Chrissy Teigen is ready to "return back to life" following the loss of her third child, but before she does, the cookbook author choose to share her story.

In an emotional essay posted on Medium, Chrissy opened up for the first time about the loss of her and her husband John Legend's 20-week-old son, Jack, in late September.

"I’m writing from the downstairs couch, still cozied up in a blanket but buzzing from a morning of friends and fried chicken. I’m reading off countless notes from my phone — thoughts that have randomly popped up in the weeks since. I didn’t really know how I would start this, no matter the room or state I was in, but it feels right to begin with a thank you," she wrote. "For weeks, our floors have been covered in flowers of kindness. Notes have flooded in and have each been read with our own teary eyes. Social media messages from strangers have consumed my days, most starting with, 'you probably won’t read this, but…'. I can assure you, I did."

Chrissy went onto share what happened during her pregnancy loss and the events leading up to her hospitalization, writing "I was previously on bedrest for over a month, just trying to get the little dude to 28 weeks, a 'safer' zone for the fetus. My doctors diagnosed me with partial placenta abruption. I had always had placenta problems. I had to deliver Miles a month early because his stomach wasn’t getting enough food from my placenta. But this was my first abruption. We monitored it very closely, hoping for things to heal and stop."

As she began to bleed more and more "the fluid around Jack had become very low — he was barely able to float around," and Chrissy was admitted to the hospital. "After a couple nights at the hospital, my doctor told me exactly what I knew was coming — it was time to say goodbye," she shared. "He just wouldn’t survive this, and if it went on any longer, I might not either. We had tried bags and bags of blood transfusions, every single one going right through me like we hadn’t done anything at all. Late one night, I was told it would be time to let go in the morning. I cried a little at first, then went into full blown convulsions of snot and tears, my breath not able to catch up with my own incredibly deep sadness. Even as I write this now, I can feel the pain all over again. Oxygen was placed over my nose and mouth, and that was the first picture you saw. Utter and complete sadness."

Chrissy then addressed the photos she chose to post when announcing the loss of her third child on social media. "I had asked my mom and John to take pictures, no matter how uncomfortable it was. I explained to a very hesitant John that I needed them, and that I did NOT want to have to ever ask. That he just had to do it. He hated it," she admitted. "I could tell. It didn’t make sense to him at the time. But I knew I needed to know of this moment forever, the same way I needed to remember us kissing at the end of the aisle, the same way I needed to remember our tears of joy after Luna and Miles. And I absolutely knew I needed to share this story."

"I cannot express how little I care that you hate the photos," Chrissy said, referring to the trolls who criticized her for taking photos during her pregnancy loss. "How little I care that it’s something you wouldn’t have done. I lived it, I chose to do it, and more than anything, these photos aren’t for anyone but the people who have lived this or are curious enough to wonder what something like this is like. These photos are only for the people who need them. The thoughts of others do not matter to me."

Jack Kratoville

About Jack Kratoville