As many of you know, or for those of you who don’t, our son, Theodore was stillborn on August 8th 2024.

Bears, especially black bears, have been the symbol for Theodore since we found out we were having a little boy. His nursery was going to be all Adirondack and bear themed items and now as we navigate life without him here on Earth for us, seeing bears is a beautiful reminder and sign of him. We got these tattoos as a way to always carry him with us.

As today would be his first birthday, we want to honor his memory.

We are planning to gift a donation to the hospital, where Theo was born, St. Mary’s in Amsterdam. The team at St. Mary’s is looking to grow their bereavement supplies to help support other families navigating the tragic loss of their sweet baby.

We are sharing this with all of our friends and family as a way to help remember and honor him.

We ask that if you are someone who would have gotten Theo a gift for a first birthday party if were here with us that instead you donate to our GoFundMe towards collections to clear the perinatal loss supplies list for St. Mary’s.

We will collect from today, his birthday, until the end of August. We will then purchase as much as we can from their wishlist and donate it in his name.

We love and remember him each day and look forward to your support in doing that with us.

We have been asked before if mentioning Theodore‘s name or his memory brings sadness to a situation, but when others talk about him with us or share when they are thinking of him, it helps us honor the time we had with him and know he loved he will always be.

So we ask that when you think of him or see a black bear symbol, you feel free to share with us as you remember and honor our beautiful first child. And if you choose to donate, we thank you for your generosity in honoring our son and helping other families to come.

Love,

Theodore’s mom and dad