Sidelines National Support Network  / Volunteer Spotlight  / February_volunteer

Volunteer of the Month
February 2008
Cristin Dennis

Name: Cristin Dennis
Home: Frederick, Maryland
Husband's Name: Bill
Children's Names and Ages: Lorna, age 6, and Kai, age 1; deceased children are William, Zoe, Jason, and Baby D

"I've had a lot of experience with high-risk pregnancies, loss, grief, and bedrest. Helping other women who have been through the same is extremely important to me."

Cristin Dennis signed up as a Sidelines volunteer in the summer of 2007. After dealing with several losses and many months of bedrest, Cristin wanted to help other women with high-risk pregnancies know that they are not alone.

The stay-at-home mom and teacher explained that her first two babies, William and Zoe, were born still. The loss of William was at 20 weeks, and the loss of Zoe was at 38 weeks. When she became pregnant with Lorna, now six years old, she was put on bedrest and had to have injections of Lovenox.

"After months of bedrest and lots of bruises from the shots, I was induced at 38 weeks and had my girl," she said.

Following Lorna's birth, Cristin experienced two miscarriages, with Jason and Baby D, before becoming pregnant with son Kai. Once again, she had to have Lovenox injections and was put on bedrest. Kai was delivered at 38 weeks via c-section.

"Bedrest is certainly not easy," Cristin said. "I found it boring, and I felt guilty and was hard on myself for not being able to have a 'normal' pregnancy. I was terrified all the time that something horrible would happen again. But in the end it was worth it, of course."

During her second period of bedrest, with Kai, Cristin tried to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of things, it was a very short period of time, even though it didn’t seem that way. She focused on the fact that after he was born, she would be up and around again, trying to keep up with two children.

"Try to remember that you are doing everything you possibly can to help your baby," she encourages her referrals.

Cristin related that her first referral has a daughter who is the same age as Lorna. She, too, delivered a baby who was born still.

"We had a lot of similar experiences," Cristin said. "The best part is that she was the first of my referrals to deliver a healthy baby boy recently."

In addition to her work with Sidelines, Cristin enjoys watching movies, catching up on her favorite TV shows, reading, doing yoga, and exercising in her spare time.