An Angel Wrap for Alexis Ann

Wrap heart compulation

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.” ~A.A.Milne

Our Uppyfamily experienced an unexpected and devastating loss this year. Kathleen is our beloved seamstress. She hems our wraps, turning kilometers of fabric into Uppywear wraps. She sews our Mei Dais, creates our amazing demo babies and really anything else we ask her to sew for us.

We’ve known her a for long time and she really has grown to be part of the family. In fact, my mom cared for Kathleen in her midwifery practice over thirty years ago when she was birthing her second and third baby. I went on to babysit her children for years while they were small. Our family histories are woven together.

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This is a moment captured of my mom supporting Kathleen the day she gave birth to Alexis.

Kathleen is the kind of person who will always go out of her way to help someone in need. She is an inspired doula who is passionate about helping families have a gentle and positive birthing experience.

Kathleen also volunteers as a seamstress for Angel Dresses, using donated wedding dresses to make tiny gowns for families who have experienced infant loss. She is passionate about honoring and caring for these families and ensuring they have beautiful photos and mementos to help them through their grieving process.

Early this spring Kathleen’s twenty-six year old daughter, Alexis, had gone to bed at her mom’s house with plans to take pictures of Kathleen’s latest Angel Dresses the next morning. She died in her sleep of unknown causes. We struggle to understand this tragedy and know that nothing can take away the pain of losing a child. But just as Kathleen uses her gifts to help grieving parents remember their babies we wanted to create something special to honour Kathleen as a mother and her baby, Alexis Ann. Kathleen has always told me that she was waiting for us to make a wrap in pink to purple gradient; purple is her favorite colour and pink was Alexis’s favorite colour. When we heard the terribly sad news of Alexis’s passing we knew we had to create Kathleen’s dream wrap. We think of this as an Angel Dress for Alexis Ann. Alexis was so supportive of her mom and we know that she would love that her mom will use this wrap to help new families care for their babies.

Alexis Ann was so incredibly loved by so many people. We decided to ask her friends and family to give special names to the different coloured wefts of each wrap. The dark purple weft will be named after Kathleen’s nickname for Alexis- Sugarplum. The dark pink would have been her favourite weft. Her family decided to call that weft Treasure and the bright purple weft is called Jewel. And she really was a jewel.

These kinds of stories can be hard to tell and hard to read but we felt it was a sad, yet beautiful reminder that we only get so much time with those we care about so we need to make the most of each and every moment.

In this way her memory will live on as we care for our children and hold them a little tighter in gratitude. She will be so incredibly missed but we hope that those who wear their babies in this wrap will think of Kathleen and remember Alexis.