Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

So, a couple of years ago I joined this wonderful non-profit organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. It is a group of photographers who do infant bereavement photography. It was very new when I had joined at first, and I never had anyone call me to do any pictures. Partly, I was okay with that, because to be honest, I wasn't sure if I really would be able to do it. After I moved here to Vegas, I had a few calls from Salt Lake, as I was still listed as a photographer up there. Anyway, I have a friend who is a nurse here in Vegas, and I asked her if she would be willing to come with me if I got called to do this type of photography, just to be moral support at the minimum, and more than likely to help handle the baby. Sometimes I think about it and think I would have no problems, but at other times I just think I might break down and start crying for the poor family who is just about to lose their precious child, or who have already lost him/her.

I have had people ask why I want to do this. I just can't imagine being in that situation of having a terminally ill baby, or having just lost a baby. It just breaks my heart to know how increadable often this happens. People don't think about getting their newborn photographed if he/she is sick in the hospital and probably won't live. On the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep website, there is a part that says, "The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation is there for partents and families to help aid them in their healing, bring hope to their future, and honor to their child. It is through rememberance that a family can truly begin to heal".

I hope and pray I never have to experience that, but for those who haven't been so fortunate, I feel it's the least I could do.

Anyway, I just re-joined with them to be listed here in Vegas and have just been thinking about it all, so decided to do an entry here on it. If you haven't seen their website, it's www.nilmdts.com There's a very emotional slideshow of the founder's baby. The link to that is: https://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/~nowilaym/pageDisplay.php?page=23