Name: Michelle Channon

Organisation: Little Baby & Co

Award Category: Cherished Keepsake

Supported By:

Voting Is Now Closed

My Plea:

Little Baby & Co began to bring comfort to other parents living with early baby-loss after founder Michelle suffered her 3rd early miscarriage at just over 8 weeks gestation. Our name honours the memory of Michelle’s “Little Baby” who was passed at home. Michelle wanted a tangible keepsake in remembrance of Little Baby, so she gathered three identical silver beads. One for her, one for her husband and one to put in the pouch with her baby. Little Baby was gently laid to rest in a plant pot with beautiful Autumn flowering bulbs planted on top. This simple memory making act got her thinking about other parents trying to survive through the same heartbreak that she had. Little Baby & Co continues to provide bespoke keepsakes for other bereaved parents living with early baby-loss to bring them a little comfort. Through our research we know that the knitted gowns and blankets were not meeting the complex needs of our early gestation babies and we felt this just was not good enough and strived for the very best care for such small sweet people!

Little Baby & Co have created several products in response to the specific needs of babies lost to early miscarriage in mind including the registered design of our distinctive “Miscarried Baby Burial Gown®” which for the first time allows babies under 12 weeks gestation to wear clothing, it’s unique style allows a fetal baby to be laid down gently whilst two front panels lay down across their chest and a ribbon that is attached at the back can be tied around the middle, these are often made from donated wedding dresses. We have considered many aspects within our design such as the fabric needing to be smooth so babies don’t stick and choosing any print or pattern it should be taken into account so that it doesn’t look too big compared to baby which can overwhelm parents, also we choose our colours to compliment babies skin tone in the best way possible, as well as favoring gentle neutral pastel colors. For babies under 8 weeks gestation we use our own design “Triangle Pocket” in which a baby can be carefully transferred using a spoon, in addition we send a suitable sized blanket with any type of layette.

Another thing that bothered us is the size of teddy bear in comparison to the babies of very early gestation, our skilled crafters managed to shrink down knitted bears to 1 inch in size but they were still too big. We were able to draw a simple bear and have the image digitized for embroidery machines, we were then able to shrink the design to the size of a 1p coin which lovingly earned the bears the nickname of “Penny Bears” small enough for the tiniest of hands or to snuggle next to a baby. Another of our unique services is our provision of subsidised wooden coffins allowing parents to give a home burial to babies born still before 12 weeks. These are not your average wooden box and can not be purchased in a shop as they are designed to fit the purpose of laying a fetal baby to rest. They are engraved with suitable words “Rest In Peace Precious & Loved Baby” and lined with lace and soft fabric, finished off with tiny antique brass screws so that parents are able to safely secure their precious babies before laying them to rest.

We send out keepsakes to suit each individual parent needs be they a mother or a father or any member of a bereaved family who should ask. Each item is loving handmade by our skilled crafting volunteers then customised for each family. No two sets of keepsakes are ever the same and are as unique as each little baby. Each set sent out is bespoke as we work with parents as to exactly how they would like to remember their baby. Our most requested items are a teddy, poem, charm & candles. Whilst we do have to ask for postage to be covered our keepsake items are still FREE. Early Baby-loss is sadly common. The need of bereft parents to be able to make memories of their little baby to cherish is often overlooked. Little Baby & Co’s keepsakes are a small gesture that lets such parents know their baby matters and their brief life is lovingly acknowledged by someone other than just them. Something so small and compassionate can hold immense healing power in the bewildering journey of grief around earlier baby-loss.

In light of our passion towards the care of these tiny little people we hope that you will vote for us. It would mean the world for our core team, our crafters and especially to all the parents that we help and most importantly acknowledge the importance of caring for EVERY SINGLE BABY regardless of gestation. Every baby deserves dignity.

What Others Have Said

Knowing there are other people out there that understand your pain is like a comfort blanket and feels like someone holding your hand in dark times. I received a memory box from Little Baby & Co made by Amy and it is so special to me because every time I look at it I see my son smiling back at me. I have been able to add to the box and hold my memories close to my heart which is just what I need. This charity needs recognition-they deserve it.