Baby Remembrance Photos

Friends, I'd love to share something that's close to my heart today. Do you mind if we get real for a moment? Last year, I became a volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, a nonprofit organization made up of volunteer photographers offering families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss the gift of complimentary remembrance portraits. Capturing a parents' most sacred and precious moments where they get to hold their little one in this lifetime. The images are gently retouched in black and white, so the baby looks peacefully asleep just like newborn photography.

The company started as a way to honor precious babies and aid in healing of the parents with images that will last a lifetime and the comfort and solace of something to hold on to during their grieving process. This has such a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons.

I struggled with infertility and unsuccessful pregnancies for nearly a decade. While we were able to adopt our two children later and create our family in an alternative way, that experience left its mark on me. When we went through that journey I felt alone, not enough, broken, ashamed. For the most part, infertility and child loss wasn't something that was talked about. Grief was done alone, quietly behind closed doors, even though it was the same grief that soaked into every aspect of life after.

Unfortunately, I've seen countless mothers say how they felt the pressure to move on from a loss like this or felt they had no choice but to suffer the burden of loss alone. On top of that, they often feel like they are left grieving the intangible, with empty hands, something I've felt deeply myself. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep offers an alternative to that.

Precious, irreplaceable memories of the brief moments where parents held their child for the entirety of the little one's life, the remembrance portrait’s in turn the parents get to hold for all of theirs. With Now Lay Me Down to Sleep, a huge part of this service we offer is presence. Not just the presence of the community, not just the presence of ourselves as a support or a pillar to be leaned upon, but also the focused presence of the little one. This type of photography is an act of honoring the precious child who is there, right then in that moment. It's about sharing grief, laughter, and tears together.

I get to capture this moment that their family is all together in the flesh and to take the isolation out of grief. The parents are not alone. They are seen, their baby is seen. There may never come a time to fully let go, but what's so special about these portraits is that it gives parents an immeasurably important opportunity to truly hold on.

So when the unthinkable happens and a baby arrives too early or has severe deficits that makes them life incompatible, I am there. With gentle hands and a heart ready to mourn beside them, I offer whatever strength I can and my ability and passion as a newborn photographer. It's beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. While it's painful for me, as a mother who has experienced similar loss, it is a gift I am willing, able, and more than grateful to give. It helps to know I am helping provide a healing component to their journey. It's life changing to witness the fragility of life alongside the incomprehensible strength of a mothers love. I am honored to partner with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep as a photographer volunteer. If you or someone you know would like to volunteer or learn more you can visit their website for more information.