Tangible Reminders of Hailey

As I often write, the things I fear or worry about the most are forgetting Hailey, other people forgetting or not knowing Hailey, etc. - basically, if life were to be like Hailey never existed.

To help me 'overcome' these things I have several tangible reminders of her that I wear. And as much as I'm not a materialistic person, these items do mean the world to me. I'm holding on to anything I can that reminds me of her. My pictures, the clay imprint of Hailey's hand, my jewelry...tangible reminders.

When several of my teacher friends learned about Hailey's diagnosis of Trisomy 18 and that she didn't have much time with us, they came together and arranged for me to have a beautiful, unique reminder of Hailey in a necklace. This pendant necklace is made of silver and has Hailey's name written on the front (and "munchkin" on the back). The best part of it is that the woman who made it was able to take a scanned image of Hailey's footprint from the hospital and make it into a miniaturized imprint in the silver pendant. Here is a picture of it. I absolutely love it! My little Hailey's footprint :)



The next reminder I wear is the locket I bought after Hailey had passed away. Below is a picture of the locket and you can see Hailey's picture inside. The other 'charms' on the necklace are very significant to me also. The pink butterfly is another reminder of Hailey - I bought it for 'symbolic' meaning to wear to Hailey's memorial service. The diamond heart was the first piece of jewelry Josh bought me when we started dating (almost 9 years old now!). Lastly, the silver cross is from my dad and reminds me of him and my faith.



This next picture is Josh's locket he had made to put on his dog tags.



Next, this is the charm bracelet a woman bought me (I don't know her at all, but she was a co-worker of my mom's) and gave to me as a gift at Hailey's memorial service. The silver heart is engraved with Hailey's name.



Lastly, after Hailey passed away and I began looking for ways to help me remember Hailey and share her story, I found this bracelet from the Trisomy 18 Foundation. The 3 purple crystals represent the 3 copies of the 18th chromosome Hailey had. The 2 blue crystals represent Hailey's birth (they are the color of her birthstone - topaz for December). The 18 pearl stones represent the chromosome affected - the 18th.



I love wearing these pieces of jewelry because I feel like Hailey is still with me everyday, every where I go. I also love wearing them because it lets the world know that I have a daughter named Hailey, and if they ask me, I can tell them all about her... :) ..oh, and no I don't wear them all every day :)

On a slightly different note...I don't mind my stretch marks all that much anymore either - they are a good reminder of Hailey, that she comes from mine and Josh's flesh and blood, and the 9 months I spent 'carrying' my beautiful baby girl.