The death of a baby before or soon after its birth is always a difficult loss. You may be the mother or father of the baby, or perhaps his or her grandparent, or brother or sister. Whatever your relationship to the baby, you are the only person who fully understands what the loss means to you, and how you feel. For many people, one of the hardest parts of grieving for a baby is the lack of acknowledgement of their loss from other people. Somehow it seems hard for others to imagine that the loss of someone so tiny can cast such a big shadow. As parents, choosing a name for your baby, no matter how short his or her life was, is an important way of remembering that life in this world, and in your life. It is usually possible to have your baby with you, no matter how small, for some time before he or she is buried or cremated. If you have older children, encourage them to see the baby.

Memorial for Stillborn Babies

A leaf engraved with your baby’s name and a short message can be installed on the memorial for stillborn babies at Maunu Park Cemetery free of charge. This can be arranged directly through Whangarei District Council or by contacting us at Morris & Morris Funerals.

Keep Sakes

Keep the memory of your baby close to you by having their ashes enclosed in a unique glass Remembrance Sphere. This permanent commemoration has the colour of your choice at its centre, with the ashes appearing as a subtle scattering of soft white powder. The beauty of the design is further enhanced by the addition of lustrous lines of dichroic glass which together with the ashes spiral upwards. The completed sphere is ground and polished at its base and a name, dates and a message can be engraved on it. Your Remembrance Sphere comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a presentation box. There are seven colour choices: hyacinth, emerald, cerulean, gold ruby, teal, olive and amethyst. You can find these at the Remembrance Glass website.

A photo of baby’s name written in the sand or on a shell is a simple memory you can create yourself. For a very special keepsake of your baby that you will always treasure, castings of their hands and feet capture all the little details such as wrinkles and fingernails. This service is available through Morris & Morris Funerals.

Other Options

Our keepsakes range from photo frames, small urns, jewellery, coloured glass spheres and touch stones which allow a small amount of ashes to be used.

Please Note: The jewellery, touchstones and glass spheres all need to be sent off-site to be made.

Poems

To the Child in My Heart

O precious, tiny, sweet little one
You will always be to me
So perfect, pure, and innocent
Just as you were meant to be.

We dreamed of you and of your life
And all that it would be
We waited and longed for you to come And join our family.

We never had the chance to play,
To laugh, to rock, to wiggle.
We long to hold you, touch you now
And listen to you giggle.

I’ll always be your mother.
He’ll always be your dad.
You will always be our child,
The child that we had.

But now you’re gone…but yet you’re here.
We sense you everywhere.
You are our sorrow and our joy.
There’s love in every tear.

Just know our love goes deep and strong.
We’ll forget you never–
The child we had, but never had,
And yet will have forever.

– Author: C.P.

Angel

I’ve lost a child,
I hear myself say,
And the person I’m talking to just turns away.

Now why did I tell them,
I don’t understand.
It wasn’t for sympathy or to get a helping hand

I just want them to know
I’ve lost something dear
I want them to know that my Child was here.

My Baby left something behind
that no one can see.
So, if I’ve upset you,
I’m sorry as can be.

You’ll have to forgive me,
I could not resist.
I just want you to know
that my child did exist.

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