WHEN FACED WITH A LIFE LIMITING OR FATAL DIAGNOSIS DURING PREGNANCY, THE ABUNDANCE OF SUPPORT AVAILABLE IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY IS FOR AFTER THE LOSS OF THE BABY. OUR LITTLE SPARROWS IS HERE TO WALK ALONGSIDE YOU DURING AND AFTER YOUR PREGNANCY NO MATTER THE OUTCOME. WE SEEK TO PROVIDE COMFORT, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND RESOURCES THROUGH PERSONALIZED DOULA SERVICES AND CERTIFIED GRIEF RECOVERY METHOD® PROGRAMS. TALK TO US TODAY, WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! -YOU ARE LOVED🌷
Founders
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Hi, we are Geoff and Toni Brabec. We have been married 15 years, our son James is 7 years old and our "Little Lady" Audrey is 2 years old. James and Audrey are our "Rainbow Babies," meaning that they were born after experiencing the loss of a baby. Our first born Olivia was born in 2013 on our 5th wedding anniversary. She did not survive past the day of her birth. In addition to the loss of Olivia, we have experienced two miscarriages with the most recent being March of 2018. We love and cherish all of our children but we would be remiss to not acknowledge the deep pain of loss that we experience as we journey through life. We grieve for all of our babies that did not survive.
Through the experience of child loss both of us knew that we were forever changed and couldn’t go back to the way things were. Our hopes, dreams and what we expected to be was never going to be what we wanted. We were challenged to find out what God wanted from us through this experience. We felt called to serve other families in similar circumstances but without knowing how. Personally, we are drawn to serve expectant mothers who are faced with a challenging pregnancy that may or may not result in the loss of their baby. We also desire to encourage those seeking support during a subsequent pregnancy equipping them with the means necessary to guide them through delivery. ~ You can follow Geoff and Toni Brabec at www.gtbrabec.com~
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Services
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Birth and Bereavement Doula Services
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Resources
Recommended Websites
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Recommended Books
(Click) on Images to Learn More.. |
Gallery
Comfort Kit Collection! (August - October 2023) October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. DronEstate is supporting Our Little Sparrows in collecting items for comfort kits to be donated to Sutter Medical Sacramento. If you are interested in this Cause and would like to help, please click the link below. Comfort Kit Drive Details Here! Updated: 09/05/2023 |
Sharing Parents of Sacramento Annual October Memorial The Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec along with their son James and (Grandma) Sheri Brabec attended the Annual October Memorial for babies and infants. Sharing Parents of Sacramento offers this annual event to hold a safe space for parents to honor their children. (10/07/22) |
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Our Little Sparrows Podcast! We are back for season 2! Please join us on our weekly podcast. You can either listen on your favorite podcast app or watch the latest episode on the OLS YouTube Channel. 04/05/2022 |
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Official 501(c)(3) Nonprofit! We are very happy to announce our official 501(c)(3) status. You can donate (here). We will gladly issue a tax deductible receipt for helping to support our community of Pregnancy and Infant Loss. -You are loved🌷 Geoff and Toni Brabec (OLS Founders) 01/19/2022 |
Fundraising! Putting together and mailing out our first fundraising packet! You can donate directly on our website. 01/17/2022 |
Welcome 2022! This will be our first full year as a nonprofit in the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Community. In this issue we review where we've been in the past year and offer a vision of where we are headed in 2022. We welcome you to join us on this journey. -You are loved🌷 Geoff and Toni Brabec (OLS Founders) 01/11/2022 |
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What Will 2021 Look Like For You?
We are excited to announce our first "Self-Care" series. Click the link below and follow along with us as we share ways to focus on your self care in 2021. (May 2021) |
Watch the first of our 25 episode YouTube Video Grief Series titled, "What is A LIfe-Limiting or Fatal Diagnosis Pregnancy." |
Grief Series: "The Pregnancy Journey, Grieving from Diagnosis To The Loss of Your Baby and Beyond" (Guidance Intended Prior To Baby loss) Our Little Sparrows has completed their first Video Grief Series. The Pregnancy Journey is a YouTube Video Grief Series that is deeply personal. We walk beside you from the diagnosis of a life-limiting and/ or fatal pregnancy to the birth of your baby. The road we walked with our first-born daughter may have been unique for us in a lot of ways, but there are similar paths that can be taught from our experience and made to be part of yours. We are here to help guide you in your journey. How can we be equipped to walk this road without experiencing it before. No one can tell you what is right and what is wrong. We endeavor to share our experience through our own loss and educate where possible. The episodes in this series are in a natural order and address subject matter that you may not have even thought about, that is our goal. The more we know, the better we can prepare our hearts and minds for what is to come. It is our hope that this series will help guide you as you walk this emotionally exhausting, physically challenging, mentally confusing, and all too often lonely journey to baby loss. (10/05/20) |
Watch this special time of honoring all Fathers as well as specific families and their baby(ies) led by the Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec. (6/21/20) |
#FathersDaySayTheirName2020 On this Father's Day Our Little Sparrows chose to honor Dads by recognizing the babies that are no longer with us. Geoff Brabec from O.L.S. developed a 4 part series of Video Podcasts that talked about the challenges and joys of Father's Day for Dad's of the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Community. Geoff also created a special web page with helpful tools so that Dad's like him can find their voice among the grief they feel. (6/21/20) |
#MothersDaySayTheirName2020 On this Mother's Day Our Little Sparrows chose to honor Moms by recognizing the babies that are no longer with us. This special time of honoring our babies and Motherhood was led by the Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec. (5/10/20) |
Our Little Sparrows'Now Has a YouTube Channel! Welcome to The Our Little Sparrows, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support! Moms, if you are currently faced with or have been faced with a challenging pregnancy that may or may not result in the loss of their baby. Our Little Sparrows is here to walk alongside you during and after your pregnancy no matter the outcome. O.L.S. provides a safe space to meet other families, offer in depth, specific and unique Grief Support and help you to find meaning as you journey in and through Pregnancy and Infant Loss. -You are loved 🌷 (5/6/2020) GO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, "SUBSCRIBE" AND "RING THE BELL" TO RECEIVE ALERTS WHEN WE POST NEW EPISODES WEEKLY! |
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NICU Symposium 2019 Wow, what a wonderful day at the #2019NICUSymposium! This was a great event created by Lisa Beauchamp, the Founder of #NICUFamilyAlliance. The Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec connected with some amazing people doing great work in the area of Family Wellness in addition to the focus on patient recovery during hospital stays in the NICU and after they get home. There was an emphasis on mental (PTSD, etc) and Emotional wellbeing of the entire family. We heard from Specialists in the NICU field (Susan Hintz, Robert Hess Family Professor of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine at Stanford University), professional Therapists, Child Life Specialists (Child Life Specialists are typically located in the NICU and employed by the hospital to help walk the patient and their family through their NICU stay) as well as State and Local Health Agencies. It was great to see and hear from professionals located in the NorCal area. The attendees were a mix of professionals and families, Geoff and Toni can only imagine how insightful the information provided was for each of them. (11/16/2019) |
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Phoebe's Flight 5K 2019 The Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec along with their son James were honored to have attended #phoebesflight5k! This special and unique event raises funds for parent's of pregnancy and infant loss. Finding a therapist that knows and understands the grief having to do with the loss that we have experienced is slim in the Sacramento Area. #phoebesfund not only connects families with the care but also helps with the cost❤️ (10/20/19) https://phoebesfund.org |
Sharing Parents of Sacramento Annual October Memorial The Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec along with their son James and (Grandma) Sheri Brabec attended the Annual October Memorial for babies and infants. Sharing Parents of Sacramento offers this annual event to hold a safe space for parents to honor their children. (10/13/19) |
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Sutter NICU Wings Remembrance Event 2019 (From the Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff & Toni Brabec) Every year we attend the Sutter NICU Wings Remembrance Event that remembers all the babies under the care of the Sutter Medical Center NICU who didn't make it home. Families come and attend whose baby died many years ago. Others, had just left the hospital. We come and remember the lives of our babies. To feel the love we have for them and together we long for them. We love coming back every year to reunite with the NICU staff that were with us when Olivia was born. We reconnect with some of the same families every year. We love to talk about them. Speak their name. Hear their name. And we all know and understand each others weight of longing, missing and loving them. We write letters, send kisses to them on the wings of butterflies. Their siblings remember them through creative arts and crafts. We shed many tears and remember the heart break. We also remember their lives. Regardless how short their life was, they are forever with us. Every year, a slideshow is presented for the families in remembrance of our babies. These are the lyrics we picked for Olivia. It's from a song called, "Winter Bear", by Coby Grant. It was written in honor of baby who was stillborn. Click hereto see the "Winter Bear" music video. "I knew you before I knew your name I loved you before I saw your face I longed for you for all of that time And I held your heart in mine I kissed you you a hundred million times I tasted the tears that I cried I held you my beautiful child And I'll keep your heart in mine I love you to the moon and back my little winter bear I know you know how much that is cause you're already there. I never knew a love like this could ever possibly exist, I love you to the moon and back as long as I live." Winter Bear-Coby Grant (9/26/19) |
Sacramento Memorial For The Unborn The Founders of Our Little Sparrows, Geoff and Toni Brabec were invited by the Sacramento Memorial Garden For The Unborn to speak at their "Grow The Garden Tour Event" that took place this last weekend. The Brabec's were connected to this group through Tanya Flores who is a friend and a Reproductive Grief Care Coordinator at Sierra Pregnancy + Health. Toni- It was a beautiful morning to remember and reflect the lives of our babies. We met others and listened to each others stories of heartbreak and loss. We were able to share our story of loss of Olivia and two other babies to miscarriage. We shared how their lives made an impact on us and how we remember and honor them. We came to recognize and acknowledge that there needs to be a place for grief and grieving. That lives we barely knew existed and lives that we didn't get to see or hold are forever a part of us. They deserve to be remembered. That's what the Sacramento Memorial Garden for the Unborn is for. It is a place for us to come, to reflect, remember and find hope and comfort. -The Brabec's As you can see from the pictures, the garden is absolutely beautiful and a special place to come and not only visit but to stay and reflect for more than just a moment. The careful planning and detail that was put into everything truly came from the heart. If you or someone you know has been affected by abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, I hope you'll remember this garden. This beautiful remembrance garden is public and open all day every day. Please check out their website https://www.sacunbornmemorial.org (9/15/19) |
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March For Babies 2019! The Founder of Our Little Sparrows (Toni Brabec and son James) along with their cousin Brittany and Aunt Cindy walked in memory of Olivia and their two miscarriages (Sweet Baby B's) that they never got to meet. This was the first time that Geoff Brabec was away on a work trip and unable to walk with his family ❤️ (4/27/19) (Related blog) |
Delivery of the Comfort Bags! The Founders of Our Little Sparrows (Toni, Geoff and their son James) delivered to Sutter Medical Center Sacramento the comfort bags that were put together with love at Olivia's 5th Birthday Party. (10/26/18) (Related blog) |
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Olivia's 5th Birthday Celebration! In celebration of Olivia Hope Brabec, The Founders of Our Little Sparrows (Geoff & Toni Brabec) shared with their family what they experienced during their pregnancy journey, her birth and the process of letting her go. Geoff and Toni did this to help those closest to them understand what they had experienced and what they have since decided to do with the knowledge and understanding as parents of infant loss. During this special time their guests assembled comfort bags that would be delivered to the High Risk Maternity Ward at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento for families experiencing pregnancy or infant loss. (10/7/2018) |