Just because you were unable to take your precious baby home with you, does not mean you can’t make any memories with them.
Memory Box
For me, it wasn’t until some months later that I started to make those memories. It began with a memory box that was given to me from the maternity unit where I gave birth.
I had gone to collect the photos, hand and footprints the midwife had taken of my daughter. I was now ready to see them. They were presented to me in a memory box that contained a teddy bear, hand-knitted hearts, a candle, a key chain, a certificate of birth, hospital tags and a baby blanket.
Memorial Gifts
Over the years, I have added to this memory box. I included the sympathy cards I had been sent and the little memorial gifts, a notebook with pregnancy scans and her birth information, as well as medals from charity events I participated in.
I made an embroidery of her birth flower and bought candle holders to use every year for The Wave of Light; and various other items that I collected in memory of my babies.
The box is stored away, but accessible so I can get it out and look at each item whenever I need to.
Comfort during the dark times
Collecting these items and building my memory box over the years brought some comfort during the dark times. It gave me something to focus on and, even though she was never wrapped in that blanket, never cuddled that teddy, these are all items that belong to her.
Hospitals and maternity units stock memory boxes. They can be requested at the time of your loss or after. Many hospitals will be able to hold onto your keepsakes, as they did mine until you are ready to see them. Or they may offer to give them to you in a sealed envelope for you to open when you are ready.
If you need support, please get in touch.
Written by Rosie Nesbit
