Noah's Kindness Project takes off... Scent Cloths.

We are actively working to plan details for October 3 and we've been so thankful for the positive responses so many of you have shared with us regarding the manner we hope to honor our son.  We again are so thankful for your support.

Yesterday I spent most of the day putting together a schedule and writing out the details of the 12 acts of kindness we plan to do on the day Noah was suppose to be joining our family.  I have a few more details to narrow down and then (hopefully by the end of the week), I will post information about what we will do.  For those in the valley  we invite and would love for as many people as possible to join us during the day.  Come to join in one service activity, come for two, or join us for the entire day.  We welcome all!

Today, I really feel like Noah's Kindness Project gained some steam as we began physically working on the items we will give to the NICU for other families to have.  Nana and Papa came over right after church this morning and we got started on making scent cloths.

When Noah was in the NICU, I was given cloths to wear on my body so my scent would be passed onto it.  Then I'd place that cloth next to him or over his face so he would find comfort in knowing I was near.  Noah's nurses shared with me how important the scent cloths were and willingly provided me with plenty to take home and use.

Not only was the scent cloth a benefit for Noah, but it was also something I grew to cherish... for a couple of reasons.  One, was that as a mom in the NICU, there's a feeling of helplessness in the situation.  I wanted to do anything and everything I could to help Noah and when I was given the scent cloths, it was actually something I could do to help.  I was very diligent in wearing them, switching them out, and it brought me a lot of comfort and happiness knowing my scent was bringing Noah the same feeling.

 The other reason why I loved the scent cloth was because when it was time to switch out Noah's cloth, they would put in my new cloth and I would get to have the one that had been resting on his head, or near his arm, against his cheek.  And guess what.... his scent had been transferred onto the cloth and I got to smell him.  The first time I got to take home his scent cloth, I smelled it the entire drive home.  It made my insides swell with love.  I placed his cloth on my pillow that night and I slept with the feeling that he was with me. It meant so much to me.

And so, when we talked about wanting to do an acts of kindness day in Noah's honor, one of the first things I thought of was the scent cloths and how much they meant to me.

Today Nana helped (okay, actually she did almost all the work) us to make heart shaped scent cloths to share with other NICU moms.  We got right to work and got 45 made today.  I hope in the next couple of weeks, we will get the rest done.  So far, I'm super excited with how they turned out, and the fact that we made them into the shape of a heart, will be unique and the staff will remember they are from Noah and his family.

Here's a quick preview for how things are coming together.

Nana and Isabelle hard at work

 Our work in progress...

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 Our stack to be made still

And our work in progress.  The blue sleeping bag featured above is an act of love Nana made for Noah to go to his forever home in.  Its called a snuggle sack and as a mom, I wanted to make sure Noah always felt warm and snuggled.  Nana is very talented in putting such a precious gift together in less than a half hour.  She plans to make these to donate to the NICU as well.  Sadly, we are not the first family to have to say goodbye to our precious baby, and we, unfortunately, will not be the last.  We never had time to go get clothes for Noah, but thankfully there were families that had donated items for him previously that he go to use.  Hopefully these snuggle sacks can provide comfort like so many families provided us through their donation.

And with our donation of the snuggle sacks and the heart shaped scent cloths, we plan to include the following poem.  It will hopefully bring love and happiness to the families in the NICU, just as we were given during our time there. 

So were building steam, and getting ready for October.  It makes me feel good to know we are hopefully doings things that can directly benefit another family going through a very stressful time.

I'm thankful for Nana and Papa's help and for their assistance in getting thing started.

Today as we were working, rainbows filled our house and it made me think Noah had to be looking down and happy that goodness can come from our sadness in missing him.

Until next time,
Angie