Angel Ian Hospital Hats

Ian Dominic Schlegel. My little nephew was born January 21st, 2012. He lived for 13 minutes. Yet with such a short life, he changed mine forever.

For some time, I have wanted to do something in honor of Ian. I think that this, his 4th birthday, is an appropriate time. I would like to present to you Angel Ian Hospital Hats. I really loved using this pattern for my daughter's hospital hat. It's super stretchy, and it retains its shape really well, so it fits head sizes from preemie, all the way to 3 months old! It makes a great pattern for donating hats to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Here is how it works: when you purchase a hat for your baby, I will also donate one hat in your name to our local NICU for a baby in need. Or, if you prefer to make a straight donation, there is an option for the same price to donate 2 hats.

Click HERE to purchase or donate an Angel Ian hat.

I know it seems such a small thing. But maybe these parents who have such tiny premature babies could use a hat made especially for their little one. Maybe they need to know that they are not alone. And maybe Ian can touch more lives than he already has. If 13 minutes of life can touch so many people, if 780 seconds can have such a profound impact on hundreds of lives and even the lives of people we don't even know, shouldn't we be able to do so much more with the years we have? It seems so small, making these tiny hats to donate. But maybe, just maybe, the parents of a tiny baby who is struggling to live will see this little token of love and support, and maybe it will bring them some comfort during their hard times. And maybe Ian will live so much longer in our hearts, in your hearts, and in the hearts of these parents who receive these little tokens of love in memory of Ian.

If you want to read more about his journey, you can visit my sister-in-law's blog posts about Ian here, here, here, and here.

Much love to you all,
~Sarah Liz