A note about her nephew. A grieving Christina Milian took to her Instagram on Wednesday, Aug. 26, and shared a heartbreaking note mourning the death of her sister Danielle's newborn baby son, Richie.
Danielle, 29, and her husband, Richard Dickerson, welcomed their son on Tuesday; hours later, baby Richie, who'd been diagnosed with omphalocele while Danielle was pregnant, passed away. "Yesterday I was blessed with the birth of my Richie Bear. Unfortunately, last night he took his place with the Lord and we said goodbye," Danielle wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of what appeared to be his handprint. "I so appreciate the prayers and support from everyone. He touched my heart and was perfect in so many ways."
Big sister Christina, 33, echoed Danielle's sentiments to her 2.6 million-plus followers on Instagram. "The last 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster but i'd like to thank everyone for being so supportive throughout my sister Danielle & Richards pregnancy," the multi-hyphenate wrote, alongside a photo of baby Richie's tiny foot wrapped in gauze. "The both of them have shown the true measure of courage and faith for the last 9 months and I can't praise them more."
In June, Danielle exclusively revealed to Us Weekly that her child had been diagnosed with omphalocele, a life-threatening birth defect that causes organs to form outside of the body. “I was told there’s almost a 53 percent chance of mortality. It was hard," she recalled to Us of the ultrasound, when she saw the baby's stomach, gallbladder, spleen, and liver outside of his torso.
While doctors advised Danielle to terminate the pregnancy, the reality star and her husband wanted to give their baby a chance. “I said to [Richard], ‘Could you live with this?’ Because I know can. I know I could be in a hospital every day. As a mother, I will do whatever it takes for my child. I said, ‘I could spend two years in a hospital. Can you live with this?’" she recalled to Us. "And Richard said to me, ‘Will he be able to fall in love?’ and ‘Will he be able to get a job?…If his disability would not affect his ability to fall in love, then there is absolutely no reason he doesn’t deserve life.’”
Danielle is already mom to 8-year-old son Daniel, and baby girl Naomi, 14 months.
Christina noted on Wednesday that she and her loved ones were grateful for the fleeting time they had with baby Richie. "Our family was blessed to have met our little Angel Baby Richie," the mourning aunt wrote. "We were fighting for him and with him the whole way and are now coping with the direction in which fate took. I ask that you keep him and our entire family in your prayers— Especially Danielle, Richard, Naomi & Dj and know that we've all been touched by our little Guardian Angel. His memory will forever live on in our thoughts and our hearts. May he now rest in peace in the arms of our Heavenly Father … stay blessed."
