I was out for coffee (and by coffee I mean wine), with my bestie and she said, I don’t know you can do the photography for empty arms... she said she would be a wreck. To be honest; I couldn’t at first.
Here is how I started volunteering with Empty Arms....
Rewind to roughly 10 years ago.
I met a (different) friend through a prenatal yoga class. We bonded over having the same breed of dog and similar due dates.
TW: baby loss
She mentioned that her and a few other women were starting a charity called Empty Arms. She asked if I would be a photographer for the organization and I politely declined. To be honest, I was scared. I didn’t know what to expect as I have never seen a baby that had passed, and I was scared to cry for a strangers baby. While I knew my friend had personally lost a full term baby in the past, I didn’t know what to expect.
Fast forward several years, and I got a phone call from a past client of mine. She was driving into Saskatoon to deliver her baby that had passed, and would I come and photograph it for them. Of course, my answer was YES. I felt a bit nervous... until I walked in the room.
We cried, we laughed and we cried some more. Their precious baby boy was born into heaven and he looked just like a precious sleeping baby, nothing to be worried or scared about.
I’m so glad these clients called me to capture their precious baby boy, because they gave me the confidence to volunteer for empty arms.
It’s not nearly as scary as I made it out to be in my head and I learned it’s ok to feel the heartache with the families. Giving these families these precious memories to look back on is a priceless gift. Remembering how little their hands were or how adorable their toenails looked. It’s easy to forget without a photograph there to keep all of the details sharp.
Meeting these families under such heartbreaking, vulnerable circumstances and witnessing what empty arms provides for the families is why we’ve chosen to give back to them for our next mini sessions. We all know of someone who has lost a baby, through any gestation. Empty Arms is such a valuable charity to help couples navigate baby loss.
For more information on Empty arms, please visit their website HERE.
