Feb 2015
This month is my nephew’s birthday. Alexander Paul Mayo today would be his 9th birthday. I send my love and wishes to him in heaven. I think of him often and in honor of his memory I have made and donated some Snoedel Dolls and baby gowns to a local hospital NICU for families who also experience early loss. Hugs and kisses to my sister and her husband on this day.

Quilts and Blankets –

I’m not very good at finishing a quilt but I enjoy making the quilt top.   Most of the quilt designs are from online searches and basic quilting books from the public library.  In a few designs, it just me playing around with one basic quilt shape and coming up with a creative border. 

Last year I played around with crochet round baby blankets and I made one in a shape of a star but I do not remember what I did with the photo.  It turned out pretty but counting the stitches in each row was annoying so I’m not sure if I’m going to make another star blanket.  

Burial Wraps –

These are sad items but there are babies that are born very tiny.  Heavenly Angels In Need receives a lot of requests for this small wraps for babies under 1 pound.  Most of the patterns I find are from Bev’s Country Cottage charity pattern website. 

 

 

 

Specialty Dolls – Medical Learning Dolls
Medical Learning Dolls also known as surgical dolls are sent to Children Hospitals.  Doctors and nurses used them to help explain to children what to expect during and after their surgery.  My last batch of dolls were sent to John Hopkin’s Children Center in Baltimore, MD.

Specialty Dolls – Snoedel Dolls
I make Snoedels for a hospital in North Carolina.  What are Snoedels?  Here’s the explanation from www.snoedel.com. 

The very first Snoedel was created by a Dutch woman inspired by the birth of a friend’s premature infant. The Dutch word “snoedel” means “snuggle”. The body is 100% cotton flannel, the head is stuffed with pure clean and carded sheeps wool; Snoedels can be safely machine washed and dried. After being washed, a Snoedel should be re-infused with the parents’ scent.

Snoedels bring comfort as “Aromatherapy of the very best kind – the scent of a mom”. They are designed specifically to absorb and retain a mother’s (or father’s) scent. Then when held or placed near a newborn or infant the scent is slowly released to comfort the baby, thus improving sleep, aiding in bonding, and soothing a baby’s crying or distress. A parent (preferably the mother) should sleep with the soft Snoedel for a couple of nights prior to giving the Snoedel to the baby. Snoedels can be “infused” this way before the baby is born, especially if a premature birth is anticipated, so that the baby can be given the Snoedel soon after birth when taken from mom and placed in an incubator.

 

 

Tiny Baby Shoes/Slippers –
I ran across the Bitty Booties design by Heather Baily.  The pattern is found on http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/BittyBooties.pdf.  I took the pattern and reduce it to fit preemie and micro-preemie babies.

My first knitted bootie

 

My first try at crocheting a bootie

 

 

 

Christening Bibs –
I found this pattern through Bev’s Country Cottage at  http://web.archive.org/web/20071214095957/http://www.geocities.com/bbcrafty_17/preemiebib.html and really wished I had one of these made for my nephews.  They were baptized in the hospital but they did not have anything special to wear for the occasion.  I donated all my bibs to Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD so that the babies at least have a baptismal bib.