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By Rachel Raper
Ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes. Dark black hair, your sister’s button nose. Love, joy, and pride filled my whole heart. We did not know, soon you’d depart. 6 pounds, 11 ounces, 20 inches long. In our home among us, is where you belong. 36 weeks, your lifetime in my womb. I held you tight, in your still tiny tomb. Blue eyes, big cheeks, even Mama’s feet. Days before, we heard a strong heartbeat. You were “sleeping” and felt no pain. How could this be, what did it gain? 12 hours holding you, I will always cherish. No answers here on Earth of how you did perish. Our boy, our son, “God is gracious”, Evan. You are not lost, but alive in Heaven. Christ- “light of the Word”, at home with God’s son. Life has meaning, purpose; Evan’s has just begun. I am your mother, birthing life and a voice. You’re kept in Heaven, and in that I rejoice. My life of ministry, God has prepared. My heart still grieving, my God will repair. God’s called me to donate bears of pink and of blue, To women who are hurting whom I never knew. Have faith, praise God, and in time we will embrace, Life’s lessons, Christ’s teachings, most of all grace. Second Corinthians One: three thru four, Praise God who comforts us, our Father, our Lord.
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by Sarah Hackett  In the middle of June, the Naomi's Circle Support Group hosted our second annual "Family Remembrance" ceremony and released Chinese lanterns in honor of our babies. I felt this picture was perfect to remember our babies.
As an outreach, we have committed to delivering 15 bag per month to two area hospitals. We usually deliver in the middle of the month. When Rachel and I made our deliveries this month, we were met with bittersweet news. As we were delivering 5 "Brie Bags" and "Embracing Evan" bears, the hospital told us they were so relieved to have a new delivery because they were almost out. They had given out all 5 in the last month. Our hearts dropped. When you experience the loss of a pregnancy or child, you expect that it'll never happen to someone else. We are saddened that there continues to be a need for Mommy to Mommy Outreach, but we're grateful to be a part of this outreach. In July we will begin delivering a few "Naomi" size bags for micro-preemie babies with a cap and diaper for babies 18-22 weeks. We hope that these will provide support to mothers whose babies are too small for the full-term "Brie Bags." We are also excited that other ladies our joining our effort and crocheting caps for babies, both full term and micro-preemie. Other ladies in our support group are helping to sew which is making it so much easier for Rachel and I to keep up the effort! If you or your community group are interested in helping, be sure to click the "I Want to Help" tab!  Brie Bag "Naomi" size for a boy 18-25 weeks May was such a whirlwind! Here's what happened:
Donations from family and friends came in to cover the cost of 15 Brie Bags! Each Brie Bag will now include an "Embracing Evan" angel bear! 7 "Brie Bags" were donated to families of loss at Lexington Medical Center! 3 "Brie Bags" were shipped out of state to families of loss! We were interviewed on WISTV here in Columbia! We were interviewed on KISS FM here in Columbia!B We look forward to June when we will start donating 15 bags each month including 5 to Lexington Medical Center and 10 to Palmetto Baptist Hospital!  Welcome! You are here because you are either experiencing pregnancy loss, learning to parent through or after loss or you are interested in donating a "Brie Bag" in honor of a child. Regardless of what has brought you here, welcome.
My name is Sarah Hackett, and my first child was stillborn on December 3, 2010. I had a very normal pregnancy, and when I started having contractions at 38 weeks, we were expecting to be welcoming our daughter into the world. We were shocked to learn that Brie had passed away. We discovered upon her birth that her umbilical cord had never formed fully. Sadly, this is something that has no cause, has no treatment and cannot be determined during pregnancy. Although she never took her first breath on this earth, she has greatly impacted many lives. As I went through the first few weeks of grieving, I felt very alone. My husband and I met with a grief counselor and eventually began attending a regular grief group, "Memories" at Lexington Medical Center. The group really made a difference in how we both learned to deal with our grief and choose to keep going. There were many books that aided me in my grief journey, among them "A Rose in Heaven" by Dawn Siegrest Waltman, "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo and "I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith. "Mommy to Mommy Outreach" is a network of women helping women and supporting each other through a very difficult time. We are a branch of the Naomi's Circle support group in Columbia, SC (www.naomiscircle.org), and have started working with area hospitals donating "Embracing Evan" bears in honor of Evan Raper, born sleeping at 36 weeks, as well as "Brie Bags" made in remembrance of my daughter Brie. Each bag contains a book on dealing with pregnancy loss, a brochure on Naomi's Circle support group and Facebook group, a newborn baby cap for the baby to wear made especially for him/her and a tiny cloth diaper. For information on ways you can help with this outreach, feel free to email me at [email protected], or see our M2M page here. |
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