What do you do to honor your baby who has died?

There are many things a parent can do to honor their baby who has died. No matter the cause- miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, health issues, or otherwise- the impact this tiny person has on your heart and on your life will stay with you forever. There is no %26quot;getting over%26quot; the death of your child.





As bereaved parents many of us do specific things to honor our children%26#039;s memory: planting a tree or flowers, donating momentos to your local hospital for newly bereaved parents, donating books for your library on grief and loss, or even voluteering your time at a local children%26#039;s shelter...





There is no %26quot;guide book%26quot; to follow after you lose a much wanted and very loved baby, there are no %26quot;rules%26quot; for grief- no right or wrong in how you honor the child who has passed away.





Please share with us your thoughts and ideas- you may be able to help a parent who has had their heart broken and dreams shattered by this devastating loss.





What do you do to honor your baby who has died?

What do you do to honor your baby who has died?
I make special floral arrangements for my son%26#039;s grave, participate in memorial walks and services with my local Compassionate Friends chapter, volunteer with a local dog rescue group, and collect figurines of angels holding babies or baby boy angels.


We also plan to donate books to the local library with special cards pasted in them that has our son%26#039;s name and says %26quot;donated in loving memory of.%26quot; We just haven%26#039;t had the extra funds yet.


On the anniversary of his birth/death, we took the day off of work and visited his grave site. We also went to dinner that night with a bunch of family members.


We%26#039;d also like to do a live butterfly release on one of his %26quot;angelversaries%26quot; (date of death) when we have the funds. A butterfly is the symbol of rebirth and it%26#039;s also the symbol the hospital tacked on my door to make all the workers aware of the loss I had just suffered.


Everyday, I wear two special bracelets: one is a gold bracelet with two sets of praying hands and a small piece that says %26quot;In Memory of My Son%26quot; and the other is an awareness band that I bought from the Compassionate Friends that has two butterflies on it and reads %26quot;Forever in My Heart.%26quot; I also have a small angel pin made from my son%26#039;s birthstone, a mothers%26#039; necklace witha tiny boy charm on it, and a necklace with his birthstone in the shape of an angel on it.


Another plan is to sponsor an animal at the local shelter.


At Christmas, we participated in the world-wide candle lighting service to remeber our children. It was beautiful. And the hospital also had a special ceremony for the babies that had died that year.


I%26#039;ve also heard of balloon releases, special memorial services and sponsoring a third-world child as memorials to you baby.


www.missfoundation.org supports %26quot;The Kindness Project%26quot; which involves random acts of kindness done in your child%26#039;s name. They have a list of ideas on their website. If I had extra money, I would SOOOO do this.
Reply:Post message: NvrAlone@yahoogroups.com


Subscribe: NvrAlone-subscribe@yahoogroups... Report It

Reply:The pain does eventually fade, leaving memories of ifs, and maybe`s, that echo through the rest of your life. In time all of the hurt settles into a little place in the heart, it becomes calmer there, more understanding there, and safer there, and peace comes to all, both the living and the lost. Good luck.
Reply:I would plant a tree and watch it grow like I would if my baby had lived. If they would let me, I would plant it at the cemetary next to where my baby was buried. I haven%26#039;t lost a baby, but my cousin did and it affected all of us. My daughter named her baby after him, which is another way of honoring him.
Reply:This Mother has found a pretty active way to help handle her grieving. She has started interactive forums about her daughters yet unsolved kidnapping, molesting, murder.








http://www.freepowerboards.com/coralrose...
Reply:Before I can attempt to answer this question I would like to say to any mother and father who have suffered such a tragic loss that I understand. I would like to offer to them all of my kind thoughts and prayers in their behalf. There is not a more devastating blow than the loss of a child.


Who can say when and how to mourn a loss so great? Who can judge how long to mourn?


It is what it is. The individual will process this loss in their own way, on their own and with hopefully the love and support of friends and family.





I do know that remembering, honoring the life (no matter how brief) is important. I have seen this many times. The need to memorialize is a very human need. It affords us a %26quot;place%26quot; to go that opens us up and sets the scene to remember. A memorial gives us opportunity to release our emotions and begin healing.


A memorial promotes conversations about our loss, once again a healing process of sharing our emotions and allowing others to support us through a very difficult time.





God bless the little angels that have gone before us.


God bless the ones they left behind.





I have started a blog on our 360 to encourage healing conversations for those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. I hope you will join.
Reply:I gave birth to still born twin girls so I understand as a parent the need to honor your angels.


I wear a locket with their pictures in it, this is very comforting at times. I also have charm bracelet with their names engraved on two charms and for there 1st %26quot;birthday%26quot; I had stars named after them.


My heart and prayers go out to anyone that has to put these suggestions to use.
Reply:I recently walked with The March of Dimes, WalkAmerica (www.walkamerica.org). My husband and I put a team together, named the team after my son, in memory of him. We raised over an amazing $7,000 in under 2 months time and received several plaques. We had about 40 people walk with us. We also made t-shirts for the immediate family and had buttons made for everyone with my son%26#039;s picture and his name, date of birth, date of death and had %26quot;walking in memory of and his name%26quot;. We planted a tree in the back yard that a friend gave us. We also made a wooden plaque with his name on it and an angel and flowers to put at his grave site. There are many things you can do. For an early mother%26#039;s day gift, my husband bought be a collared button up shirt and on the left side of the shirt, he had my son%26#039;s name, dates and %26quot;our little angel%26quot; with the angel picture on it embroidered on it. There are so many things you can do. :-)



nanny