On December 9, 2014 at 18 weeks and 7 days into the pregnancy, we lost our beautiful baby girl Annabella Grace Ocasio. She was absolutely perfect from her little head to her teeny tiny toes. We had the priest come to give her a baby blessing, we held her, kissed her, wrapped her in blankets, took pictures of her, and cherished every moment we had with her. Some of our wonderful family and friends came to see Annabella and support us as well. The hospital Annabella was delivered in didn't have a CuddleCot and it didn't have a way to keep Annabella to keep her cool. She was "changing" faster than we expected and we didn't want to remember her that way. We wanted to remember her as our perfect baby girl. That was the only time we had with Annabella and the last time we ever saw her. Annabella's Angels is raising funds to purchase and donate a CuddleCot in Annabella and her angel friends' memory to all Connecticut hospitals so that other families facing the tragic loss of their beautiful babies can have the precious gift of time. The CuddleCots we purchased are the first and only CuddleCot in Connecticut. Each CuddleCot costs about $3,000. All additional funds will go towards purchasing more CuddleCots to donate to other hospitals. For those not familiar with the CuddleCot it is an in room cooling unit that is the size of a small humidifier disguised inside of a Moses basket. Research has proven having a unit available to parents while they are in the hospital encourages families to spend time with their baby. This gift of time allows precious hours for bonding, pictures, plaster molds to be taken, and other family members to come and meet the baby before the natural changes that occur in death become more apparent. In addition, the baby can now stay in the room with the family the entire hospital stay if the family so desires. While this might not be for everyone, it does allow families a choice. Our short term goal wass to place a CuddleCot in each Waterbury hospital which we accomplished on January 9, 2016! Our long term goal is to place a CuddleCot in every hospital in Connecticut in Annabella and her angel friends' memory. Dealing with the death of a baby is clearly an incredibly difficult event for parents and bereaved parents should be given the option of spending time with their baby. Providing families time through the use of the CuddleCot is internationally encouraged by midwives, bereavement practitioners, still birth/neonatal charities, and academics. Time allows the family to form an important bond with their baby; whether changing a nappy, dressing the baby, taking photographs or simply just staying close and this unquestionably helps families in dealing with their loss. The problem is that in a warm room the baby’s condition can deteriorate quickly, therefore cooling the baby is absolutely essential. Transferring to and from the morgue is now widely regarded as an outdated practice as it is traumatic for parents to repeatedly go through the separation process whereas the Cuddle Cot allows the family to spend every moment with their baby, precious moments where every minute counts. To contact us, email [email protected]!
