Emilia's Story
Welcome to The Emilia Project!
We are so glad you are here. Our goal is to provide memorial clothing to bereaved parents. No matter if you were able to meet your child before their death or not, and however many days you were able to hold them in your arms, if at all, we are here for you. Please see our story below to find out The Emilia Project's "why" and feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all, product related or not! We look forward to helping you however we can.
In fall of 2019, after going through IVF we found out we were pregnant with twins! We were so excited; we could hardly contain ourselves. Our perfect scenario: a little girl and a little boy were joining our family. We were 35 weeks, had the names picked out (Emilia and Dion), the carseats were in the car, hospital bag was ready to go, two pack n’ plays were set up in our room. We were prepared!
I went to my 35 week checkup, talked to the doctor about the plan. What if things went “wrong” with the delivery and I needed a C-section; what if the twins needed NICU time? She answered all my questions, and I looked at the screen, eager to see what my little ones were up to. “Baby A is doing great!” she said. “Heartrate is 143, he’s head down still, and looks like he’s getting ready!” And then she moved over to check on our little girl. Silence. There was nothing. She was gone. Another doctor was called in to confirm. They sent us to a specialist to make sure. “I’m so sorry, there’s no heartbeat for Baby B.” And in that moment, our entire world shattered.
5 days later, we gave birth to the twins, one wiggling and crying and one still and silent. There our journey began. Certainly not the journey we expected, but the one we have lived for the past 18 months. Very quickly after Emilia's death I realized how important memorial items were to me - a necklace with her name on it, butterfly decorations EVERYWHERE around the house, a shirt with her handprint on it. These items have stayed important to me. They help keep her a part of my life, and sometimes they spark conversations with others which allow me to share her story.
I am starting this organization in the hopes of being able to provide those types of items to people who have experienced the death of their child, at any age. No one should experience the death of a child, but if one thing good comes out of Emilia's story, I want it to be to help those who have experienced a similar tragedy.
All of our products are provided at-cost to bereaved parents, we charge only for the materials and shipping. Our hope is to provide a high quality product at the lowest possible price, so as to not withhold such items from people with financial need. If you are able, we invite you to sponsor a shirt or sweatshirt for another family. If you are a family who cannot afford our products but wishes to have a personalized memorial item in your child's honor, please reach out to us.