So here it goes, the cliché parent.... I can't believe how fast time is going and how fast Lottie is growing up. 2021 mark's her 6th birthday and it now also marks the year we take on a new challenge to raise more money for the fantastic small charity, Supporters of Families and Babies (SOFAB). We are now a family of 4, and we feel so privileged that (with a little help from the NHS) I made it to 38 weeks with little Nell. 


As most of you know, 3 of us did the London to Brighton challenge in 2016. This year we have 2 new recruits and we are doing the 100km Lake District challenge. This climb will be almost double in elevation and on much rougher terrain!! We completed the London to Brighton challenge in 24 hours and 38 minutes walking through the day and night. It was hell and so much harder than we thought. Since then we have barely walked more than 5km in one go. We are going to need to do a massive amount of training again to be able to achieve this. Why are we doing something so ridiculous again?? ...


...Because SOFAB (a charity formed in 2012 by a group of neonatal nurses who identified a need to improve the experience of parents whose babies are admitted to neonatal/special care baby units because of prematurity or sickness) provides important and life changing support that the NHS just can’t.


 We raised a massive £4630 for SOFAB last time we walked and we are so thankful to everyone that supported, motivated and sponsored us to achieve that. Let’s see if we what we can smash that total this time.

Here’s an insight into what SOFAB did for our family.

Lottie was born 11 weeks early weighing 2lbs 10. As I'm sure any new mum would say the first few days of being a first time mum are a complete blur, but when you go into spontaneous labour at 28 weeks pregnant it really is a surreal experience. Everything is a complete blur from the minute Lottie was born and taken from me. My husband, Matty, had nipped home to get some clothes for me as the hospital wanted to keep me in for monitoring, within an hour or two of his return, Lottie was born.

Lottie spent her first six weeks in hospital during which we went through some scary and tough times. To see your baby covered in wires in an incubator and be unable to hold them is something I don't think anyone can prepare you for. It's a feeling like no other. 

Lottie was born at 7.30pm, and I'm not even sure how much time passed before we actually got to meet her.

The night she was born the nurses started Lottie’s diary. This was funded by SOFAB, who had also funded a camera and photo printer for the ward and so they were also able to capture photos of our first precious moments. They continued to update her diary everyday with photos and updates until we were finally able to go home. 

Until I started writing this, I had no idea how long it was before I got to hold Lottie for the first time. I had to refer to our diary to discover it was 2 days after she was born that I finally got to hold my baby. It was 3am and I had nipped round to the ward to see her and drop off milk for her. Matty was at home as he had to leave the hospital each night to see to the dogs. I remember, I sat and cried as I held her tiny body against mine. One of the lovely nurses took our first mother daughter photo together and stuck it in Lottie's diary. That photo is simply irreplaceable - without SOFAB’s fundraising, I would not have a photograph of the first time I held my baby.  Although I couldn't share that moment first hand with my husband, I could show him the photo the moment he arrived at hospital the following morning.

After 6 nights of staying on the post-natal ward, the time I had been dreading came. I had to go home and leave my baby. I could no longer, nip down to her ward in the middle of the night to watch her in her incubator. I can't find words to begin to explain to you how hard that was. Nothing can prepare you for leaving your baby in hospital. I cried as I left her, I cried all the way home, I cried myself to sleep, I woke in the night wondering how she was, what level of oxygen was she on? Was she ok? What if something went wrong and I wasn't there? I cried for 42 nights! Whilst I tried to stay positive, it was undoubtedly the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I woke incredibly early every morning and sped off to see her, every morning I would do the walk that I loved and dreaded at once. I loved that I was going to see her, but I was so fearful that she'd had a bad night or there were complications. The best thing each morning was obviously getting to see my baby, but also to check her diary. The wonderful nurses would update her diary in the night if anything significant had happened and they would stick photos in if she woke in the night during her feeds. This made me feel so much better, like I could catch up on what I had missed out on each day.

After 42 long days and incredibly long nights, the day came when we were told that at 3lbs 14 Lottie was strong enough to come home. This was the day we had been waiting for we were excited but at the same time scared. To prepare for this we were asked if we wanted to share a room with Lottie that night.... I could not believe it!! SOFAB had used money raised to kit out 2 parent flats next to the neonatal ward. These flats are not like a typical hospital room, they have a double bed, a TV, there's a kitchen where you can cook and make drinks...they even supply you with milk and tea & coffee (cos yeah as if you have time to nip out and shop when you've just got the opportunity to hang out with your baby alone for the first time ever!!) This is just invaluable!! To be able to spend a whole night with Lottie was just the best! A lot of premature babies require more specialised care than a full term baby would. These parent flats allow you to make sure you're comfortable with all of babies needs (drawing up medications, dealing with baby's oxygen if they are required to go home on oxygen etc) before going home. The nurses are a phone call away and come round intermittently through the evening until they are happy that you & baby are ok.

Just £10 pays for one diary that a family will treasure forever. I cannot explain to you how much Lottie's diary means to me. It has photos in from the night she was born, her first bath in hospital which was a few weeks after she was born, her first feed that wasn't through a tube. All of which are huge milestones to any parent with a premature baby. Without her diary and the photos we would not have these memories. 



SOFAB cover neonatal units in the following hospitals: Leeds General Infirmary, St James Hospital, Pinderfields General Hospital, Calderdale Royal Hospital, Harrogate Hospital, Scarborough Hospital, Airedale General Hospital, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Hull Royal Infirmary, York Hospital, Rotherham Hospital, Barnsley Hospital, Bassetlaw Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Diana Princess of Wales Hospital Grimsby, Jessop Wing Sheffield, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Sheffield Children’s Hospital.


This is a recent update from SOFAB:


In case anyone ever wonders what the money you help us raise is spent on, here are a few of the requests that we’ve had from neonatal units over the last year:

Harrogate asked for books for a library they’re starting so that parents and siblings can read to the babies. SOFAB have ordered around £100 worth of children’s books, including some of our personal favourites, and hope to go over and present them soon.

Doncaster requested reclining chairs to go at the side of cots. SOFAB have agreed to fund one which we think will be around £800.

Pinderfields asked for some ‘Guess How Much I Love You' boxes, baby books and ‘Tiny Treasure’ baby comforters to make memory boxes for babies going into foster care. SOFAB agreed to buy all of the items.

SOFAB have also recently donated funds to Pinderfields to create a room where parents can sit and have a drink or something to eat, some quiet time or a chat without having to leave the unit.

St James’s asked for a donation towards the cost of refurbishing their parent bedrooms. SOFAB donated £1000 and are looking forward to visiting soon to see the finished room.

SOFAB also regularly fund places for neonatal staff from units across the region on courses about the importance of family-centred care and how to improve it.

Donations to the cause will enable SOFAB to continue their amazing work!