August 19th Day Of Hope

August 19th 2011

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Friday August 19th 2011 marks the 3rd anniversary of the founding of Christian's Beach.

August 19th is about honouring and remembering the lives of babies and children that could not stay with us. By doing this we are speaking out about the death of babies whether it is through pregnancy, infant or even child loss.

Please visit our awareness flower gallery to find out more about our day.

Remembering Babies and Children

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Daughter

Daughters

Son

Sons

Baby

Babies

Children

August 19th Awareness Gallery

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In society pregnancy, infant and child loss is seen as a taboo subject.

Why is this?

August 19th is a day to break down the walls of society that keep pregnancy, infant and child loss a hush hush subject. People view the death of a baby as just a sad thing that happened.

These babies that die are not sad things that happen. They are people, much loved and wanted children. They are brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandsons and granddaughters.

August 19th is about openly speaking about these children and celebrating their short lives.

By having this special day once a year we get people speaking about pregnancy, infant and child loss. And by doing this we break those walls down so that people are not afraid to speak about these children anymore.

If you would like to show your support to this cause please use one of our awareness flower images. You can use the images on your own blog or website. Please feel welcome to post one of our awareness images as your profile picture of facebook, myspace or twitter.

So why August 19th? Click here to read about this very special date.

Below are our different categories of awareness flowers.

Babies and Children

Babylost Parents

Godparents

Grandparents

Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss

NICU Babies That Never Came Home

Nieces and Nephews

Speaking Out

Siblings

Stillborn Babies

Nieces and Nephews

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Niece

Nieces

Nephew

Nephews

Niece and Nephew

Babylost Parents

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Still a Father

Still a Mother

Babylost Father

Babylost Mother

Stillborn Babies

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Stillborn Babies

Stillborn Daughter

Stillborn Son

Stillborn Sons

Grandparents

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My Granddaughters Died

My Granddaughter Died

My Grandson Died

My Grandsons Died

My Grandchildren Died

I Am Not Afraid To Speak About...

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Child Loss

Stillbirth

Infant Loss

Pregnancy Loss

Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Flowers

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The August 19th Day of Hope
Awareness Flower

Multiple Miscarriages

Single Miscarriage

NICU Babies That Never Came Home

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My Son

My Sons

My Daughter

My Daughters

My Babies

My Nephew

My Nephews

My Niece

My Nieces

Grandson

Granddaughters

Grandbabies

Grandsons

For Godparents

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Godchildren in Heaven

Godchild in Heaven

Godson in Heaven

Godsons in Heaven

Goddaughter in Heaven

Goddaughters in Heaven

For Siblings

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My Brother Died

My Brothers Died

My Brother is in Heaven

My Brothers are in Heaven

My Sister Died

My Sisters Died

My Sister is in Heaven

My Sisters are in Heaven

My Brother and Sister Died

I have Siblings in Heaven

Website Postcard For Memory Boxes

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Please feel welcome to copy and paste this image to your computer.
You have the photographers permission to print the image to place within your memory box.

Ideas For Memory Boxes

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Choose a strong card box, something that will last the
years to follow.

Write a short message on the card. Let the family know that they
are not alone. Also remember to write that this memory box was donated
in loving memory of your child.

If you have trouble finding a card you can visit our Lost For Words Card Line and have a look there.

We have cards created especially for memory boxes,
you can find them on the right hand side bar of this website.

This will give the family the option of taking their own photos.
They are a great back up to have.

No matter what season it is, a newly bereaved parent
only ever wants their child to be warm and secure.

Photos are probably the most treasured thing a family can keep after
they say goodbye to their child.

If you decide to include a photo frame in your memory box, place a beautiful photo inside.
It could be anything, a photo of a tree, flower or a sunset are just a few ideas.

The family can replace your photo with a photo of their child,
but they are also able to keep your photo.

Including a glass candle holder will give the family something to place in their home.
They can light as many candles as they want and by doing this the memory
of their child will stay alive in their home and hearts.

Just before we had Christian a friend of mine gave us some candles.
They were strawberry scented. In all honesty I have never loved strawberry
scented candles. But now they mean so much to me. When your baby dies you hold
onto anything that reminds you of your child. When I smell a strawberry candle
burning, I am taken back to the time that my son was in my arms.

When choosing a scented candle, choose a scent that is traditional and readily available.
The family that receives your memory box will be able to find the same scented candle to burn throughout the future.

Think about including a special ornament.
Some families remember their babies by symbols. I find Christian in sea birds.
Some people have butterflies, ladybugs, stones or seashells as their child's symbol.
Having a symbol for your child helps in the healing process and it is a beautiful
way to remember them by.

Include two blankets. One for the baby to be wrapped in
and one for the family to take home with them.

Somewhere in the box it would be so lovely if you would leave our web address
so that the family is directed the wonderful community we have here on the internet.

Please feel welcome to copy and paste the above image to your computer. You have the photographers permission to print the image and place it within your memory box.

Why August 19th?

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In the early hours of August 19th 2008 I dreamed of my son for the first time since he was born asleep on Australia Day (January 26th) of 2007. It had been just over 18 months since we had said hello and goodbye all in one breath.

I dreamed I saw my son with his two friends that had also passed away only a short time before he did. The three of them were playing on the beach together. As I got closer to them they ran off up into the sand dunes. They were laughing and from what I could tell they were having the greatest of times.

When I got to the point that they were playing I saw that they had written their names in the sand.

I felt drawn to the beach. To write his name.

On that very same day in Melbourne Australia a little girl by the name of Hope was born asleep. She was born at the very same time that I was at the beach writing Christian's name for the first time. Hope was a miracle. She may not have taken a breath but she was perfect and so loved by her beautiful family. Some weeks later Hope's Mother Sally contacted me as she stumbled across my blog post about the dream that I had. My blog post was titled Tuesday's Hope. Sally and I have been friends ever since then. August 19th, the anniversary of the birth of Christian's legacy it is also the anniversary of Hope's birth and death and therefore I name this day after her.

It was from the dream that my son Christian's legacy began. To Write Their Names In The Sand honours and remembers young lives lost. Since that day back in 2008 Christian's legacy has honoured over 11,500 young lives.

So on August 19th every year we will celebrate Christian's legacy and all children that are gone from our arms too soon. We will break down the walls of society so that the death of a baby whether it be through pregnancy or infant loss is no longer taboo subject.

We invite you to raise awareness by copying a Day of Hope Flower to you facebook, twitter, myspace, blog or website page.

Miscarriage Comfort Packs

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One in four pregnancies end in a death.

What a horrible statistic.

Too often women leave a hospital or doctors surgery with a shattered heart and empty womb. They have nothing to remember their child by as they never got to hold them. If you have suffered a miscarriage and would like to do something to help someone else who will go through the same thing, you could create a comfort pack to give to a hospital or even Obstetrician rooms and GP rooms.

Comfort packs can be very simple.

You could include a poem along with a card to let the person know they are not alone.