A mother from Kansas who has come to know the excruciating heartache of losing a child has turned her grief into a mission to help others. She makes keepsake kits to honor a short but precious life.

When Amanda Smith went into labor in a Wichita hospital with her son Robbie in February 2012, she was just over 22 weeks pregnant.

When Robbie was born three days later, on February 24, 2012, he was thought to be below the viability point — and lived for only two hours, she told Fox News Digital.

“Robbie was born weighing 1 lb 4.4 oz and 12 inches tall. He was early and tiny, but he was perfect,” Smith also said.

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Since she and her husband Tanner expected to have a few more weeks to prepare for the birth of their child, they were not prepared in the slightest.

“We didn’t have a camera or a special hat or blanket for him,” she said. “Our kind nurse was looking in the hospital for a hat that was small enough to fit his tiny head.”

While not small enough to fit on the head of a little over a pound and a quarter baby, the nurse came with “a very precious little blue hat with a pom-pom on top,” Smith said.

And although the hat was “totally large,” it became incredibly special to Smith after the death of her little one.

“Even after I no longer had Robbie to hold on to, I had his hat,” she said. “This little blue has given me solace on countless occasions when I needed to feel close to it.”

“It’s not just a hat. It represents Robbie’s life. It was a short life, but he mattered, he was loved and he was here.”

“I slept with it, I carried it in my hoodie pocket when I was at home, and when I left, I put it in my purse and took it with me,” she continued.

“I didn’t have my child, but I had a small part of him.”

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As Smith moved through her grief, she said she “stopped relying on the comfort of that hat.”

She continued, “It’s not just a hat. She represents Robbie’s life. It was a short life, but he mattered; he was loved and he was here. This hat is a physical reminder of his existence.”

About two and a half years after her son’s death, Smith was touched by the recent death of her grandfather, after whom Robbie was named, and decided to channel her grief into something more concrete to honor her son’s memory.

“I realized that the way to honor his life was to collect tiny hats and blankets for the hospital…where he was born.”

“I just didn’t know what and how,” she said.

“On the day I had a particularly rough day of grief while holding Robbie’s hat, I realized that the way to honor his life was to collect tiny hats and blankets for the hospital in Wichita, Kansas, where he was born. ,” She said.

“I started by contacting the hospital where he was born to ask if they needed such a donation and they very excitedly said yes as they were not receiving such donations.”

Smith and her mother enlisted the support of family and friends to help sew blankets and hats—at the time, neither of them knew how to crochet.

Shown here is Project Robby’s Kansas headquarters; it contains hand-knitted items ordered by size and waiting to be sent to grieving families. (Project Robbie)

She also turned to her blog where she began documenting her pregnancy with Robbie. After his death, she wrote about how she dealt with her grief.

“I decided to write our story about his hat, how important it was (and still is) to me, and why I wanted to be able to donate tiny hats to premature babies who unfortunately don’t survive.” – she said. said.

“I was so worried that we would not achieve our goal.”

Her original goal was to donate 50 hats and 50 blankets, as well as 100 hats and 100 blankets.

“I was so worried that we would not achieve our goal,” she said.

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As it turned out, she didn’t have much to worry about.

The blog post was shared around the world, and from August 2014 to February 2015, friends, families and complete strangers donated enough hats and blankets to fill 13 Rubbermaid containers, Smith said.

“Honestly, I thought that after we delivered our donation [the hospital] that we will finish and our “project” will be completed,” she continued.

“I believe our hearts really guide us.”

Far from it, what would become The Robbie Project was just getting started.

Other hospitals across the US learned of Smith’s donation of tiny hats and blankets. They started reaching out to see if they could also get blankets and hats for their youngest patients.

Baby Robbie Smith lived only two hours when he was born at 23 weeks pregnant on February 24, 2012 in Wichita, Kansas. (Project Robbie)

“That’s when we started working on becoming a non-profit organization to continue our mission of helping families with angel babies,” Smith said.

Smith named the non-profit project “Robbie” after her son. Smith and her mother run a group of 100% volunteers from their Kansas headquarters.

“After our initial donation,” Smith said, “we have continued to receive many different things from amazing women around the world.”

“Pregnancy and the loss of babies can be an uncomfortable topic for our society, but it’s an important topic.”

These items included hats, blankets, booties, cradles, cocoons, and most importantly, angel wings.

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“When we started getting angel wings in the mail from different knitters, we decided that we would add angel wings to every Project Robby Bereavement Set, and when we launched the Keepsake Set program, we decided to add angel wings to those that are good,” said Smith. .

Shown here are two sets of Project Robby souvenirs. Amanda Smith and her mother assemble all the sets by hand; they rely on instinct when choosing items. (Project Robbie)

The Keepsake Set began in 2017 when Smith realized that some women who lost their babies early in pregnancy had nothing physical to represent their children.

Or perhaps their pregnancy was not long enough to give birth, or they were cared for in the maternity ward of a hospital.

“When I say that we care about their grief and their child, I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

The Project Robby keepsake set contains a matching hat, blanket and angel wings for bereaved children aged 4 to 36 weeks pregnant.

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Grieving kits, designed for babies aged 18 to 40 weeks pregnant, are provided to both hospitals and bereavement photographers for babies born too soon to not survive.

Those ordering Project Robby memory kits can request a specific color. Many parents who have lost children very early do not know if their child was a boy or a girl and ask for something gender-neutral in honor of their child. (Project Robbie)

“For so many families, especially those experiencing early pregnancy loss, [the Project Robby Keepsake Set] it’s their only physical reminder of their child,” Smith said.

“I’ve heard from many families that getting a Project Robby commemorative kit has helped them know that someone else remembers their child with them,” she added.

She said this is often seen as “reaffirmation that their grief matters and their child matters.”

“When I say that we care about their grief and their child, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. An important part of the grief journey is validating your grief, and that’s what we do at Project Robby.”

“Our children – no matter what pregnancy they were lost in – matter.”

She noted that for Smith and her mother, selecting items from the Project Robby Keepsake Sets is a delicate process.

Families requesting memory kits may provide gender (if known), name (if indicated) and any other information about their child.

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“Most of the time, when choosing kits for families, I talked to them either through their request form notes, emails, or comments on our various social media pages,” Smith said.

“I believe our hearts really guide us,” Smith said.

While Smith believes that what she does with Project Robby is rewarding and important work, some days are easier than others.

Three sets of Project Robby souvenirs with hats for the little ones. (Project Robbie)

“The loss is heavy,” she explained. “Every day I get emails and messages from women and men who want to share their stories with someone, and I don’t take it lightly.”

According to her, Smith reads every story sent to her.

Many women ask for a set “for the loss of 30, 40 and even 50 plus years” ago.

“Some people are sharing their stories for the first time. [with] someone other than family,” she said.

“Pregnancy and the loss of babies can be an uncomfortable topic for our society, but it’s an important topic.”

Smith also said, “Our children—no matter how early in pregnancy they are lost—make a difference.”

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On particularly difficult days, Smith says she reads emails from people who have received their keepsakes.

Robbie was born on February 24, 2012 weighing just over a pound. He became the inspiration for the right size accessories for premature babies. (Project Robbie)

Many women expressed gratitude for having something that could have belonged to their “angel baby”, especially those who miscarried before they had an ultrasound or before they had a baby shower. .

On the 24th of every month at 9 am CT, Smith opens a form on the Project Robby website where parents can request keepsake kits in honor of their angels.

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According to Smith, there is no time limit on when a person can request a keepsake kit. She said that “many women ask for a loss set [from] 30, 40 and even 50 plus years ago.

The kits are free, but the number of applications is limited due to the size of the organization.

Photograph of Amanda Smith’s two daughters, Delphine and Alice Ruth, with an outline depicting her late son, Robbie. (Project Robbie)

“We are a completely volunteer-run organization,” Smith said. “We say we accept 50 request forms each month, but we almost always accept between 75 and 100, if not more.”

Smith is now the mother of two girls, Delphine and Alice Ruth, aged 10 and 6. She is also a certified grief coach with a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership.

Robbie’s project accepts both cash donations to cover shipping costs and donations of knitwear for future sets.

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“What we’re doing at Project Robby is sad and can be emotionally heavy, but at the end of the day, I know what we’re doing is important,” Smith said.

More information can be found at ProjectRobby.com.