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At the beginning of the year, I went to a national trade show where I learned about an organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. It is a truly amazing foundation for infant bereavement.
Can you imagine the excitement, anticipation, and joy of finding out you are pregnant. The amazing journey of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. This is the celebration we feel when a baby is born.
But now imagine the heartbreak, grief, and pain of losing a precious new family member. When a baby dies a world is turned upside down. When you should have been celebrating, you are in sorrow. A hurt so indescribable, that you feel nothing will ever heal.
The idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of more than 5,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and nineteen International countries. At a family's request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby. This service is thiers completely at no cost.

Please check out the website at www.nilmdts.org.
And due to the nature of this I can not show you any photos on the blog since they are so personal and precious to the families.