Bayleigh Garland Blackston, a mother in Georgia, founded the non-profit organization LiliBears to support families who have experienced the pain of child loss. After her daughter Lilibet passed away due to stillbirth, despite a perfectly healthy pregnancy, she transformed this loss into a meaningful act to comfort others in similar situations.
The tragedy struck unexpectedly on the day Blackston's water broke and she went to the hospital to prepare for her child's birth. However, doctors could not find the baby's heartbeat, leaving her with profound heartache. She shared that the feeling of losing her child left a mother's arms empty and aching with the longing to hold her little one.
The Healing Power of Special Weighted Stuffed Animals
A few days after her loss, Blackston's mother gifted her a stuffed bunny weighing exactly the same as baby Lilibet's birth weight. The feeling of holding a bunny with a weight equivalent to her daughter profoundly impacted her psyche. Blackston said that placing the bunny on her chest while sleeping helped soothe her pain and made her feel as if her child was still beside her.
"Feeling her weight again was truly healing. I held the bunny and thought of my child, and it meant the world to me," Blackston tearfully recounted.
After sharing her story on social media, Blackston realized that many other parents were enduring similar pain. This prompted her to establish LiliBears to provide free weighted stuffed animals, matching the birth weight of lost babies, to families in need of comfort.
Each stuffed animal at LiliBears is handmade by Blackston with special reverence for the memory of her daughter and the children of other families. Currently, families can register to receive a gift or support the organization through the website lilibear.org to spread a message of love and empathy within the community.
