In this episode of Beyond Postpartum, I have the privilege and honour of sharing a conversation I had with an amazing woman who’s Instagram I chanced upon a few weeks ago. Katie Jameson is a mom of 4, a photographer, an advocate, a blogger, and a bereaved mother. She tragically lost her first son, Lochlan, at just a few weeks of age. In this episode, she tells us her story of navigating an unimaginable loss, parenting through grief, and why she is so outspoken about her journey.
We talk about:
- Navigating through grief
- The blessing and the curse of social media
- Katie’s pregnancy with Lochlan, his birth story, and the days they were in the NICU
- Lochlan’s diagnosis and the impossible choice they had to make
- The time they had together at Canucks Place to say goodbye, and how life-changing the support they got there was
- How confusing grief can be
- The time immediately after Lochlan’s passing
- How to support loved ones when they are going through loss
- How grief support is like a Jenga tower
- The importance of knowing what you can offer when supporting a loved one going through loss, and why it’s important to stay in that lane
- Why it’s important to talk about grief and loss, and when she started to share her story
- Getting pregnant again after loss
- Having twins – and one with special needs
- Going through PPD and not feeling like she could or should reach out for support
- Having a 3rd, singleton, pregnancy, and the constant thoughts and worries that surfaced
- The importance of having a supportive care team
- Lining up support for herself and how this made a huge difference in her mental health postpartum after having her 4th child and how healing the experience was
- The circular nature of grief
- Using medications as a tool in her healing journey
- The importance of being truthful about out stories and our journeys and the power of sharing our stories
- The similarities she felt between experiencing loss and struggling postpartum
- The importance of reaching out and supporting people when you can see they are struggling
Resources
- You can find Katie:
- On Instagram: @katie__jameson
- Her website
- Her shop
- Grief support resources through BC Children’s Hospital
- Return to Zero: H.O.P.E (free webinars for parents, online info)
- Baby’s Breath (peer support line, online resources)
