Teeny Tears

Recently, I've been working on my biggest sewing project yet.  I'm very much a beginner sewer; I've only sewn a couple outfits for Maddie, which definitely had some mistakes.  For the past couple weeks, I've been working on making precious, teeny tiny bereavement diapers for stillborn babies and babies who pass away in the NICU.  These diapers are being made in memory of Ryan Gabriel Hepler, the son of our friends (and previous neighbors) Mark and Elizabeth Hepler.  (You can read about their story on Elizabeth's blog, Dancing in the Rain.)  The diapers are being given to local hospitals through the Teeny Tears organization.

The diapers come in two sizes.  The small ones fit babies as small as 18 weeks, and the large (although they are still very small) ones can fit babies up to 32 weeks.  These are some of the ones I've made so far:

small size

large size

blanket

Elizabeth has a goal of sending 600 diapers each year to local hospitals.  I've made a very small dent in that number having completed around 30 so far, with about 20 more cut out ready to be sewn, and additional fabric to work with.  Elizabeth held a Diaper Drive on Saturday, in which several members of the community came together to help her reach her goal.  They completed around 140 diapers!  Additional friends and family are also working at home to help her complete the goal.  Please join me in praying for this family and this project!