On the morning of Sunday 2nd September, we left to go to hospital to have our little boy induced. He was still punching away as I got ready. Somewhere between those little punches and getting to the hospital Arlo lost his fight...... and he had fought so hard to get to that point. In just a few hours our lives changed forever. We should have been getting ready to say hello to him, instead we were getting ready to say goodbye. After a long dramatic birth our beautiful little boy Arlo Danny Ellingham made his way into this world. On Monday 3rd September 2018 at 1:13am weighing just a tiny 5lb 0oz.

We never got to hear his voice or see his little eyes looking up at us. Everything you ever think about doing when you first get that positive pregnancy test was snatched away. Too many people experience this everyday.... Too many people are never going to be the same again, always wondering who their babies would have been. We know how amazing Arlo would have been and will be. Sadly it is just down to us to make that happen for him now.

After Arlo’s birth we got to spend the most precious 4 and a half days with him. There is a specific suite on labour ward at Hillingdon Hospital, which is lovely with a sofa bed so dad or anybody can stay as well as specialised cot allowing baby to stay with you the whole time. Although the room is slightly distanced from the other rooms, you still hear all of the goings on. For me I found hearing the babies first cries comforting, it was hearing the emergency buzzers and heartbeat monitors the most traumatic.

We have decided to raise funds in Arlo’s memory to help others in our position. At the moment we would like to help Hillingdon hospital. The hospital is currently fundraising to build a separate unit (basically a mini flat) completely away from the Maternity unit. This is estimated to cost £90,000. This will protect new parents from the sights and sounds that you can not escape on a maternity unit. We would like to be able to help try and raise some funds towards that.

We would also like to purchase another cuddle cot for them. A cuddle cot is a cot that has a specialised cooling system enabling babies to stay with their families for a few days. Without a cuddle cot babies would have to be taken away for periods of times which is traumatic during an already traumatic time.

Any donation no matter how small will go a long way to families in our position. We can never ever truly be able to express how grateful we are to Hillingdon Hospital for giving us that time with our angel Arlo. So please help us to help others get that!

Thank you

Jade, Tommy and of course the beautiful Arlo

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