Pregnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.
But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.
This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of almost 7,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and twenty-five countries. At a family’s request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby.
Departure of our boys to foreign parts with the ever-present possibility that they might never return, taught the real value of photography to every father and mother. To many a mother the photograph of her boy in his country’s uniform was the one never-failing consolation.” -Louis Fabian Bachrach
The last thing on your mind when your wife or husband arrives home after a 4 to 18 month tour, is capturing all this love– on film.
Most people are so overwhelmed with emotions they forget to simply point and shoot the camera they are grasping of their child’s first hug, or that single tear of relief from a mother being able to hold her twenty year old son again. With the help of Operation: Love ReUnited and local photographers near your base, you can.
If you are a member or family member of the United States Military, and are interested in having very special and touching images
with a patriotic edge taken of you and/or your family before a deployment or during, and at your reunion, please contact a photographer in your area now.
Littlest Heroes Project is a nonprofit organization made up of professional photographers nationwide who provide free photo sessions to our nations littlest heroes. “This is our way of giving back and taking a stand for these children who sometimes feel forgotten because of their illnesses.” Founder Felicia Reinhard wanted to find a way to let them know that they are heroes to many, and to share their inspirational stories and photos with the world. To meet the Littlest Heroes, visit www.littlestheroesproject.org/
American Child Photographers Charity Guild is a non-profit, volunteer based organization of child photographers from all over the country who have come together to form a guild dedicated to children in need and their families. As some circumstances are critical, we understand that time is crucial and will do the very best to accommodate any family in need. There are no fees for this service.