I just happened to notice two visitors found this blog by searching for “stillborn birth announcements.” And since I’m already in the sharing things I wish I didn’t know about mode…
I went around and around about sending out announcements. After all, pretty much anyone I would send them to already knew what had happened. My family has a good communication network. But, I finally realized that Lennox and Zoe deserved that formal recognition.
But…there aren’t many examples to work with. Oh, sure, you can find tons of annoucements for babies who came home. Bazillions of them in just about any style you can imagine. Ones for twins…slightly fewer, but only slightly. Ones for babies who died or were stillborn? A small handful. Ones for babies who lived three days or three weeks? Yeah, not so many. I don’t have the link here at work, but when I get home I’ll update this with the link to the website I did find. I started with their examples and went from there. Update card examples
After many, many rewrites, we came up with something that we felt truly expressed our situation. We started with the idea that you can’t understand beauty, joy, happiness, anything fully unless you have it’s opposite to compare to. Yin and Yang, balance in everything.
“To know perfect joy, you must sometimes experience the deepest sorrow.
Allison and Shannon sadly announce the early arrival and passing of our children, Lennox and Zoe. They were here for far too short a time, but they taught us to feel perfect joy and their absence fills us with the deepest sorrow.
Zoe Harper Simpson 1 pound 10.4 ounces January 3, 2008 – January 24, 2008
Lennox Maximilian Simpson 1 pound 13.2 ounces January 3, 2008 – January 5, 2008″
We also included a separate slip of paper with information about their memorial fund.
I don’t know if that helps those two people who came here, I hope so. I’m sorry you have to do that particular search. I hope you do send out announcements though. It will be incredibly painful. Each envelope you seal, address and stamp will be like another papercut-sharp reminder, but every single one, every person who receives that announcement is another person who remembers with you.
Wow, I admire that you were able to do that. I never could have addressed those envelopes. But you are right, your twins deserve the recognition. I think your message was beautiful.
beautiful allison. thanks for sharing this.
We find our greatest strength in adversity to our greatest weakness.
I thought the card you sent was beautiful. We have it in our kitchen on the invitation/announcement board. You are right–every child deserves to be honoured and announced to the world.
It was a beautiful card and is in our album.
Oh god, I wish I could give you a big, giant hug. That was beautiful.
I lost my twin boys, one on March 8th, 2008 and one on April 7th, 2008. I can’t write about this just yet, I’m barely holding on as it is. I’m sorry for your loss but it is nice (and sad) knowing that i am not alone.