Episode 55: After the Rainbow

Loving your New Baby while Grieving Another 

What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by. Ecclesiastes 3:15

Summary:

In this deeply personal conversation, Elizabeth Leon is joined by Brittany Primeaux, Maria Fairbanks, and Dr. Florencia Segura to discuss the complex and often painful experience of loving a new baby after child loss. The group reflects on grief, hope, fear, faith, and the reality that a rainbow baby does not replace the child who died — but can still be a profound gift. This conversation offers gentle permission for grieving parents to be honest about fear, open to joy, and free to love all of their children — on earth and in heaven — without shame.

Main Points:

• The meaning of a “rainbow baby” and why the term can carry both hope and heartbreak

• The tension of pregnancy after loss: fear, surrender, and trust

• How each mother navigated anxiety during pregnancy

• The emotional complexity of loving a living child while grieving a child in heaven

• How family, friends, and strangers often misunderstand child loss

• The importance of sharing children’s names and stories openly

• The role of grace, prayer, confession, therapy, and spiritual support in healing

• Why joy and sorrow can exist at the same time

Key moments:

• Brittany shares how pregnancy after loss forced her to encounter grief instead of avoiding it

• Maria describes her rainbow baby as a gift that brought new joy without erasing loss

• Dr. Florencia Segura reflects on the difficulty of being pregnant soon after Rosie’s death and the guilt of others’ assumptions

• The conversation explores how faith can grow while the nervous system still carries trauma

• The episode closes with each guest naming the “knot” they are still holding in grief

Takeaways:

• Grief and gratitude can coexist

• It is not selfish to welcome joy after loss

• A child that dies can never be replaced

• There is no single timeline for healing

• God’s grace meets families in whatever season they are in

Discussion Questions: 

1. How does this episode help you understand the difference between replacing a child and adding a new child to the family after loss?

2. What parts of the conversation resonated most with your own experience of fear, grief, or trust in God?

3. Why do you think it can be so hard for others to understand the ongoing grief of a parent, even after a new baby is born?