Monday, May 3, 2010

International Babylost Mother's Day 2010

How did you spend Sunday May 2nd?

This year, women who have lost their children came together in their own special ways to celebrate International Babylost Mother's Day, a day created by Carly Dudley to honor the never-ending bond between a babylost mother and her child.

IBMD was an incredible experience for me, and I was fortunate to spend it with two amazing fellow babylost blog mommas.





With me were Malory, mother to Janessa Marie, who writes the blogs  Every Life Has A Story and Mommy of An Angel




And Stephanie, mother to Amelia Rose, who writes the blogs Carried Through Grief  and Beyond Words Designs.
(Stephanie, Me, Malory)          

Our day started over brunch, where we met and exchanged Mother's Day gifts. The irony was that this wasn't discussed ahead of time, and yet we each felt compelled to bring something to the celebration that would honor our roles as babylost mommas, as well as to brighten each other's day.

Stephanie brought gift cards with personalized tags, and a beautiful mix CD of songs that were helping her through her grief. Malory honored each little girl with an angel bearing their birthstone. She also created the "beautiful mother" cards that you see on the table. I brought a candle with each girls' initials on them, to illuminate their pictures as we talked.


These beautiful little girls are Janessa to the left, Peyton in the center, and Amelia to the right. They remained the central focus of our table,  and our day, and  it was truly beautiful to see them there together.

After lunch, we headed to a secluded reservoir for our balloon release. We brought 5 balloons and 1 butterfly balloon for the release. The 5 balloons were sent to heaven, 1 for each of our daughters, 1 for all the other babies lost who had touched our hearts, and 1 sent to heaven in prayer to watch over all the other babylost mommas. Here are some pictures from our balloon release.


(Malory and Stephanie pick out their balloons.)

(Me working on the Momma's Balloon)


 
(Malory writing a balloon message to all of the babies that have touched our hearts.)

We walked down to the edge of the water and said a few words to honor the significance of the day.


The skies were clear and blue, and the sun was shining as we prepared to let the balloons go.

 

And when the moment felt right, we watched them float above us.

 

The balloons lingered for a while, dancing above us in a pack, before beginning their graceful journey into the heavens and out of sight. 



After our balloon release, we stayed together the remainder of the day, walking along the nearby river. We talked about our lives, our children, and our grief. We may have just met that day, but our connection was like that of three girls who had known each other their whole lives. We had so much fun in fact, that it wasn't until after 8PM that we finally said our goodbyes!


Child loss can feel so isolating at times, but yesterday there was none of that. There was no feeling left out or alone. Yesterday we were three mommas, in love with our daughters, celebrating International Babylost Mother's Day together. It was a day filled with laughter and tears and understanding.

Yesterday was beautiful.

30 comments:

  1. Glad you had a great IBMD yesterday! It looks like fun and the pictures of the balloons and gifts are beautiful! *HUGS*

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  2. I'm so glad you had people to share the day with, and that you were able to enjoy it. You all deserve it!

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  3. i'm so glad you felt happiness doing this, i had a very similar experience and got so much out of it, it was the first time any of us had met before too and yet we felt so comfortable around each other. the gifts were all so lovely and heartfelt and the balloons look just beautiful, sending big hugs from tasmania xxx anne

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  4. It sounds like you ladies had a great day, glad you could meet up with other mommy's.

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  5. i am happy that you had such a wonderful day on 2nd may.
    love and hugs

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  6. Sounds like a lovely time. So glad you could meet up with each other! ((hugs))

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  7. What a beautiful post! So glad you all were able to spend the day together :) When I look at the three of you sitting there, it makes me think that your three little girls are sitting together in Heaven, looking down on their wonderful mommies. I've been thinking about you a lot lately.

    Lots of love,
    Erin

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  8. So glad you had a great time with those amazing mommies. I love the balloon release for the other babies and their mothers...so thoughtful!

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  9. I am so sorry for your loss. I am a friend of Stephanie's and am so happy that you all had such a wonderful and meaningful day together. You are all in my prayers.
    Blessings,
    Ariane

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  10. This is just so beautiful. Carly did an amazing thing launching this day and it is wonderful to see mothers around the world being celebrated and honoured in this way. Your girls are beautiful xo

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  11. Kristin, I am in a flood of tears. This is what I had hoped for. This is more than what I hoped for!

    Thank you for sharing such a beautiful day with us! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

    xxx

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  12. I spent my day with the children I have on earth. I have lost a baby only a month ago. I am a mess most often then not. I went and had a moment to myself and cried for my baby Angel and watched a small video on YOUTUBE What makes a Mother". I miss my baby but what gives me strength is my son Kyle and daughter Katie-Lyn. I miss and love you Angel I love you!!!

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  13. I'm crying, lol. What an unforgettable day.

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  14. What an incredible way to celebrate, grieve, and remember. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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  15. Sounds beautiful Kristin, wish I could have been there too. Hugs

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  16. Your blog is a beautiful tribute to your daughter. I am deeply touched by how you three women chose to honor your babies on May 2nd. Poignantly, I ended up attending a baptism on May 2nd for a baby whose parents grieved multiple losses before this baby came along. I rejoiced with them while also thinking of the angels we all have Heaven. My thoughts and prayers are with you three women and for all mothers and fathers who have lost babies - Our grief is a complicated type of grief, and your blog is a beautiful way to share the healing process with fellow mothers (and fathers) of babies who have been taken from us too soon. Thank you!

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  17. I am so glad you ladies had such a lovely day. I didnt know of IBMD and am really feeling the grief all over again in the lead up to mothers day. So nice that u shared it together and the loss of your precious angels united u all x

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  18. What a special tribute, awesome. I love that pic of the 5 balloons in a row - stunning!!

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  19. I am so glad you 3 were able to get together and have that time.. awesome.. Many Hugs.. wish I were closer to you 3 too! xo

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  20. What a lovely day. I am so glad you got to spend it with women who can support you and love you thru it as well as you for them. I would like to send you someing in your email. you can email me at jennij74 at yahoo dot com.

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  21. So heartbreaking that this day even exists, and yet, so beautiful in sharing precious children with other mothers. I'm so glad that you were able to be supported and encouraged and treated as the beautiful mothers you are. Much love!

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  22. What a beautiful and special day and three amazing ladies. Its amazing to meet other mommies like us....hugs to you sweet girl xxx

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  23. Glad you had a day to honor these beautiful angels. So glad you had a good day.

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  24. ah your post made me cry! so beautiful. what a wonderful tribute to your girls xxx
    i am glad that you had a fantastic day, and i am so proud of what Carly has done for us all!!!!
    i only wish that i could find some BLM who live close to me now.

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  25. What a beautiful day you shared, I am so glad it went so well. You 3 are amazing women that I have been blessed to know in this blog world and FB. What a touching post, thank you for sharing your photos.

    Carly, thank you for bring all of us closer together! ((HUGS))

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  26. WOW - What an incredible experience. I wish I could have been there... What a loving tribute..
    Love to you.
    Kelly
    I've Become My Mother

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  27. I didn't even know there was such a day until I ran across the group on Facebook! I came across it in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I told my husband I just know that our angel son guided me to the site so I would be able to celebrate that day. For my husband and I both tears, laughter, and smiles were the order of the day. Tears for what might have been, laughter for the fun we had during my pregnancy, and smiles because we have an angel in heaven, and he is very much a part of us. That can never been taken away! Thanks from the bottom of my heart for having this day. Only a Mom who has lost a child truly knows the significance of the special day.

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  28. What a beautiful way to spend that special day...

    Love and Prayers...for you and all of the other mamas...you are all beautiful mothers...

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  29. What a wonderful day! I'm so glad that you could gather with these mommies and remember tpgether

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  30. What a beautiful way to spend that special mothers day...

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