in his diaphragm which allowed most of his organs to migrate up into his chest cavity. This ultimately affected his lung development, limiting his ability to breathe and requiring him to need surgery in his first week of life to repair the defect.

Since Ciarán was born he has been receiving excellent care at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and continues to impress his doctors and nurses with his stamina and strength. I am SO grateful to report that he has successfully undergone surgery, is recovering like a champ and is now breathing on his own!  His last hurdle is learning to eat by mouth so we can remove his feeding tube and finally bring him home. Ciarán is making progress with this everyday and we are hopeful that his homecoming will be very soon!

One of the most amazing parts of this journey has been the  outpouring of love, positive energy and prayer our family has been receiving from close friends and family since the moment Ciarán was born. I know without a doubt this has had a momentous effect on Ciarán’s recovery and I am blown away by the power of community and group prayer.

There is so much more I would love to share with you but honestly I haven’t had a moment to even reflect on anything for myself yet. All I can say is that I am forever changed. This experience has been both profound and incredibly intense. Some days I feel strong and others completely helpless and lost. Most of all though, I feel firece love for my gentle little warrior and am so proud to be his mother.

An Update about the Beautiful Living Blog….

Prior to all of this, it was my intention to be in semi-regular touch with you and our amazing Beautiful Living community during my maternity leave. Obviously things have changed and unfortunately my ability to write is completely up in the air.  I have no idea what the next few months will hold but I do know my heart and focus need to be with my family right now.

Please know how often I think about this community and how much I care about you.  I’m excited to be with you weekly again as soon as I can. Until then I post regular updates, pictures of Ciarán and thoughts on instagram here:

Many people ask us how they can help and honestly the best thing Sean and I can ask for is a love and prayer for our little boy. If it feels right to you, we would be so grateful if you would light a candle and send love and positive intentions for Ciarán’s health, healing and homecoming. Thank you so and please know how deeply we appreciate your support.

I look forward to connecting with you again when things settle down and until then, I am wishing you a very joyful and beautiful summer.

All my love,

Rebecca

Below are some photos of our journey over the last 4 weeks.