Meaningful Shower Gift

Do they still have mom's wedding dress? Why not have a baptismal gown made from her mom's wedding dress?

If S happens to have any old clothes of mom she could cut patches and use them to make a baby blanket.

There is a song out there but I can't remember who sings it. It's country. It talks about rain and holes in the floor of heaven where people are looking down at me. If she believes in heaven it would be a good song for her and maybe even if she does not. It may make her feel like her mom is still about watching.

It might be very difficult to do now, but my mom died when i was 5 mos pregnant the first time, and at the birth, my siblings had put together a journal of "motherly advice" from all the mom's in our family. It had been started before she died, and my sister had a baby two days after, so she had a lot of "mom told me" things, also my dad and others of my mom's friends were able to help out. It opened with the story of my birth the way mom always told it, then some of her favorite stories of me she liked to tell, then got to the advice. It has been cherished to still get some advice "from mom". My sister served mom a piece of cake at her shower after the birth.

Hi L., I know it's past the shower. In case you are looking for future gifts, or looking for your own project, have you ever thought of storybooks? There are some great templates available and they are 100% customizable and all online.

My website is www.MyPhotobookStory.com and I am a consultant with Heritage Makers.

Watch this 5min video to give you an idea of what we are about! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irdqtq7mF6Y

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Does she have pictures of her with her mom maybe when she was a baby?? Or all three of them together when they were little???
Blow up the picture to an 8x10 and put it in an 11x14 frame, or shadow box type frame...and put small items that she may have from her mom....and do scrapbooking pieces with typical "mom" advice, or things that their mom may have told them as they were growing up....??
I love ANYTHING to do with photos, but that may be too common, but that is my idea.
Good luck!

I love SR's suggestion about the photo album. What I would also add to that is a family tree page for that side of the family. This will give an added "something special" to that. If you combine that with the mom's advice, you'll have something that can become a tradition for generations to come.

Hello,
Does her sister knit or quilt? A wonderful gift would be a baby blanket made from some of their mother's old clothes or blankets.. If she can't do it, I'm sure that she could take it somewhere or to someone that could help:-) Also, maybe a book of some of their mother's old baby pictures and some of them/siblings, etc. It will definetely be a bittersweet shower without their mother there. My hearts go out to them. Good luck!

Melissa

Hey L.- Along the ideas of the wedding dress into baptismal gown, I was thinking if there was a favorite outfit or blanket or something, use the fabric to create a baby blanket. Even if the pattern is not "baby looking", use it on one side & a coordinating baby-ish pattern on the other side. Or make some stuffed animals out of them--there are patterns at fabric stores. Or just some small pillows for a rocking chair or on a shelf would be nice.

Also, photos are always great. She could put a nice picture of their mom into a frame to put in the nursery to "watch over" the baby. It might be nice to desaturate the colors a bit to give it a "hand colored" look.

If there is a piece of jewelry that the mom always wore or a cross, she could have it custom framed for the nursery also.

If you have any photo editing or custom framing questions, just send me a message.

Does their grandma have anything that belonged to their mom as a baby? Example: her baby shoes from when she was a baby. That would be a neat gift she could display in the babies room. Another idea is a picture of their mom holding "her baby" (K) in a nice frame. Then she could display that in the baby's room and it would almost be like mom was always there in spirit with the baby, even though the baby in the picture was technically K. Good luck.

I lost my mother before my daughter was born and it is VERY painful. My heart goes out to both sisters.

I am working on making a mini scrapbook for my daughter (as baby proof as possible) so that I can tell her about her Grandma Mary. Maybe sister "S" can make such a book or start one and then work together with her sister to finish it. I would suggest making two sets of the book so that each sister can have one. I am working on a book for my daughter (and potential siblings) and one for each of my brother's families.

I also want to point out that one of the most painful parts of not having my mother here is when everyone goes on and on about how my daughter looks like my husband and comparing everything she does to what he did. Although I know this is normal and healthy, it still hurts. I will never have that. My father was never been hands on and there is no baby book. I suggest that Sister "S" and any other family members try to collect as many stories about Sister "K" as a baby as they can to share with her and to compare with the new baby when he/she arrives.

One last thought. As far as the saddening thought of Grandma never meeting Baby, I like to think that my mom picked my daughter out for me and sent her as a gift. Maybe such a message from family would be helpful.

And, may God bless you for helping these two sisters.

I had saved some of my mom's clothes to make a small quilt for my children.

You have some wonderful ideas here. Mine is for after the baby is born. You could take a close up picture of the baby and photo shop a close up picture of their mom in the corner, as the guardian angel looking down on the baby. Chances are, she is looking down watching over the baby.

Ask family members if they have anything left from her mother's childhood. I still have a few of my stuffed animals and a receiving blanket that was mine as a baby. And centered on my bed is a small pillow with a pillow case that my grandmother made for me with my name embroidered in it. You never what could be hidden away in a closet or attic. When you find it have it mounted and framed to be displayed in the baby's room. Maybe you can find a picture of her Mom as a baby or small child and one of her as an adult to be included in the display.

Maybe she could do something personalized with a photo of "K" as a baby with her Mom... I'm drawing a blank super creative ideas, but a really nicely framed photo frame with space for new photos of "K" with her new baby would be a nice collage of photos for the nursery. I'm sure you could think of other ways to use a photo as well.

J.

How about an album or scrapbookwith pictures of your cousins when they were babies and small chidren. The memories may bring a few tears, but should bring more happiness. As your cousin's baby becomes older, the book can be a way for him/her to know their grandmother. Liz

Hi L.,
It's so nice you're trying to help your cousins. You have a lot of great ideas. I like the narrative along with the photo album. And the baptismal gown. If you want to use the song that was mentioned it is "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" by Colin Raye.

What about a photo memory quilt for the baby?

www.puttingyouinstitches.com

First I want to say how sweet of you to want to make this so very special for "K". I didn't have any particular ideas - but after reading the other two, I started to brain storm and I spun off of these ideas..

I like Heather's idea for a shower gift for "K". What a super idea, since mom is not there!

My thought is this... Usually you have a shower, then a gift when baby arrives right? How about 'advice from mom' idea for the shower, then for a baby gift could be the photo idea.

I think it would be great to have the baby get to know grandma, even though she cannot be there. How about a picture (photo) book for the new mom to show baby some day. You could keep it really simple, like you would see a story book for infants. Have the word and a picture for each page. Example: "_(baby)_" and the baby's picture, "mommy", and mommy's picture, "daddy" and daddy's picture, "grandma and grandpa" and their picture, etc...

Another thought would be a locket with a picture of grandma inside. Of course, this could work only if the baby is going to be a girl.

I hope you enjoy the shower. Even though mom can't be there, I'm sure she is so very proud of "K" and is looking over her, and will be there in spirit.
~SR

Hi L.~

Just a thought here but what about taking a momento maybe like a piece of mom's clothing or something of mom's then take a picture of baby and have it framed really nice? Or maybe even have a picture of the mom too within the framed picture somewhere next to baby. Then whenever the sister will look at the picture it will be a beautiful reminder of her mom and when the little one gets older it will be a special reminder of her Grandma she never knew!

Wow this brings "tears" to my eyes just thinking about all of it but I pray that the baby shower is a huge success and just a peaceful reminder of Grandma looking down and smiling!

Take care~
A.

perhaps she could (with family help) write up a nice book of memories of her mother...include photos...which could be shared with the child as the child grows...this way the child will have a sense of who it's granmother was....and your cousin could also enjoy the memories and celebrate he mothers life...perhaps even leave space at the end for your cousin (the baby's mother) to add her own memories....

the book wouldn't have to be a big fancy production with scrapbooking decorations etc...a simple jopurnal type blank book could be more sincere

Hi L. -- A silver picture frame for Baby's room is always good. One with a single picture of Grandma so she'll always be familiar to Baby, or one with Grandma & Mommy when she was a baby on one side and Mommy & Baby on the other side to illustrate where Grandma fits in to the family.

Or any little dish, vase, memento, etc, that could decorate or be useful in the baby's room. If something like that doesn't seem like enough, she can tuck it in with a baby blanket or some such, or attach a rattle to the bow of the package containing the memento.

How about a book about her mother? Check out Heritage Makers http://www.frommemoriestobooks.com for more details! They are a storybooking and digital scrapbooking site that helps you make completely personalized books and other products! I'm a consultant so if you have any questions, simply ask!

What about a photo album aimed at introducing and showing the wonderful person the mother was? Reproductions could be made of photos from when the mother was little until her passing. A narrative could accompany the photos and speak directly to the child; ie- "this is your Grandma ___, she was born..." It could not only give the baby ties to Grandma throughout its life, but be a tribute to the much missed mother.

Here is a quote that they might make a nice wall hanging of with caligraphy. They could have a picture of their mother with this verse engraved on a plaque. If they have something that reminds them of their mother, something reflective of something she loves, a favorite time of year, her favorite colors, in ribbon, dried flowers or herbs. It could be put in a shadow box with this verse, or it could be separate pieces. Could be used in the baby's room.

"Family: We carry generations of tenderness, legacies of hope and faith and courage. We are powerful in that we know how to love." - Flavia

Their Mother taught them to be mothers, she will be present in every loving embrace, every tender touch, and every tear that is gently wiped away. Our job as Mothers is to prepare our children to not 'need' us there, that however does not mean we are not there always in spirit, listening, loving and cheering them on.

Remember when you were a child and you thought you could get away with something because your Mom wouldn't find out...but yet somehow she always 'knew'... ;}Even when you moved away and you thought your Mom wouldn't know what was going on, more times than not, she knew, right? Remind your cousins that 'moms always KNOW'...and she is with her daughters every step of the way.

"Nothing is more eternal than a mother's Love."