Bonnie Babies: Helping to Nurture Premature Children
Bonnie Babies is there when grieving or frightened parents need to know someone cares.
There's nothing as hard as watching a premature baby struggle to survive. Bonnie Babies makes that struggle just a bit easier by providing blankets and other items to show families they're not alone!
Very Special Babies
Bonnie Babies serves a very special kind of child. It's never easy to watch a loved one struggle for survival, and it's even worse when that loved one is a child. But imagine the smallest infant you've ever seen -- smaller than any baby should be -- fighting with every breath to stay alive.
Bonnie Babies was founded six years ago when a grieving mother sought a way to deal with the loss of her premature child. Instead of turning inward, she decided the best way to honor her baby's memory was to reach out to others in need.
Now Bonnie Babies makes premature clothing, blankets, and burial outfits for U.K. Special Baby Care Units and families. Their goal is to show each mother -- each family -- that there are people thinking of them and caring for them.
Tiny Treasures
There's something sweet about knitting a delicate piece for the tiniest of children, and it's satisfying in more ways than one. Not only are you providing a personal message of hope for someone who desperately needs it, but also baby clothes are quick and easy to make! Even if you're a beginner -- even if that last pair of socks took three years to take form -- this is a project you can begin and see through to the end.
Bonnie Babies primarily makes blankets for premature children. They do provide patterns for toys, hats, and sweaters (even a "5 Hour Baby Sweater!"), but blankets are quick, easy to make, and guaranteed to fit. Not only that, families can continue to treasure them long after the child is grown.
Sharing the Sadness
One of Bonnie Babies' most important activities is making tiny burial outfits for premature children who don't survive. It's not as much fun as making a blanket, but when you knit a burial outfit, you know that you're easing a nearly intolerable burden for a grieving mother.
Whether or not you've had the experience of nurturing a premature baby, you can help families through the experience! Bonnie Babies accepts donations of yarn, money, stamps, or completed items. Why not check out the Bonnie Babies website and see how you can help?