Shadowboxing

Aloha my fierce BBY clan.

When I first found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to do a shadow box. This was something my mum did for me and my two sisters and I was eager to create a special memory for my bump. I did a lot research into the right shadow/memory box for me. I wanted her outfit to be the main attraction, then her weight and length with all sorts of fancy frames around her ‘coming home outfit.

When it came to actually finding a frame, I originally didn’t have a clue where to look. But on one spur of the moment trip to IKEA I came across a deep frame called Kasseby. It was big enough to pop her outfit into and any other bits that I thought on having. With buying from IKEA it was also really cheap, didn’t break the bank and I decided to buy two more for future babies so I don’t have to go hunting for another matching frame in the near future.

Unfortunately I was in and out of hospital three times in the first week, so in the end I had two coming home outfits. The first one was the first time I broke free from the hospital the day after giving birth, then as things went bad with my health, I ended up back in the next day and ended up staying for two weeks.

The first time I left hospital, I brought my daughter home in a little jailer outfit from B&M which is pink and still really really cute. I was so happy dressing her ready for our first day home, ready to be a family with my husband and start living life as a new mummy. Something I have waited for a long long time.

But the next day I knew something was wrong with me so it was straight back to the place I was desperate to leave the first time, but I only stayed the night. But again, released the next day.

On the Wednesday I was released, I had collapsed at home and this is when I ended up staying two weeks. I never hated hospitals as much as I did those two whole weeks, for me it was awful and being a person who suffers terribly with anxiety I couldn’t cope. Thankfully, because I breastfeed, Phoebe had to stay with me through the whole of it and I don’t mean ‘thankfully’ in a bad way. They tried sending her home on more than one occasion and because I breastfed, they couldn’t. I am so happy she stayed, she was my soul reason to stay strong. And if she hadn’t of been there then I don’t know how I would have coped with the whole experience.

As the days went by, I collected things during my visit. Things I could look back on and remember exactly what happened and my reason for collecting it.

On my final day I put her in a classical Winnie the Pooh onesie and a little white hat. Ever since finding out I was pregnant I have been very obsessed with Winnie the Pooh! Her nursery, her clothes and our home is covered it things related or pictures of the characters from the books and films.

My baby girl, my everything. I was/am so happy to of left the hospital feeling better and ready to start our future together. Being able to be the mother I wanted to be when I used to dress up in my mum’s clothes as I played house with my two sisters.

Things I used:

Both coming home outfits
Her foot tags and my wrist tag
The last car parking ticket
Frames from IKEA
Glue
Needle and thread

I didn’t want to put too much into one small frame because then I felt I would over do it. I have seen so many different types of inspiration from Pinterest, but when it came to making it I just end up going with the flow and creating something I loved.

Don’t get disheartened if you’re not 100% happy with it. This is something that doesn’t need to be rushed or done the next day. You can tweak it, add to it or remove things from it. Phoebe is now 6 months and I’ve only just got around to finishing it all up to be hung. It took several attempts to work out how and where I wanted it. Next on the agenda is getting my husband to hang them along the staircase with a range of other memories that are already on show for guests to see.

And in the far future when the time comes, you can gift it to your child on their wedding day or even the day their first is born too. 

Enjoy!