Introducing our perfect baby, Afton Bjork Ostrom, who was born on December 31, 2016, and who left this world peacefully, laying skin-to-skin in the arms of his mommy and daddy, surrounded by pure love in the early morning hours of January 1, 2017. In the midst of our deep sorrow, we are so full of awe and wonder for having experienced just a tiny taste of his precious sweetness this side of heaven. The moment they placed him skin-to-skin on my chest, something inside of me locked into place. I felt his tiny heart beating right over mine, and in an instant, I knew I loved him more than life. It was deep and wide and otherworldly. In our short time, we fell in love with being his parents. We touched all his fingers and toes, we kissed his sweet, perfect face, and we whispered I-love-you’s into his tiny little ears so he could hear and know our voices as we held him and let him go. These moments we had with sweet Afton are also making the ache of losing him all the more crushing. We got just a taste, but we so badly wanted a lifetime of this perfect love. It’s a depth of loss that I’ve never known – where something so tangibly a part of you is suddenly gone. You can feel that searing emptiness burning a hole right there in your own body. Afton has left his forever mark on us, and it’s our honor to wear that deep scar as the evidence that he was here and he was loved. We’ll carry that ache with us for the rest of our lives until we meet him again someday. You’re forever perfect and forever loved, baby boy. We’ll always, always, always be your mommy and daddy, and you’ll always be our sweet Afton During this time, several of you have asked if there’s an organization or cause that would be best to give to in Afton’s name. Here’s a quick note from Lindsay and Bjork for where to give if you feel led. Click here to reach the donation page: This experience has given us a profound appreciation for the meaning of family. We know that there are many others, both here and around the world, whose families have also been broken by tragedy. We hope to honor Afton’s memory by pouring into the lives of hurting children who don’t have families of their own to care for them. Bjork and I lived and worked at the Children’s Shelter of Cebu orphanage for one year and saw firsthand the loving and lifesaving ways that children are cared for in times when they are most vulnerable. Thank you for being a family to these children with us, and for doing so in memory of our precious son Afton. Bjork, Lindsay and Afton
