How Jill Duggar Plans To Remember Baby River

Jill Duggar hopes to create comfort and commemoration out of sadness and tragedy. The reality star and mother of two recently announced that she and her husband Derick Dillard had been expecting a third child, but they lost the child in a miscarriage. Jill revealed the heartbreaking loss via their blog on October 11.

The former star of the TLC show "Counting On" was hopeful about their third child, and her two sons Israel and Samuel were excited to welcome the new family member. Despite not knowing the child's sex, Jill and Derick named the baby River Bliss Dillard, explaining their reasoning in their blog post. "One meaning for River is 'tranquil' ...and here in Arkansas, rivers are often a serene, beautiful escape in nature. We also like how the River talked about in the Bible (Rev. 22:1-5) represents God's life-giving presence." As to the middle name, Bliss, they wrote, "Our baby is living in perfect bliss with the Lord and was such a gift that brought immense joy and happiness to us even though only with us here on earth for a short time."

The Dillard's fans have expressed their support in comments on social media, and Jill gave a life update thanking supporters, admitting, "it's been a little bit since I've shown my face on here." On October 21, she posted another update explaining the nice thing she's doing for her family to commemorate River and cope with the loss.

When out shopping with her younger son, Samuel, Jill Dillard took to Instagram Stories and explained how she and the family plan to commemorate baby River's life. "They have these cool boxes here for, like, a memory box," she told her viewers as they perused the shelves at a craft store, being careful not to choose one that looked too much like a coffin or one labeled for food. She settled on a lovely wooden box with black trim.

She also posted an Instagram photo with adorable Sam and the box, explaining, "We will keep pregnancy tests, hospital band, letters & anything else we want to remember the baby by in here." Jill asked her 1.7 million followers if they ever lost a baby and how they commemorated their loss. She added the hashtag for October Miscarriage Awareness Month to her post, an initiative designed to support others who have lost pregnancies.

Of her more than 23,000 likes, her post received many comments about how people remembered their pregnancy losses or losses soon after birth. From necklaces with the baby's birthstone, placing handwritten notes inside balloons, to therapy, prayers, and even tattoos, comments flowed in with lovely, creative suggestions. They're all grateful for Jill's bravery in sharing her story publicly, and it shows how common miscarriages are and how people who've experienced this aren't alone.