CuddleCot for funeral homes in Canterbury NZ

Pictured is the McBeth family spending precious moments with their beautiful daughter Lily.

We are hoping to raise enough money to buy a cuddle cot for the funeral homes in the Canterbury region so that families like Claire's have the opportunity to have their angel baby at home with them after they have passed.

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At 21 weeks Claire McBeth was told that her cervix had begun to funnel, she began progesterone medication and had weekly scans. Unfortunately at her last scan at 22w6d her cervix had completely opened, she was admitted to hospital and was given steroids to help with Lily’s Lungs, they were briefed by the paediatric team and told they would do all they could to help her if she arrived soon.

Unfortunately 3 days later Claire went into labour and Lily passed away during birth. She weighed a tiny 472 grams and was 30cm long. She is so loved and dearly missed my her Mummy, Daddy and her big brother Carter.

“The child we had, but never had, and yet we’ll have forever”

Having a cuddle cot enabled the McBeth family to spend 2 precious days with their daughter Lily by their side. Because she could be placed on the cooling pad overnight it meant that she didn’t have to leave them to go down to the morgue. Being able to treat her like any other baby gave them time to hold her and talk to her and to be able to spend a few days with her and their families. After leaving the hospital they realised how wonderful it really was having the CuddleCot available (it had also been donated by a bereaved family) that she thought being able to provide one to funeral homes would enable other families like theirs to spend time with their babies at home, even if it was for one more day.

In memory of Lily Margaret McBeth - 6/5/18. Born at 23 weeks.

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A CuddleCot is a cooling system which is placed into a Bassinet/Moses basket to let parents of angel babies spend an extra couple of days with their child before saying their last goodbyes. This is a crucial time in which bereaved parents can create memories through photographs, casts and making hand and footprints - an essential part of the healing process. There is currently only a few of these in New Zealand due to the cost of these systems. They are not made in New Zealand therefore need to be imported in.

We need to raise £1700 + shipping so that works out to be around $3491 NZD (target is higher to allow for Give A Little Fees etc).

The money will be spent of purchasing a CuddleCot and getting it over to Canterbury, New Zealand. If we get enough money, another would be purchased and gifted to another district otherwise all additional funds will be donated to SANDS (Sands New Zealand is a voluntary, parent-run, non-profit organisation set up to support parents and families who have experienced the death of a baby).

For more information on the CuddleCot suppliers, visit http://flexmort.com/cuddle-cots/