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Amelia Barnes’ Pregnancy and Birth Stories
Today’s guest is Amelia Barnes. Amelia is going to share the stories of her two children’s births. Her son Landon was born in July of 2014 and lived for just four days. I don’t want to tell much of her story for her because she tells it so beautifully but I do want to say how thankful I am for this mama. She began sharing Landon’s story on Instagram during his pregnancy and continued after he was born and was so unbelievably honest and raw about all of her experiences and emotions that she quickly found herself surrounded by a virtual support system of women who had also experienced a loss.
Amelia’s story is especially close to my heart because it helped me navigate the unbelievably hard journey of supporting my best friend through the loss of her son around the same time. Amelia shared her most private thoughts of grief, jealousy, anger and healing in ways that not every mother who’s experienced a loss is able to express but most are feeling. It was so helpful to me to read her posts and know some of the things my friend was struggling with and be able to offer support in the right ways. She’s since created a retreat in Canada for women who’ve experienced the loss of a child to attend called Landon’s Legacy. Amelia gave birth to her daughter Lily very recently and will also be sharing the story of her pregnancy and birth which ended up bringing some answers as to what may have caused Landon’s death. Both stories are beautiful and emotional and so worth the listen.
Amelia Barnes’ Bio
Amelia is a mother, yoga teacher, retreat facilitator, and writer from Winnipeg, Canada. She is also the creator of PranaVidaStyle.com , a unique line of inspired and custom-designed yoga apparel made in Canada.
Landon’s Birth Story
Amelia’s life took an unexpected turn in July 2014, when her first-born baby Landon passed away at just 4 days old, due to brain damage sustained when his hearth suddenly stopped beating during his birth. Her and her husband were given no answers as to what happened, no reason as to why their perfectly healthy baby boy died. Thrown into an intensity of pain beyond what she’d ever imagined possible, she started sharing her feelings and experiences on social media to help her heal and create something beautiful of Landon’s short life. Within less than a year, her community of Instagram followers @ameliakyoga grew from 10,000 to over 100,000.
Lily’s Pregnancy and Birth Story
In November 2015, at 37 weeks pregnant with her daughter Lily, Amelia discovered that she had Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) and that this had most likely been what cause Landon’s death. This was an terrifying and stressful time, but ultimately lead to a very beautiful healing c-section birth of a healthy, adorable baby girl (read Lily’s birth story here).
Her journey of loss, grief and healing is compiled in her book Landon’s Legacy, soon to be available in Spring/Summer 2016. She is also a guide at the online yoga and healing community www.oneOeight.tv and hosts Landon’s Legacy Retreat, an annual holistic healing yoga retreat for bereaved moms. You can make donations to help mothers attend Landon’s Legacy Retreat and support them in their grief by going here. My best friend attended the 2015 retreat and it was such a healing experience for her.
Thank you so, so, so much Amelia for sharing this. I cannot begin to understand the pain and loss you’ve gone through, but my love and support is with you and your family. I’m so glad to see your beautiful daughter grow, she gets prettier everyday! God bless you and yours <3
I can’t recall how I stumbled upon your Instagram account, I’ve never even tried yoga, but I started following you from the beginning. I saw your posts thinking about how I could just make some time for meditation and stretching but mostly just enjoying you growing in pregnancy as I have three children myself and it’s always special. When you shared about Landon I felt as if this was happening to my family. Social media often hides us behind a front of what good things we want to project almost like celebrities and that’s more or less how I saw you, until that day. I cried. I thought about you and your husband, your dog, and your son all the time. My heart just broke for your loss. I have read all your emotional ups and downs and stories of frustration and anger at injustice. I have been there with you and loved you in a remarkable way as we have never and will never meet. You have changed my life and I appreciate that you have shared so much of the brutal truth about life and being human. I have read your growth and change and your positive nature that has blossomed with time. I even had such fear when you became pregnant with Lily, until the orange and yellow flowers. How amazing. What a precious little spirit who will always be surrounding you. After listening to this podcast and crying again with you I needed to write this and tell you how amazing your story is and how I am honored to have known you during these times. I will continue to cheer you on and so looking forward to seeing this little girl grow knowing she is loved just as her brother is all over the world.
Sarah Banner
Johnson City, TN
I deactivated my Instagram account 4 months ago and I still Google search your account to see pictures of your sweet new baby. Landon has touched my life and he’ll live on in the hearts and minds of people around the world.
Hi Amelia, I have just listened to your story and what is foremost in my mind is the delight in hearing your voice! Seeing all your photos over the past 18months and following your story that way. I didn’t think about how you sounded. Now I have amuch more rounded version of you. Also to hear the heartbreak in your voice over landons birth,moved me to tears. Thank goodness for your intuition and belief in your own body telling you something was wrong again with lily at 37weeks. The joy to know how much she means to you and Justin, and your extended family after the awful hurt is wonderful. You are and always will be a family of 4! I am glad you have made icp something to be aware of, for many many women now. I had never heard of it and I am 60 with 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren! Thank you for your ability to engage so many women across the world through social media, and give Landon his legacy by having that retreats which will get bigger I am sure with time. I wish you and your family much happiness for the future,always. Love diane xxx
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