FAQs - General

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) Ireland provides the gift of remembrance photography.  Baby remembrance photography is a specialised form of photography that focuses on capturing images of babies who have passed away.  We understand the desire to remember their baby and to be able to share their image with loved ones and throughout the years ahead. 

People will often take their own images on their phones or other devices. NILMDTS Ireland provides a supplementary service in addition to that option. We offer the service of professional photography at zero cost to bereaved families. One of our volunteer photographers will come to you and take professional images of their baby and their family group if they wish. They will then edit the photos in black and white and will provide them with high resolution images for you to print or share. 

We know that these photographs will serve as a treasured memento of their baby’s life, and a tangible representation of the baby’s place in their family.

This may seem like an unusual concept for those who are lucky enough not to have experienced the death of a baby. It is absolutely not something everyone will choose to do, however, for those who do, we know that it brings great healing. If you consider the death of anyone who you have loved, their photos and the memories we share with them become even more treasured after their passing. For families whose babies die shortly before or after birth they do not have the albums full of photographs or the shared memories to treasure. Having these photos taken is a memory we are able to gift to them. Whether or not they choose to share their pictures or even look at the pictures themselves, we know that having them and retaining the memory of all of the special details of their baby brings great comfort. 

This is absolutely a time of great loss and tragedy, but it is also a time of great and profound love. NILMDTS Ireland is honoured to be able to capture all of those emotions, and we are privileged to witness the love that permeated these precious images.

Firstly, please be assured that there is no requirement to do or give anything in exchange for our gift of remembrance photography. This is a completely free and voluntary service. If however you do wish to support our service now or into the future there are a few ways you can do so.

• Share your story and/or images. We always love to share the wonderful families we support. Sharing these stories and images helps to normalise and celebrate remembrance photography and helps to create the community we know is so important to bereaved families. Drop us a message and we’ll be in contact to discuss.

• Volunteer. We are always looking for volunteers to answer our phone lines, perform admin tasks and of course to take photographs. More detail of volunteer roles are available here.

• Donate to support us in continuing to provide this service.

We have compiled a page of how to support a grieving parent and family from the hearts of experienced bereaved parents of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. They are thoughts and ideas of what to say and/or do during a time of loss.

Learn about other ideas for supporting a friend/family member who has lost a baby

This blog post also offers suggestions on supporting a loved one through baby loss.