| Our Ways to Memorialize Our Angels |
| Finding ways to remember our angels and keeping them close to our hearts is so important. Memorializing can be done in so many ways.....But no matter which way you choose, it helps to validate that yes, our little angels did and still do exist and helps us to have something tangible to honor our angels while they are watching over us from above. |
| I have tried my best to organize these into categories. I hope it helps. I have also tried to provide links, if there are any. To anyone who has lost more than one angel, or multiples....You will see just for simplicity's sake that I will refer to "angel" as singular, please know I do not intend this to dishonor your losses in any way. Also, when I refer to "you" it is intended for both parents, as I feel it is so impartant to remember that our angels' fathers have gone through the same loss as us. |
| Ways to Memorialize |
| At Home |
| At The Cemetary |
| Things to Do At the Hospital |
| Things you can carry/wear on you |
| For the Holidays |
| On the Internet |
| Memorial Services |
| This site was built and is maintained by Faith's Mommy Tammy Guadagnoli In Honor of my Angel watching over me from Heaven, Faith. Born to Heaven 9/6/01 |
| Please visit Faith's other Loss Support Pages. Click on the Home button or use the links below! |
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| I realize that by the time you find this site, your days at the hospital will be over, but I decided to include this category anyway. Maybe it will help some hospitals that are not doing these things to start a program for Mom's like us. |
| **Have your Baby's pictures taken **Footprints/Handprints done in ink or a plaster **Cut a lock of hair **Keep the outfit they wore **Name your Baby (This is a personal choice to make whether you want to or not and can also be done later if you choose) **Keep the cards people gave you/Dry flowers people sent you **Some hospitals give a keepsake box with all the things any baby would receive, such as ID bracelets, weight/length stats, a commemerative birth certificate, etc ...what a wonderful thing! |
| There are so many things you can do at home! This is a very minimal list! The possibilities are endless! |
| **Buy or Make a Keepsake Box to hold all of the things you have collected for your angel through your pregnancy and after you loss in **Write a letter or poem, or find one that touches your heart and frame it to hang in you home **Plant a tree, a rose bush or Create a garden in your yard in honor of your angel (If that is not possible for where you live, but a special plant you can care for inside your home) **Create an arrangement or shadow box with dried flowers you kept from the hospital and/or memorial service **Make a wreath or other creative item as a door hanging for your front or back door as a remembrance **Buy an angel figurine or doll to display in a special place **Make a photo album or scrapbook of all the pictures and items having to do with your angel (ie. ultra sound pictures, photos of you pregnant, your ++ pregnancy tests, photos of your nursery if you had started one, etc.) **Create a memorial quilt, blanket, crosstitch, latch-hook, etc. **Buy a special item and have it engraved. Such as a baby spoon, decorative ornament, cup, rattle, or baby pillow |
| Rituals |
| Donations |
| Having an item you can carry on you, wear, or hold in your purse or wallet can be very comforting. It gives you the wonderful feeling of knowing your angel is always with you. |
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| **Have your favorite poem, prayer, or reading printed on a small card and laminated so you can carry it in a purse or wallet. **Wear a guardian angel pin on your clothes or coat. Maybe even with the birthstone of your angel. (could be the month of conception, the month your angel was born or miscarried, or their due date month) **Wear a birthstone ring, earrings, bracelet, or charm /pendant /necklace **Wear a bracelet, anklet, ring, or charm with your angels name and/or significant dates. **Carry a special trinket in your purse, wallet, or pocket like a precious stone (the kind you see at nature/science type stores) in honor of your angel **Carry a keychain on your keyring with your angel's initials, name, or special poem on it. **get a tatoo in honor of your angel. |
| **Have prayer cards made with a special poem/reading on one side and an image (like and angel or butterfly) on the front or a special note to your family and friends attending the service **Have loved ones be a part of the service by doing readings or speaking of you and your angel **If you think you are strong enough...consider reading a poem or something you have written at the service yourself **Pick out flowers that will remind you of your angel and lay them on the grave after or take some home to dry and keep forever as a momento of the lovely service. **Get referrals from your hospital for local funeral homes /cemetaries /monument makers/ flower shops. Many will offer their services for free or at a lower cost for babies. I know it sounds awful talking about looking for a deal when it comes to your angel but for some a funeral can place a huge financial burden and while grieving for your loss you do not want the added stress of financial worries. **If you do not have a family plot or a special place to bury your angel.....Look for a cemetary that has an infants/childs section. This can bring comfort to know your angel is among other baby angels. **If you decide to have your child cremated.....choose an urn to hold the ashes that will remind you of or honor your angel. Or a meaningful place for your family where you can scatter them. **Funeral homes and churches/temples will probably have books you can look through to choose readings and plan out the service. It can be very overwhelming so you can also leave it in their hands if it is just too much for you to try and decide those things. **If you lost your angel early in a pregnancy and do not feel a full service is appropriate consider having a private ceremony at home where you can buy flowers or light candles and talk to your angel, or read a poem, and say goodbye. This may help validate that your angel existed and help bring closure. |
| Having a memorial service for your angel can be so healing and help to bring some sort of closure to the actual physical loss part of this journey. Whether it be by yourself in the privacy of your own home, a small graveside service, or in a large place of worship with hundreds of people doesn't matter as long as it is what you want for yourself, your family, and your angel. |
| If you have chosen to have a gravesite for your angel....Besides the stone or monument, Having special things there and maintaining the site can real help with the feelings of wanting to "Take Care" of your angel. It also provides a special place where you can visit and talk to your angel. |
| **Plant a little garden around the site. **Make an arrangement of artificial flowers in a flower pot or holder that you can stake into the ground. (you can find these at craft stores) That way you would not need to worry about weather or watering real flowers if you cannot get to the site regularly. **Place a cement/ceramic figurine there. This could be a baby angel, a butterfly, a mother and child angel, etc. **Get a solar lantern and place it at the site. (these can be found at home improvement stores) They have batteries that charge by the sun during the day and are light sensitive to turn on when it gets dark. This way there is always a light on for your angel. **There are also cemetary candle holders that will serve the same purpose. I believe the candles will burn for 7 days, so you will need to keep a supply of them. **Change decorations for the "seasons"..... get a pumpkin for fall, a small christmas tree or wreath for December, A nice bright colored flower arrangement for spring, etc. **Place an item there that is a momento in honor of your angel ..... like a baseball/toy truck for a boy, a figuerine to represent a family pet that "watches over" your angel, a stuffed animal, etc. **Bring flowers or balloons for special days like birthdays, due dates, and holidays. |
| Making a donation in honor of your angel can be very comforting. It brings a feeling that your baby did not die in vain because somebody else has been helped as a result of losing your angel. |
| **Make a monetary donation to a children's charity or to a specific organization that does research for a condition that may have been a factor in your loss. **Every year on your child's birthdate or date of your loss donate an item/toy, that represents the age that your child would be that year, to a charity. **Donate your time as a volunteer at your hospital, at loss support groups, or to a charity that helps babies and their familes. **Donate loss support books to your hospital or library. **Donate items for newborns to familes in need at your hospital. **Make/Buy preemie clothes to donate to the hospital/funeral home for future stillborns to wear when they are born or to be buried in. **If you are good at crafts, make items (possibly that can be personalized) for other familes that have lost an angel, advertise it on a loss support board or elsewhere, and give the items to familes just charging the cost for shipping/ handling. |
| Sometimes, besides tangible items, starting traditions in honor of your angel can keep their memory alive and serve as a reminder to you, siblings,and pthe rloved ones that they will always be a part of your family. |
| **Mention your angel in prayers that you say at night or at the dinner table. **On certain yearly anniversaries request a service at your place of worship to be held or named in memory of your angel. **Have a candle lit in your home either all the time, or on special occassions as a reminder that they are there with you. **On the yearly anniversary of your angel's birth/miscarriage make it a point to visit the cemetary as a family, or hold a service/ say special prayer at home or in a place that holds meaning for your family. **Choose a certain song that can be your angel's song. You can listen to it on special days or just when you happen to be thinking of your angel, or sing it to yourself/your angel when they are in your thoughts. **Making donations (see above) can be a tradition that you can keep every year on anniversaries. |
| The internet as become such a big part of most peoples lives these days. It can be just as rewarding and meaningful to have relationships with people on-line. Also to create ways to remember your angel using the internet. |
| **Join a loss support e-mail group or message board. There are many but because I am biased here is the link of the board I am so honored to say I moderate: |
| **Create a website in memory of your angel. There are many places that will allow you to make a website for free like...... |
| and there are many graphics sites that only ask that you provide a link ack to their site in order to use there graphics. There are way too many to link here, but if you would like some suggestions feel free to e-mail me or check out the links on most of the pages throughout this website. **Contribute a poem, or idea to a Loss Support website (like this one! :-) ) |
| Other Ideas |
| I would love to hear of any other unusual or different idea that people have done to honor their angels. For now, here are a couple that I know of. |
| **Name a star in the sky for your angel........ |
| **Order a Vermont Teddy Bear in honor of your angel. (these are not the most economical as far as price. But they are excellent quality). Here is a link to their home page... type in "angel" or "baby" into their search for some ideas. |
| The holidays can be a difficult time when it comes to being without your angel and wishing they were here with you. Doing special things around the holidays can help to remind you that they are never far away from you. |
| **Buy/Make a special ornament for yor angel that you can put on your tree every year. **Buy/Make and angel tree topper that can forever go at the top of your tree and serve as a reminder that your angel is looking down on you from Heaven. **Make a wreath for your outside door in honor of your angel. Put decorations on it that represent your angel, like angel wings. **Make a Donation to a child in need, in your angel's name/honor. **For Easter, make a little basket for your angel that you can display in your home every year during that time. |
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| Mouse tail graphics from: |
| **Here is another way to honor your angel with a star! Pick out the star you like and they will put it on their "Memorial Galaxy" pages! This is a free service! |
| **Add a Halo in honor of your angel on..... Our Halo Tributes |