Ways to Remember Your Baby 

 

• Name your baby. If you don’t know the sex of your baby, use a gender-neutral name or a nickname.
   
• Create a baby album with all the keepsakes in it, including your photos. Many people will buy or make a special padded album just for this purpose.  
   
• Have a special box for all your keepsakes. Many keepsake boxes are homemade, but they can also be purchased.
   
• Make a collage frame or shadowbox of some of your keepsakes.
   
• Plant some flower bulbs or a tree in remembrance of your baby. Let other children participate. It can be very helpful for their grief process.

   

  

• Write a letter to your baby, talking about your plans for all your futures, your hopes and dreams. Make it a whole story about your plans for the pregnancy, the pregnancy itself and anything else you can think of. There are blank books that can be obtained at bookstores just for purposes such as this.
  
• A piece of jewelry, a ring or a necklace, perhaps with a birth stone could be a keepsake, which you save or wear yourself. Most jewelry stores carry some baby jewelry and some specialty catalog companies have unique pieces. Abbey Press has a pendant in the shape of a teardrop with a rose in the center to signify loss and never ending love. Their website is www.abbeypress.com. Some parents have found baby feet pins, angel pins, and angel necklaces to be meaningful as well.

• List of suggested websites that offer complimentary keepsake items or items that you can purchase:

 

The Shining Light Fund (The mission of The Shining Light Fund is to provide compassionate support to families who have suffered the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death by offering birthstone mother's bracelets, free of charge, as tangible remembrances of life.  We also provide links to bereavement resources. As our organization grows in the future, we hope to offer other types of remembrance items for fathers and other family members, as well as grief resource materials for those in need.): www.shininglightfund.org/

 

Sara's Smile, Inc (is a non-profit organization created for the sole purpose of comforting bereaved mothers with a Sare Bear.): www.sarasmile.org/

 

HAIN (This non-profit organization provides baby clothing and memory boxes to hospitals in their effort to help "families one angel at a time."  They have donated many boxes and keepsake items to the Northside Hospital Perinatal Loss Office.): heavenlyangelsinneed.com/index.html

 

www.plannersguide.com/angel.htm

 

www.thecomfortcompany.net/

 

www.myforeverchild.com/store/Default.asp

 

www.labelledame.com/miscarriage-infant-loss.html

 

 

 

• Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness items:

 

www.stockpins.com/pregnancy-infant-loss-awareness-pin.html

 

www.october15th.com

 

www.october15th.wahmweb.biz/store/Default.asp

 

www.personalizedcause.com/shop/collections/classic/detail/c_pinkblue.html

 

www.pinmart.com/shopDetails.cfm?p=6105&cat=81

 

www.gettysburgflag.com/Pregnancy-Infant-Loss.html

 

 

• Obtain a copy of your baby's birth, death, and/or stillbirth certificate.  

• Create a "Certificate of Life" which states the baby's name, due date, birthdate, or any information you would like to include. You can computer generate one or have one printed. You can also contact our office, we would be happy to make one for you. The March of Dimes provides a Bereavement Kit appropriate for parents which includes a pretty envelope with sections to put keepsakes, photos, ultrasound pictures, and designated lines for information about the baby. To obtain a kit, call 1-888-MODIMES (1-888-66-4637) or email them at askus@marchofdimes.com.

Northside Hospital Perinatal Loss Quilts

Your love and imagination is the key to this project. Each completed square should be a minimum of 4 inches by 4 inches and may be decorated however you would like, including (but not limited to) cross-stitching, embroidery, needlepoint, painting, or puff paints.

Please use the following guidelines:

• Fabric size should be a minimum of 5 inches by 5 inches, with the completed design being no smaller than 4 inches by 4 inches.
   
• Fabric color should be off-white, so that your design will stand out better (the borders and separating fabric will be pastel colors).
   
• Please use permanent inks or paints in your design, as we may need to launder the quilt at some point.
   
• Include your baby’s name or your name if you’d like. Feel free to include a poem, prayer, or quote. However, please remember not to go outside the borders of the square.
   
• If you have questions, contact us at pnl@atlantapnl.com or (404) 851-8177.
   
• Completed squares can be sent to
  Northside Hospital PNL Office
  1000 Johnson Ferry Road N.E.
  Atlanta, GA 30342