Monday, August 16, 2010
I need your help
Okay I need you help! I was asked to put together a memory book for a baby boy who lost his mother 5 days after he was born. I would love some of your ideas on your favorite pages that would fit this book! It is all so that he can learn some about his mom as he grows up! I can't do all of the things I am thinking about so I want to choose the one that are the most meaningful/helpful. Just leave me a comment or send me a message! Thanks!
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32 comments:
Hi Karlee, that is so sad, but wonderful that you get to provide a beautiful album for the little boy to know who his Mommy was! Definately have to include her childhood, school years (in short) and the pregnancy....did she keep a journal? I did when I was pregnant. That is a wonderful thing you are doing!!
Karlee,
That is very kind of you to put together a book for him. I lost my mom when I was 3 and I was giving notes/stories about her to help me remember.
I do not know if you could have people write notes.stories then make the book around that. I know that I learned a lot about my mom with the notes.
You might want to go to the family and friends, and ask them about her life. As a child, teenager, bride, and then wantinf to be a Mom. This way he will know who his Mom was, also include stories and pics of her. Just a thought!
Thinking about what the othter posters wrote, I came up with asking family/friends for their favorite photo of the mom and then asking them to write why its their favorite. Obviously, if they didn't have a photo they could write their favorite memory of her. I would focus on what you find most interesting about your mother and try to put that information in the album.
Pictures of her while she was pregnant with him, so he can see how much he was wanted and loved.
And pics of her with his dad.
Show her during happy times.
Thanks for doing this.
Nanabugaboo
So thoughtful of you.
1. the pregnancy (the plans the mother had, nicknames she had for the baby, cravings, etc)
2. her childhood (friends, hobbies, home)
3. her marriage (the wedding, the engagement, etc)
Oh Karlee, what an honor! This will be something he will treasure forever.
I suggest pictures or stories of all her defining moments in life. Hopefully, there is a picture of her with her baby that I would end it with. Hopefully, she journaled and that would make an awesome page.
Good luck, Karlee!
Mary R.
maryatrievleydotcom
I have a friend doing the very same thing for her brother .... I would be more than happy to put you and her in touch with each other for brainstorming and seeing what she has so far and she would probably appreciate your ideas, too. Just let me know.
I would dedicate a page or two to his mom's favorite holiday and what she did to make it special and why it was her favorite.
A memory box full of all the little things that were important to her as she grew up, planned her future, etc. Often it is the little things that end up bing more important than the big events. Like a decorated hat box that every day he could find something new ?
My boys lost their Daddy when they were 4. I made memory books for each of my boys with pictures of them and their Daddy. I had four years so it is a little different. I like the idea of getting family and friends to write something about his Mom and special pictures.
What a great thing you are doing. If he is like my boys when he gets older he will love it. My boys are now only 8 and I find them every now and then just being quite and looking at their "Daddy" book as they call them.
You certainly got a lot of good ideas from these wonderful ladies. I would include her favorite color, her favorite kinds of food, and maybe a phrase or 2 of something she always said. Maybe a poem she wrote, or her favorite song. Someone on this post said its all about the little things, and it is very true. Her favorite hobby, favorite place, and how much she couldn't wait till her baby was born!
What a beautiful legacy. Include the things she loved: to do, to look at, to visit, to think about, to read...the things she loved. That is what I would want my children to know, and remember. Sad to think that one day it will happen. To be a mother is a beautiful thing.
Ask friends for photos as well. Some people besides family will have photos of her that could caputre candid glimpses of her life.
Also friends or depending on her age the Teachers that she had in high school or college might have little something cool to say about her that isn't known other places.
Karlee - It is wonderful that you are doing this! My parents passed away when I was very little and I know very little about them. I wish I had pictures of them when they were young, knew what they loved doing everyday, what their hobbies or favorites things were. If people have stories to tell about her - tell them. Anything that makes her feel real, It's the everyday things that will mean the most to this little boy.
Hi Karlee~~What a tragic situation but hopefully your memory book will help this child remember & connect with his Mom & her memories in the years to come.
What about just a simple page about the Mom's favorite things ~ like her favorite food, her fav colour, her fav music/song, her fav flower, her fav book, etc.
I think that would be wonderful to have for anyone creating a scrapbook/memory book for a loved one :) Hope you're able to post some of the pics once it's complete.
It is very nice to put together a larger book for later in his life, but you should also put together something small and very durable that he will be able to carry around with him when he is a little older (one or two range). It should just have simple photos of her that he will be able to talk about. It is a tough process. I had to do this last year for my cousin's 4 small children (all under 5) who lost their mommy to cancer. Your work will be greatly appreciated for years to come.
What a tough situation... Maybe you could include cd / dvd pockets in the back and ask the family for a disk full of pictures (pre-digital pictures are so easy to scan these days) and if they have them, videos of his mom. It's always so hard to scrap every picture / memory, but photo / video disks could help. You could even turn the photos into a DVD show with her favorite music playing in the background. Also, maybe you could do a page about what mommy smelled like... her favorite perfume or her shampoo. Scent can be a wonderful memory.
May God bless you for doing this!
~ JD ~
As I was reading through these I was thinking of her favorite perfume too! I wear the same perfume all the time. I babysat my friends baby one day and later that day her big sister, who is just 5 years old, got home from school. My friend said she hugged the baby and said "She smells like Miss Angela!" Scents can envoke so many memories!
Bless you for doing this for this little boy.
Hey Karlee, what a wonderful, emotional task you have taken on. Whatever you come up with will surely be great. As I read through everyone else's comments (which are all terrific ideas) I just thought that maybe include some fun stories from her parents and/or siblings that reflect her growing up years. My Mom loves to tell stories about when my siblings & myself were young, including some of the bad stuff that now is just a 'fun' memory. It could make him (in the future, obviously) feel a connection to her while he is growing up, in that she probably had her mischievous moments too. Sorry this is sooo long. Just a thought. Thank you for doing this for this little guy, he will be forever greatful (even if he does not know it).
Oh My Goodness Karlee, how heartbreaking. Poor darling. That must be hard for you to have to do but at the same time so wonderful that he will have something of his mother. I would do her as a child, her pregnancy, family and friends, things like that. Best of Luck.
Dear Karlee ... I knew you were special from the moment I saw you! What you are doing is so loving and thoughtful.
I agree with all the suggestions that you've received so far ... Lot's of pictures, fond memories from family and friends, and maybe a scrap from a favorite article of clothing / blanket / stuffed animal.
When my brother passed away over 10 years ago, I made a collage of his life for my sister in-law. He owned a TV repair shop, so I made a foam core board look like a television set, and put all the pictures on the screen.
Lucy
I have a friend whose son was killed in an accident and he had an 8 month old little girl. She sent out something to all the people that knew her son and asked them to write down a special memory of him for his daughter. She is going to then make a scrapbook of all the stories that people send her.
WOW super touching thing to do. I would say put a lot of pic of mom pregnant. ALSO, every picture you have of the two of them. OMG I can not wait to see how it turns out. WOW such a great heartwarming thing to do. Best wishes.
Steph
You will have to use pix. But as important as, or maybe more than, are stories about his mom. Maybe you could collect stories of her life from her family and friends. Then add them to pages in the book. Maybe they could be in pockets between pages. Use stories that will tell him who his mom was. I hope this helps. Will you share it with us after it's finished? Maybe not, if the family doesn't want you to. Well, good luck sweetie.
Hugs, Jess
If her parents/bothers/sister a alive ask them about stories from each year as she grew up that might make him think about how he has many of her traits. I really like the idea that someone said to make a smaller book of photos of her for him now that he can connect to her with. Great idea. So sad to lose a parent so young!
What a great thing you get to do, I would suggest you interview the people who knew her best, adding their favorite memories of her and what made her special to them and maybe even the things they see in him that make them know she is still with him. Obvesly pictures pictures and more pictures but I think the stories will bring him the most comfort as he gets older.
start with her grandparents (if still around) and her parents as they are the oldest and might not be around much as he grows. Then school friends and life long friends, people who knew the family as she grew-up.
What a great thing your doing.
http://auntiemargsblog.blogspot.com/
These are all great ideas, I'm also making one for my nice who's mother died when my nice was born.
Karlee please post pic when you are done. I would love to see it.
Best of Luck.
You might want to keep some pages blank so people could write notes or he could write to her.
Oh Karlee what a dear to do this for the little one. I was thinking that maybe you could include baby pictures of the mom as a baby showing how maybe they look alot alike. And lots of words of special words of love from his Mommy. Sandy N
Karlee, CM use to have a kit to send out to friends and family. So they can write on acid free paper, for occasions like these.Every one sent pics in with detail on the back, If there were scrappers they did their own layout and sent it in. That way you don't have to do all the work.
Another thing you can do is have a scrap night with friends that will help you after all the people send back their pics and notes.
one important thing to focus on is what his mommy enjoyed, things she loved and what she did, her history, this will be so important to him as he grows up. And funny thing, children tend to be LIKE their parents so as he matures he may notice because of having this history on paper, that he shares some of the same likes, dislikes, habits. etc.
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