On Wednesday the 9^th of September 2015 while lying in bed 37 weeks pregnant with my first daughter Evie I was blissfully enjoying the feeling of the flurry of bulges from her tiny hands and feet. Before I closed my eyes I gave Evie one last tickle, I felt her scurry away and I peacefully went to sleep. Little did I know that when I was to wake my nightmare would begin.

“Don’t panic” I remember hearing the nurses say as an amplified sound of a heart beat filled the room, but it wasn’t the sound of Evie’s that I so desperately wanted to hear. It was mine, and only mine.

And just like that hope died, in its place was heartbreak, horror and fear.

Now was the time I had to bring my baby into the world, the moment I had longed for, the moment I had been dreaming of, the moment which I had pictured over and over again in my head being the happiest day of my life.

This day was no longer going to be what it should, not once did I ever imagine we would have to face it with no breath, no beat, no life. Not once did I imagine we would have to say hello and goodbye all at the same time.

Our gorgeous little angel Evie Harper Jolliffe was born sleeping peacefully on the 11^th of September 2015 at 6:48pm, weighing 5 pounds 13 ounces. Thankfully Evie was born at a hospital where there was a cuddle cot available. This meant that we were able to get to know our beautiful little angel, make as many little memories as possible and have our little girl with us for as long as we needed.

I am forever thankful for the time we had with Evie. I will never forget what it felt like to cuddle her, to touch her chubby cheeks and kiss her precious nose. We shared the only night we would ever have sleeping next to our little girl. Without a cuddle cot none of this would have been possible. The moments following the birth of a child are the most magical moments that everyone should have the time to enjoy, to meet their baby, to love and cuddle their baby regardless if there is breath of life.

As a parent imagine not getting that chance to do the things we take for granted.

Unfortunately not all hospitals have cuddle cots. A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system that has been designed to fit within a small cot. This effective system allows for babies who have passed away to remain with their families so that they are not required to be cooled in a mortuary environment. It is for this reason I have started Cuddles from Evie to purchase Cuddle Cots in her memory to help others in the same situation. I want to help give parents choices, and reassure them that they can spend as much time as they like with their baby, without the fear of the baby needing to be cooled in a traditional mortuary.  

I wanted to be Evie’s mother more then she will ever know. I wanted so much to bring her into this world so I could protect her and watch her grow. The hardest thing I have to deal with is knowing I couldn’t protect her in the one place where she should have been the safest.

Before having Evie I had so much hope for her future, now my only hope is that her memory lives on. I imagined Evie being a caring and sensitive little soul and I know she would want to help others in need. Help me raise the funds to be able to donate a cuddle cot and help other families in desperate need receive a cuddle from Evie. 

Cuddles from Evie is aiming to raise $12000 to purchase 2 Cuddle Cot's and we would welcome any contribution that you could make to help support the families who experience the heartbreaking loss of their baby.

I will be attemping to run my first ever half marathon in July to try and help raise the funds needed.

We also will be running a family fun day in conjuction with Slick Fit Personal Training which will be held early Feb and will include a kids bootcamp, adult boxing classes, face painting, BBQ and raffles with some AMAZING prizes.

An update on our progress - as you can see we have managed to raise more then our target amount of $12000! Our family fun day was a huge success and I crossed the finished line of my first half marathon on the 30th of July 2017 in a time of 2 hours and 30 minutes!

We have donated both our cuddles cots, the first to Monash Children's Hospital in Clayton and the second to the Angliss Hospital in Ferntree Gully.

Thank you to everyone who supported us and made donations, we can't express how much your support means. Xoxoxox