The Butterfly Run Ottawa - Blog

special thanks to our chrysalis sponsor, fabrications ottawa

4/25/2017

Aaron's Butterfly Run wanted to send out a special note of thanks to Fabrications Ottawa for being our first Chrysalis-level sponsor.

Fabrications Ottawa donated the organic cotton which was used by local community members to sew butterfly wings. Proceeds from the sale of the butterfly wings will be donated to Aaron's Butterfly Run and Roger Neilson House. Thank you Fabrications Ottawa! Your generous support for Aaron's Butterfly Run is greatly appreciated!

If you don't know about Fabrications Ottawa, you should definitely check them out - they believe that everyone can be creative! They offer classes that can build skills and confidence to empower creativity. They also have an open sewing studio stocked with high quality sewing machines and tools, and a carefully curated selection of notions, fabrics and patterns. They are located at 1018 Wellington Street West in Ottawa.

Many thanks to our caterpillar sponsor, bliss doula

4/23/2017

We wanted to send a shout out to one of our Caterpillar Sponsors, Bliss Doula. Bliss Doula provides pregnancy, birth, postpartum and baby support to those in our community. Margaret is the Doula and she offers a multitude of services including prenatal classes, prenatal services, baby care packages, and newborn workshops, in addition to her doula services.

rachel's reflections on loss

4/19/2017

Hello, I'd like to start by introducing myself. My name is Rachel Samulack and I am the mother to 3 children, but only 1 is here with me today. On June 19, 2016, I lost my son Aaron 100 minutes after birth. My husband Rob and I are organizing Aaron's Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau in his memory. If you would like to learn more about Aaron and our time with him, you can read his story here.

Today, my son Aaron would be 10 months old. These milestones are hard. I think about all of the things that Aaron would be doing at 10 months old. He would likely be crawling all over our living room and eating all of the crumbs off the floor. He would have lots of teeth to try all sorts of new food as summer arrives. If he were anything like Gabriel at 10 months, I would be exhausted because he would still be nursing like crazy at night. Now I am exhausted because I am back at work, juggling work/life/being a wife. I would be washing double the amount of cloth diapers. Yikes. These milestones are hard. Some months, I completely forget and other months the 19th hits me like a brick wall. Last week also marked the due date of our first baby who we lost at 10 weeks in September 2013. Pregnancy and infant loss just suck.

The loss of Aaron has shaped the way that I think about the future and the present. I watch the children of friends who are the same ages as my two little ones. I watch their interactions with curiousity and amazement. I feel sad for Gabriel because I know how much fun it is to play (and fight) with younger siblings. I get sick of hearing "Oh, you have lots of time" or "Don't worry, you will have another one." I am so grateful for Gabriel, my lovely, wonderful little boy. However, Gabriel does not replace the loss of Aaron and the expectation that I had for our family when I found out we were expecting Aaron. As Aaron's one year birthday approaches, I have to figure out a way to mark another milestone. A milestone celebrating the joy of his life and the sorrow of his loss. Joy and sorrow are now firmly intertwined in my life. How do you mark these milestones? How do you celebrate your babies who are no longer with us on Earth? I would love to hear from you with the ways that you celebrate your butterfly babies.

butterfly wings for sale

4/19/2017

Well as you know, we're all about butterflies!

For many of us, butterflies are a symbol of the child we lost. The butterfly has long been a powerful symbol across many cultures. It is a symbol of transformation, of the spirit and the soul, and of the unending cycle of life and death.

To the Greeks the butterfly was the symbol of the soul, and it was believed that each butterfly was a human soul searching for a new incarnation.
The Celts also believed that butterflies were new souls seeking life. They believed that a woman became pregnant by swallowing these tiny butterfly souls.
Early Christians also believed that the butterfly was a powerful symbol of the soul.

The metamorphosis of the butterfly is a powerful symbol in so many ways for us when we are grieving. They are the beautiful tiny spark of life that came to us, lighted in our lives for a too brief moment before fluttering away. They are the hope that the transformation that loss brings into our life, can result in something different, something beautiful. We may not be the same at the end of our journey, but we have grown, we are able to see things that we could not before. They are the hope that we may swallow that butterfly soul searching for us, and hold a baby in our bodies and in our arms once more.

To commemorate the symbolism of The Butterfly Run, we're selling butterfly wings! Stop by 3 Sisters Bakeshop & Gourmet Creations to pick up a latte and pair of butterfly wings. The coffee is worth a little trip (if you don't live in the Alta Vista area) and these wings are just too cute to pass up for a little child who likes to play dress up!

Selling for $30/pair with all proceeds going towards Aaron's Butterfly Run and Roger Nelson House. These wings are handmade with organic cotton by Fabrications Ottawa and sewn in memory of Aaron who lived 100 precious minutes.

connect with aaron's butterfly run on social media!

4/13/2017

silent auction in support of aaron's butterfly run

4/13/2017

We will be hosting an online silent auction in early June (dates TBC) on Facebook! This will be a great opportunity to help raise proceeds to support Aaron's Butterfly Run, and it will also be a chance to claim some amazing silent auction items!

To help make the silent auction a success, we are looking for donations of items to be included in the silent auction.

Can you help us out with a donation of a product or service from your business?

Proceeds raised from the silent auction will be used to cover costs including race signage, kits, and food for the runners and walkers, among other costs. Your donation will also leverage the efforts of hundreds of individuals and families in Canada who are working to ensure that all parents have support during and after pregnancy and infant loss.

Your donation could be something as simple as a gift certificate to your business. All donations are greatly appreciated!

If you're able to donate to the silent auction, please e-mail us at butterflyrunottawa@gmail.com

Thank you for your consideration and support!

olympic figure skater struggles with perinatal loss

4/12/2017

Some of you may know Nancy Ann Kerrigan as the Olympic figure skater, and others may know her more recently from Dancing with the Stars. This week, Nancy opened up about the 6 miscarriages she experienced over 8 years while trying to expand her family... check out this article to read more.

Thank you Nancy for sharing your story.

film night and panel discussion for pregnancy and infant loss in ottawa & GATineau

4/12/2017

On Friday April 28th, 2017, Aaron's Butterfly Run is hosting Ottawa and Gatineau's 1st-ever film night and panel discussion for pregnancy and infant loss.

What's happening at the event?

There will be 3 films on pregnancy and infant loss, followed by a panel discussion with members of our community who've experienced a loss themselves and members of our community who provide support to those who've experienced a loss.
Admission is free!
There will be refreshments for sale, as well as a bake sale.
There will also be a sneak peak for a silent auction that's coming up at the beginning of June 2017 (stay tuned for more details)!
All proceeds raised will support Aaron's Butterfly Run on Saturday October 14th, 2017 and Roger Neilson House.

Who should attend?

This event is open to anyone - whether you've personally experienced loss, know someone who has, or would like to support members of your community. We'd encourage absolutely anyone to attend!
If you've experienced pregnancy or infant loss, we hope that this will be an to help you feel less alone, by hearing about other loss stories. This will also be an opportunity for you to connect with members on the panel, by asking questions, sharing your story, or just by listening to the conversation.
If you haven't experienced a loss your self, this will be an event where you can learn more about pregnancy and infant loss and support other members of your community.
We'd also encourage you to attend if you are a health care practitioner who may work with patients who experience pregnancy and infant loss. This will be a chance to share your professional views, ask questions and hear about personal experiences from those in the community.
Regardless of your circumstances, your attendance will help raise awareness and funds for pregnancy and infant loss in Ottawa and Gatineau.

Would you like to do more?

We're still looking for contributions to the silent auction that's planned for early June. If you're able to contribute, please e-mail butterflyrunottawa@gmail.com
If you'd like to get involved in another way, feel free to contact us to discuss other volunteer or sponsorship opportunities! We greatly appreciate any help we can get!

We hope you can join us to raise awareness and support those who've experienced pregnancy and infant loss in our community.

For more information, and to RSVP to the event, check out the Facebook event page:

Click here to view the Facebook event

Aaron’s Story – Perinatal Hospice

4/1/2017

The Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) network is an excellent resource for those going through this type of loss.

On October 15, 2016, PAIL posted an article about Rachel and Rob Samulack's experience with perinatal hospice and the story of their beloved son Aaron.

Remembering the Butterfly Babies

4/1/2017

The Spring 2017 issue of "From Belly to Baby Quarterly Prenatal Journal - the Ottawa Edition" published an article about remembering butterfly babies. This article shares information about Rachel and Rob Samulack's personal experience with perinatal loss and Aaron's Butterfly Run in Ottawa/Gatineau on October 14th, 2017.