My Forever Child, Susan Mosquera

My Forever Child
by Susan Mosquera


You are a Precious Child
Created out of love,
a blessing from above.
I've adored you from the start,
and your little footprints touched my heart.
A single teardrop represents the millions I have cried.
My life never the same since you died.
I wish you could have stayed longer with me,
I'd watch you grow into all you could be.
Although we are apart,
You are always in my heart.
I dream of a joyful time when
we will be reunited once again.
Thoughts of you make me smile.
You will always be My Forever Child

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about the piece.
We didn’t have many mementos when our son Matthew was stillborn, it was a complete shock to us. The hospital took one professional photo and placed his ink footprints on one keepsake card, that I promptly framed. After Matthew passed away, I wanted to make a sterling silver bracelet with charms symbolic of his life and story. From the few photos we had, and the framed footprints, I encased miniature versions in resin. I engraved a heart charm with his name and birthdate, and added a small baby footprint charm, a blue chalcedony healing tears charm, a real forget me not flower in a cross shape, and a real mini rosebud to symbolize that he was a perfect bud, but never bloomed on earth. It was incredibly healing to make such a special keepsake for myself in memory of Matthew. I love having a tangible way to reflect on Matthew’s presence in my life, and that I am able to show to others. --Susan

about the artist.
Susan Mosquera and her husband Rich live in East Northport, New York. Their son, Matthew Kristopher, was stillborn at 38 weeks from a complete placental abruption due to Factor V Leiden. Matthew is forever loved and missed by his parents, brothers and sister. Susan is a Graduate Gemologist, and jewelry artisan. Since 2005 Susan has been making personalized jewelry and remembrance keepsakes to comfort those touched by the life of a child, available at My Forever Child.

Ring for Soren, Raquel

Ring for Soren.
Raquel.
Silver

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about the piece.
I'm in the process of making a ring for my husband to commemorate our son Sidney.  It's acid etched with a sunburst pattern on the band.  The weekend before we discovered Sidney's illness I had my belly painted at the Oregon Country Fair with Sidney's "image" floating in a solar system womb.  The photos we took that day have become our only family photos, and now the sun and stars are a special reminder of our son.  Our son's name and two hearts, one inside the other are on the inside of the ring.  The hearts are a nod to EE Cummings' poem "I carry your heart with me", which describes nicely how I feel about Sidney.  The ring is sitting on a cloth heart filled with dried flowers that I made at a Jizo ceremony. -Raquel

about the artist.

Raquel's son, Sidney Lev, was stillborn at 31 weeks on July 20th, 2010.  She writes in her blog once in a while at Permission to Dance

Dragonfly Necklace, Sophie.

Dragonfly Necklace.
Sophie.
Jewelry.

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about this piece.
Sophie describes this piece, "I made this necklace sometime last year for my babylost mama friend Anna from 'A Garden For Butterflies'.  We had shared a significant part of our journey together and I thought about her baby Toren often.   My Jordan's symbol is a dragonfly and Toren's is butterflies, so when I found them represented in beads I bought them and settled down one afternoon to make this necklace.   I designed and rethreaded this necklace over and over as I thought about our journey together and our babies.  When I was finished, I wrapped it in some special gift wrap and tied it with a pink ribbon covered in dragonflies and sent this gift to Anna.

"Before I had my children, I worked full time in a bead store making jewelery and taught others how to make jewelry.  I heard over and over again from customers what good therapy it was to thread beads.  They were right. It felt good to make something that represented our babes and then to share it. I hope to do more.  Thank you for letting me share this, Anna, and for being such a lovely, supportive friend. xx"

about the contributor.
Sophie's daughter Jordan was born very ill and died five and half months later after a long battle.   Her story is told in Faraday's Garden . She is remembered by her parents, Aaron and Sophie and her brothers Caelan and Jasper.

Jasper's Bracelet, Jenni

Jasper's Bracelet.
Jenni.
Jewelry.

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about the piece.
Jenni describes her piece, "This was my bracelet of magical thinking. Early in my pregnancy with Angel Mae, I really thought she was a boy. We had danger signs all through the first trimester, but we were determined to hope for the best, and I got very into researching names, especially boy names. "Jasper" was on my early list. Jasper is also a stone that supposedly conveys the metaphysical properties of balance, protection, and determination. I made this bracelet from tiny jasper beads and thread. I was trying to help myself think positive and feel protected. I wore it for a couple of days, and then felt stupid and took it off. I think that was the end of my pregnancy innocence - realizing there was almost nothing I could do to protect the baby or to change the course of the pregnancy. After I delivered her, I hid the bracelet from myself - I couldn't bear to look at it, and I couldn't have felt less protected. It resurfaced recently, and I've placed it on my little girl's altar. It no longer holds such a charge of failure to me, but simply represents her mommy's very best intentions."

about the contributor.
Jenni's daughter, Angel Mae, was delivered prematurely at 20 weeks on February 28, 2009. She writes about her grief journey, and about adventures in step-mothering, at Demeter's Feet.

Big Sister, Tina

Big Sister.
Tina.
Hand stamped

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about the piece.
In Tina's words, "Losing our twins, Sophia & Ellie, affected our entire family. We all felt various emotions and wished things to be differently. Our daughter Emma, who was almost 5 at the time, was so very sad that she missed her opportunity to be a big sister. I reassured her that she is still a big sister but just in a special way. I wanted her to have something she could wear that announced that she is indeed a big sister, so I made this necklace that she so proudly displays around her neck. (And I must say that I think she is one of the best ever because she sings a song and blows kisses to Sophia & Ellie every night before she drifts off to sleep.)"

about the contributor.
Tina lives in California and is married to Hutch. They have 2 living children, Brady 12 and Emma 5. Her identical twins, Sophia & Ellie, were born in April 2009 at just 21weeks gestation. She is learning to navigate through this world without two of her children by her side. Tina is hoping to bring Sophia's & Ellie's baby sister safely into this world this summer.

Tina writes about her journey at Living Without Sophia and Ellie and sells this piece and more in her etsy shop, Mama Mia.

Sophia & Ellie's necklace, Tina

Sophia and Ellie's Necklace, 2009
Tina
Sterling silver metalwork

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about the piece.
In Tina's words, "Immediately after losing my twins, Sophia and Ellie, I wanted so badly to have a piece of jewelry to represent them. Two days after delivering them, I was home alone for a short time. I went into my studio, stamped their names on a disc, and after a couple revisions, I came up with this piece. Wearing it brings me comfort and connects me to my babies who cannot be here with me."

about the contributor.
Tina is married to Hutch and has two living children. She lives in California in the United States. Her identical twins, Sophia and Ellie, were born in April 2009 at just 21weeks gestation. She is learning to navigate through this world without two of her children by her side. Tina is hoping to bring Sophia's and Ellie's sibling safely into this world this summer.

Tina writes about her journey at Living Without Sophia and Ellie and sells this piece and more in her etsy shop, Mama Mia.