A/N: Trigger warning: discussion of risks of miscarriage

Dear Little One,

Happy Thanksgiving! I cannot believe that next Thanksgiving, you will be here. We just finished a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. All of your Rizzoli family was here, as well as your grandmother Hope – my birth mother – and your aunt Cailin. My parents promised to come next year for your first Thanksgiving. I really hope they do, but I know their plans often change. Regardless, I'm sure it will be the best Thanksgiving ever because you will be here. All I need to be happy is you and mama.

The family now knows about you. Mama and I had wanted to wait to tell people until she reached her second trimester since she is technically still at a higher risk for a miscarriage. However, when mama didn't eat much at Thanksgiving dinner, it took about thirty seconds for Angela, your nonna, to figure out why. Honestly, while the risk of miscarriage is still around 15% at this point given your development and mama's age and overall health, I'm still glad that our family knows. I want to be able to share in our joy and love for you. I also cannot lie, so I'm glad to know I won't be put into that position. Also, if we lose you, mama and I will be devastated, so as overbearing as Angela can be sometimes, we will probably need her support. I'm so incredibly grateful that Angela is my mother-in-law. You're lucky, little one, to have so many people love you so fiercely already. You will never doubt that you are loved by me, by mommy, by your nonna, by your whole family.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for…
The privilege to work in a career that I love;
The financial security to live the life I want,;
Colleagues that accept and respect me;
Wonderful friends who enjoy my company;
My sister Cailin, who has taught me the joys of having a sibling;
My biological mother Hope, who gave me life;
My mother Constance and my father Arthur, who loved me in their own way and gave me the life I have today;
My chosen family – Frankie, Nina, Tommy, and TJ – who love me and accepted me as family without question; and
My mother-in-law Angela, who took me in as her daughter independent of my relationship with mama and who showed me the true meaning of a mother's love.

But the two things I am most grateful for are mama and you, little one. Your mama, my Jane. Despite my rather large vocabulary (in multiple languages), I don't know how to describe what she means to me. The woman who is my best friend and the love of my life. The woman who met me where I was and grew alongside me. The woman who gave me the confidence to be who I am, regardless of what others think of me. The woman who is always the first to defend and protect me but is also the one to make me feel strong enough to defend and protect myself. The person I trust with my life and with my heart. The person I trust with you.

I love you, little one, and I cannot wait to spend next Thanksgiving with you in my arms.

Love,

Mommy