We are currently in need of:

• Volunteers to serve on the 2011 OC walk to Remember committee. We have a variety of needs, ranging from publicity to event planning to technology.

• We are in immediate need of volunteers to distribute posters and other promotional materials to local schools, businesses, churches, doctor’s offices, etc.

• Volunteers to help with setup and clean up on October 23.

• We are in immediate need of volunteers to help bring in sponsorships for the 2010 OC Walk to Remember.

If you can help in ANY way, please contact Kristyn at kvonrotz@ocwalktoremember.org

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Thank you for supporting The OC Walk To Remember.

Dear Dads,

I have written this book to help you in the early hours and days after your baby has died. Whether it be a miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death, many of the issues are the same.

I intentionally wrote the book to be brief and to the point in hopes of offering you suggestions without going into a great deal of analysis.  Periodically, I have interjected my own recolletions of things I’m glad I did when my daughter was stillborn as well as sharing some of my regrets.  Take them for what they are worth and know that there is no real right or wrong.

While I have talked with many other beareaved dads over the years and have spoken on the topic of father’s grief at numerous conferences, I certainly don’t call myself an expert. I’m simply a dad who has walked a similar path, survived, and learned from the experience.

My life changed forever the day my daughter, Kathleen died. Yours has changed now, too.  Whether this was your first child or you have other children at home, you are a father-a father of a child who has died.  As you adjust to this new reality, you may alternate between feeling like life is totally out of control to complete numbness.

Be patient with yourself.

Be patient with your partner.

But do not run the other direction or try and hide.

It doesn’t work-I’ve already tried.

I wish you well.

-Tim Nelson

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More stories here soon on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

Empty Cradle, Broken Heart- Surviving the Death of Your Baby by Deborah Davis, L., Ph.D.

Grieving the Child I Never Knew by Kathe Wunnenberg

Silent Grief:  Miscarriage—Child Loss, Finding your Way through the Darkness by Clara Hinton

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir by Elizabeth McCracken

A Silent Sorrow- Pregnancy Loss: Guidance and Support for You and Your Family by Ingrid Kohn, M.S.W and Perry-Lynn Moffitt

Life Touches Life: A Mother’s Story of Stillbirth and Healing by Lorraine Ash

Waiting with Gabriel: A Story of Cherishing a Baby’s Brief Life by Amy Kuebelbeck

Empty Arms by Pam Vredevelt

Mommy Please Don’t Cry by Linda Deymaz

Safe in the Arms of God: Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child by John MacArthur

Tender Fingerprints by Brad Stetson

Children’s Books

We Were Going to Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead by Pat Schwiebert and Taylor Bills

Someone Came Before You by Pat Schwiebert

Something Happened: A Book for Children and Parents Who Have Experienced Pregnancy Loss by Cathy Blanford

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Stay tuned for more books on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

On May 10, 2009 I discovered you were inside of me. Oh James, you were already loved. May 10, 2009 you gave your mommy the best Mother’s Day gift ever.

On May 28, 2009, your daddy and mommy saw you for the very first time and your little heartbeat.

On July 5, 2009 your mommy and daddy and you were blessed in a holy ceremony where you got to meet all of your family for the first and last time. Oh James, thank you for sticking around and being part of such a big day for all of us.

On August 20, 2009, you left us James. We didn’t even know you were gonna be a boy until you grew your little wings and left us. Oh James, why did you have to go.

~Jennie Estrada

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Read more stories here on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

Foothills Sentry News published-Walk To Honor Lost Babies-in their August edition! Find the OC Walk To Remember information on page 17 of the Foothills Sentry News.

Best News In Town Website: http://foothillssentry.com/

Foothill’s Sentry is a monthly community newspaper established in 1969. We are thankful the Direct Mail piece will be circulated to 45,804 people!!

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Catch more OC Walk To Remember news here soon.

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Click here to register for the 2010 OC Walk To Remember.

Written by Amy Chilla, mom to Colton James Chilla *August 17, 2008-December 15, 2008

I thought I should check in again since Colton’s birthday is right around the corner. Once again, this “journey” has caught me by surprise. I was feeling so strong for quite awhile and while I think of Colton every day, many times a day, I was managing. I was looking forward, plodding along nicely. Then came July. I call it the start of “the season”. When I was pregnant with Colton, just about everyone in my life was also pregnant it seemed. We all had little boys, starting in July and ending in October. Colton was going to have so many buddies! The first little buddy, Liam, turned 2 in July and I went to his birthday party. And so it begins. Watching all the other buddies turn 2 and wondering what my little boy would be like. That’s right, Colton would be a little boy by now, no longer a baby. Don’t get me wrong I love watching these little dudes grow and run free. In a way I see Colton growing through them. But at every turn it is in my mind what he would be doing, saying, getting into  =)

I am blessed with great friends who have Colton’s birthday marked on their calendars and want to celebrate it with me. But I don’t talk about him much anymore, it seems odd. And I know people don’t ask me as much because they are afraid to bring it up or upset me. It’s the natural evolution of things, I know. I appear on the outside to have it together but sometimes on the inside, its just plain exhausting. Living with grief literally drains the energy right out of you. As “the season” progresses and we near Colton’s 2nd birthday, the irony doesn’t escape me. The memories get fuzzier but in some ways the pain gets sharper. Yes, I manage it better, but it is so sad that the 2nd year has passed.

Which leads me to the other aspect of this that I struggle with. I feel like I don’t have a place where I fit anymore. I don’t get to have another child (at least not right now). I don’t have any other children. I don’t have a husband anymore and I certainly don’t feel like I fit in with single people who haven’t had any of it at all. Again, I am so happy to have friends that overlook these things and include me in everything, but sometimes, I take a step back and look around and feel so alone. Walking this walk by myself has been a very lonely journey. Doing it without a spouse has been very hard at times. I believe everything happens for a reason, but some of these happenings have me at a loss for reasons!

I know I am strong and this too will pass. Life moves forward, whether I’m hanging on tight or not. I share when I’m having good times and I’ll share when I’m not. This just happens to be some of those not so happy days when I’m feeling a bit weary from this journey. But something will come along and lift me up as it always does. I live on because of my Colton and because when I see him again I want him to be proud that I am his mommy.

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Look for more upcoming news on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

The California Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Program invites you to Angels Among Us- the 30th Annual California SIDS Program Fall Conference being held October 4-5, 2010. This year’s events and agenda have been planned in collaboration with the Southern California SIDS Council and the California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division.

Keynote speaker is world renowned SIDS researcher, Henry F. Krous MD, Professor of Pathology, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Director of the San Diego SIDS/SUDC Research Project. Dr. Krous has served as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Child and Human Development in the development of national standards for infant death scene investigation.

For additional conference details, please review 30th Annual California SIDS Program Fall Conference Flyer.

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Stay tuned for more upcoming news on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

No matter where you are along your journey of grief, whether it’s a few sentences acknowledging your child’s birthday, writing a poem, or just taking a moment to express your thoughts, we encourage you to share your story.

Email content to: kfuruta@ocwalktoremember.org and we will post it on the OC Walk To Remember Blog.

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To visit the OC Walk to Remember blog, Click Here