Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji and his wife Kayla excitedly shared the news they were expecting their first child, a boy, earlier this year. Now, they’re sharing the heartbreaking news of their loss.
In May, Kayla posted on Instagram that she was pregnant with their son. “To our son,” she wrote. “We’ve been waiting for you. We prayed for you, dreamt of you, always knew we wanted you.” Sadly, they lost their little boy shortly before a scheduled induction. In an emotional video posted on Instagram, Adeniji shared that, while on a date, Kayla realized she hadn’t felt the baby move in a while. To be safe, the couple headed to the hospital, where they were given the horrible news that their son had no heartbeat.
“It was the worst moment of my life,” he said through tears. “You know, everybody that knows me knows how bad I wanted to be, be a dad. It’s the worst pain in the world. I can’t describe it to anybody. We were six days away from from having our little boy.”
He added, “It’s going to be very tough. We’ll never forget him. We love him. He’s going to live on in our hearts forever. He gave us so much hope.”
READ: NHL star Boone Jenner mourns son’s stillbirth: ‘A pain like no other’
In a follow-up post, he shared photos of his son, and another statement. “The fact that he is gone has set in now and nothing can change that,” he wrote. “I’ll never get to see him grow up, and he’ll never get to read his journal I wrote for him. I miss him and I’ll miss him every day for the rest of my life … I know my little soldier is up there watching us and giving us strength. Every day that God continues to wake me up, I will do right by him and make him proud.”
He continued, “I still want to be a dad more than anything else in this world, and he gave me that even though it was short-lived. When and if ever I get that opportunity again I’ll never take a day for granted. I love my boy and he will live through us.”
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stillbirth — defined as pregnancy loss after 20 weeks — is more common than many might expect, affecting 1 in 175 families. Approximately 21,000 babies are stillborn each year. Black women and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander mothers are significantly more likely to experience stillbirth than other ethnicities.
Kayla likewise shared about their loss on Instagram, posting that they named their son Semiu Zade Adeniji, that he weighed 8lbs 4 oz, and that he was 21 inches long.
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“We will never ever be the same and we will never forget him,” she wrote. “He had a head full of curls and his daddy’s nose. The softest cheeks and big hands. He will always be my son and I will always be his mom. He got us through so much this year and stayed so strong for us for so long. I will always remember holding him and smelling him. He was just perfect. Oh my sweet boy mommy and daddy will always smile when we think of you, I promise. Please look out for us my angel.”
One commenter poignantly wrote, “I am so sorry Kayla, how lucky he was to have had the comfort of your heartbeat his whole life.”
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