[.:Shortcake:.]

Many moms coping with miscarriage find it comforting to create some kind of memorial to remember the baby lost to miscarriage. In fact, many women find that honoring the baby is a crucial part of coping with pregnancy loss. The best way to remember your baby is whatever holds the most meaning for you, but below are some suggestions of miscarriage memorial ideas.

Name the baby
Many women find that giving the baby a name -- perhaps even having a naming ceremony -- helps them find closure and grieve the baby as a real person rather than an idea. If you were too early along, choose a name that matches your gut feeling about the baby's gender or use a gender neutral name.


Wear or Make Miscarriage Memorial Jewelry
Numerous online retailers sell beautiful handmade miscarriage jewelry, such as rings and memorial pendants with angel or footprint themes. Many of these retailers are mothers themselves with personal experience with pregnancy loss. Alternatively, if you are artistically inclined, you could make your own miscarriage memorial jewelry.

Write About Your Baby
Even though what you are going through may be something you do not want to remember, getting your feelings down can be therapeutic. Writing in a journal can be like confiding in a friend who will never judge you. You might also wish to start a blog about your experience or create an online memorial page for your baby. Many women choose to write poetry or songs in honor of their babies, also.

Plant a Tree or Garden
Planting a tree or garden is a wonderful way to memorialize any lost loved one. Some women plant a tree on the anniversary of the miscarriage or on the due date of the pregnancy. If you do not have a yard or other space in which to plant a tree, or if you do not have a green thumb and fear your planted tree would not survive, numerous environmental organizations will plant a memorial tree in a state forest in return for a small donation.

Keep an Angel Statuette in Your Home
If you think of your baby as an angel, you're not alone -- many moms who have had miscarriages picture their babies as angels. Placing an angel statuette or figurine in a prominent location in your home is one way to incorporate the memory of your baby into your daily life.

Order a Memorial Plaque or Crystal
If you have a good ultrasound photo of the baby from before the miscarriage, you may wish to scan the photo and order a memorial plaque or other keepsake (such as an engraved crystal piece) to honor your baby. Several companies offer this kind of a service over the Internet.

Have a Teddy Bear or Special Pillow
Many moms long for something to hold after losing a baby to miscarriage. You may find it comforting to keep a special teddy bear, pillow, or blanket that reminds you of your baby. Some charitable organizations will provide these items to couples grieving miscarriages.

Donate to a Charitable Organization
Several charities center around increasing pregnancy loss awareness or supporting couples dealing with a miscarriage or stillbirth. Alternately you may want to donate to a charity that is meaningful to you for other reasons.

[Belita]

Thanks for that! I'm going to get his initial engraved in my wedding ring as a permanent memorial. I did a flower one at the place where we got married, but I want a permanent one and DH didn't do any engraving in my wedding bands. I figure our children's initials will be perfect for inside the bands, especially for my angel as it'll be something secret and special to make sure he's always with me.

[StacieRN]

What a great idea Robyn! That is a very special way to have part of him close to you always.

I have a necklace (the back is actually in my siggy) the front says his name and birthday and has mine, hubby and his birthstones. the back says "too beautiful for Earth". Anna has a necklace that says Anna loves Kayden (she told us what to write on it ) and dh has a bracelet that has "daddy's fighter" and his name and birthdate. Just wearing that has helped me to heal in it's own way.

[JessP]

Those are all great ladies. I know I have my tattoo and have planted two trees one for each angel in our yard. I also did build a bears for them.

[StacieRN]

Originally Posted by JessP

Those are all great ladies. I know I have my tattoo and have planted two trees one for each angel in our yard. I also did build a bears for them.

I'm planning a tattoo also. I think it will just be his name but I'm not sure yet..It will go on my ribs by my heart. do you have a pic of your tattoo?

[Brittanie]

I have a pair of emerald earrings for Cora. Not only is emerald her birth stone, but they're Mt. St. Helen's emeralds. We bought the original pair (I'm on my 3rd pair as the settings were cheap and they kept getting lost. Matt got the current emeralds reset in a real setting from Zales for my birthday in 2009) at a Yellowstone gift shop. It had a description that said the emeralds were made from ash from the eruption, and that it seemed significant that they became the color of the evergreen trees...beauty and the color of life from destruction and lifelessness.

I've planted irises here in honor of Cora, and hopefully we get blooms for memorial day, and I'm planning on taking them to put on the graves of babies in the nearby cemetery in honor of Cora.

[.:Shortcake:.]

My living room is decorated in angels for my angels. I also have a tattoo in memory of my baby boy Noah. I also have a ring with his birthstone that I wear 24/7.