Memorial tattoos?

soulcupcake · August 2014

Curious if other bereaved/baby loss mamas have or want remembrance tattoos of their little one?

I'll preface this by saying I have a lot of tattoos (24 and counting). The first tattoo I had done in honor of my Duncan was his footprints on top of my feet. It was a rather impulsive decision about two weeks after having him. I had it done Thanksgiving evening. I also have a half sleeve (forearm) I am still working on. It has his birth date in Roman numerals surrounded by stars (to quote Carl Sagan... "we are made of star stuff."), and then I had the "I Love You Forever" quote added to it (from the I Love You Forever Children's book. Still my childhood favorite). And on the side of my forearm the title of one of my favorite contemporary classical pieces from a favorite composer Clint Mansell "Death is the road to awe." I listened to the score, along with a couple others, a lot after losing him. I turned to music for therapy, and that piece resonates with me on such a deep level. After I have this baby I will get it completed.

I also have a quarter sleeve with my kids' birth month flowers. His is the orange chrysanthemum. Citrine is the November birthstone, so I wanted it to be that orange-y color (though he was due in December). I have a "tree of life" on my upper right arm that I eventually want to add bird silhouettes to.

My chest piece is highly symbolic as well. I love Eastern philosophies, and study them (especially Buddhism and Taoism). In Japanese culture cherry blossoms symbolize the impermanence of life.

Most of my chest piece can be seen in this photo.

forevermyfenix · August 2014

Love your tattoos! @aeonlux‌

I don't have any Memorial tattoos yet, but I've been trying to think of a fitting design for my Fenix. Once my husband's tattoo heals I'll post his phoenix tattoo that he got in honor.

Following.

lexusolsen · August 2014

I want one on the inside of my wrist. I don't have any and I'm sure many people will be surprised or think it is out of character when I get it. I think I will wait until March and mark Ben's birthday with it. Here's what I want.

lexusolsen · August 2014

It won't let me edit and add an attachment. So here it is.

stefuge · August 2014

I've been thinking about it. I don't have any tattoos but have always kind of wanted one, and would love to have something in honor of Colton.

CheesyPeas · August 2014

I have my baby girl's footprints on my chest, near my heart while still being in an easily covered location for the workplace.

ikrystal · August 2014

**ticker warning**

I'm thinking of getting one with the lyrics of "Godspeed" (that we played at their memorial) or something that says "I still carry you." I think it is great to get a tattoo for your angel!

LyndseyTS · August 2014

Love these! I don't have one, nor would I likely get one (if they were pain free, I'd be right there

). It's such a beautiful way to remember.

sugarstar1784 · August 2014

i want to get the footprints on my upper left side ribcage, where my left arm naturally rests by my side

healz413 · August 2014

@Manada and I decided shortly after the loss of Tavin and Casey what tattoos we wanted, but we haven't actually made an appointment to get them yet.

M is bear clan and when we got pregnant with twins she decided that it made sense since bears have twins. So we want to get a silhouette (or maybe not a silhouette) of two bear cubs together with a yellow butterfly flying above them. We are thinking we will get the exact same tattoo and probably in the same place on both of us. As of our last conversation on the subject, we were thinking upper back.

In addition to butterflies obviously being the symbol for perinatal and infant loss, on the afternoon that M was in labour we saw out our fifth floor hospital window that a yellow butterfly was flitting around-- it even seemed like it was trying to get in the room. So, yellow butterflies, in particular, have been special to us since our loss 8 weeks ago.

Maybe Joleisa · August 2014

Love all the pictures and ideas--thank you all for sharing. (Me? I'm too chicken (so far), but I love the idea.)

shandorfml2 · August 2014

I love your tattoos!!

sugarstar1784 · August 2014

Perhaps this for me... I like the baby bear idea Manda... We call our lil angel baby bear.

Xath · August 2014

**rainbow mentioned**

I've got my appointment set for August 24. A friend of mine advised me that when getting a tattoo, her rule of thumb is to plan out everything about it (image, location, colors, etc) and then wait for a year. If you change anything, the year starts over. Once you're happy with the idea for a year, you'll be happy with the tattoo. So I made my rendering and picked my location, and then I was pregnant with my rainbow, so it got pushed back a bit more. But now that we've welcomed him, I'm all set to get my Ellie tattoo. I'm getting an elephant with a balloon on my shoulder blade and a star at the base of my neck. The third pic is an image of a back I pulled off of google to show the artist placement.

stefuge · August 2014

@gertiebarden‌ - that is great advice about waiting a year and not having it be impulsive. GL on the 24th! Let us know how they turn out!

Xath · August 2014

I got them! They're puffy and new in the photos; the color will lighten and the pinkness will go away with time.

...and for some reason, the photo won't load.

thiscoffeechick · August 2014

I got this tattoo which signifies Hope and I placed the balloon on my womb... It's by the street artist Banksy.

Pehrie · August 2014

My husband and I both have Jack's right foot print tattooed over our hearts. Mine is slightly higher because I would have had a mental break if my boobs stretched it out. We impulsively got them the day I came home from the hospital because I couldn't stand being in the house and tattoo parlors and bars were the only things open.

Xath · September 2014

It finally loaded. Still red and puffy in this pic.

hsabyan · September 2014

For whatever reason, The Bump won't let me upload pictures anymore, but my husband and I both got memorial tattoos about two weeks after we lost our baby, Georgia (in May).

I got the lyrics, "just an old, sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind" in a pretty script on the inner side of my right lower arm. My husband got her foot prints and name/dates on his left lower arm.

I love that I carry her name on me wherever I am.

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