Our daughter Indie Arabella Redhead was born on Thursday 17th October 2019 at 29 weeks (11 Weeks premature) weighing exactly 3lbs. After a long 50 days of battling on Hull’s Neonatal Unit (NICU) and overcoming endless obstacles Indie was given the all clear to come home despite still requiring low-flow oxygen and an NG feeding tube. Since then despite the odd blip she has gone from strength to strength and was this week discharged from the Out Reach nursing team meaning we now have full freedom of our baby girl! Our other little girl Esmae, now 4 years old and the biggest best character in the world was also born 8 weeks premature so as you can imagine we feel as though we owe a lot to NICU. Myself and my partner (Carrie) also got engaged on the ward so we have memories for the happier and harder times! For those interested there’s a more detailed version of events right at the very bottom of this write up.

I’ll forever be grateful to the NHS for the duty of care they provided not only for our girls but for us as parents too. How so many normal down to earth staff can be so intelligent and all work under one roof was mind blowing for me. I couldn’t possibly give this ward anymore praise and although we'll forever be in their debt, as a good will gesture I wanted to raise money for the “Baby Unit Fund” as a thank you for everything they’ve done for us.

So now for the fun part (Well for everyone else) ... On Friday 17th April 2020 Indie will be 6 months old, to mark this milestone I’ll be hosting a fundraising event (Sponsored head shave along with other activities on the day) on Saturday 18th April 2020 at Royal Charter Pub, Salthouse Road from 14:30pm. Everyone who knows me personally can vouch for the ongoing obsession I’ve had with my hair over the years. I’ve always flinched at the thought of people touching it, had hairspray in people’s bags/ behind bars incase someone ruffles it up and have always had a fear of losing my hair in age so deciding to do this off my own back is HUGE for me but there’s no going back now!! Taking great pleasure of doing the honours of wiping my hair off and transforming me into a space raider will be Lee Carmichael and pictures/ videos will be taken for those who unfortunately cannot attend the event. A buffet will be laid out for all attending and there’s a children’s play area for those unfamiliar with the pub so obviously children more than welcome and can be entertained.

Over the last 4 months the support we’ve received has been so overwhelming and it would mean the world to us for this to continue. So fingers crossed as many people as possible will get on board and we can hand over a big well deserved cheque at the end of it.

Thank you for taking time to read our JustGiving page and thank you in advance for any donations (Should you prefer to make a cash donation then contact me direct and I’ll bank the money and transfer personally). Also it would be greatly appreciated if you could share our page and spread the word!

ESMAE & INDIE - AS IT HAPPENED :-)

In June 2015 Carrie gave birth to the most adorable little girl named Esmae-Ivy. After been unexpectedly being dealt a horrendous pregnancy and an awful lot for a 19 year old to deal with she really was the perfect ending to a very hard time. Esmae was born weighing 4lbs 10oz, 8 weeks premature and after scaring Mummy to death needing resuscitating twice at birth she was transferred to battle in Hull Neonatal Unit (NICU) for 14 days before she was given the green light to come home. Since then she’s excelled each and every day overcoming all obstacles to live the life she deserves. Now 4 years old she stands on her own two feet as the kindest, beautiful and biggest character out there. Esmaes hobbies are dancing, swimming and freezing you with her magic powers atleast 100 times a day!

In March 2019 we found out we was expecting, myself and my partner obviously wanted to shout our news from the roof tops and wanted the exciting build up to a birth that every couple deserves to experience although after the past episode with Esmae we knew we had no other option but to keep it between us. Our judgements were right as very early into the pregnancy Carrie was told she would have similar complications to the first time round which meant our baby would be high risk throughout the pregnancy. We were offered terminations right up to 24 weeks on medical grounds which we declined. Carrie was diagnosed at 6 weeks with ICP, a liver condition which causes a build up of bile acids in her blood which raises the chances of stillbirth and comes with symptoms of excruciating itching so we knew we had a long road ahead of us. Bile acids should normally be in the range of 0-10 and at 28 weeks her results came back at 190 resulting in us being advised by our consultant that the safest option would be to deliver our baby by C-section at 29 weeks gestation (11 weeks early) which we booked in. After endless appointments, sleepless nights, stress and worry it gave us great pleasure to share our secret with the world as our daughter was delivered in October 2019 weighing 3lbs exactly. Hearing Indie-Arabella’s first scream as she entered the world was truly magical. We weren’t naïve and knew our journey had just begun but drawing a line under another exhausting and stressful pregnancy felt great for Carrie. After 50 long days in NICU and after defeating all the odds, Indie was given the all clear to come home despite still requiring her NG feeding tube and oxygen. On that day in December 2019 I didn’t think I could be happier until my other half agreed to marry me as I got down on one knee! From this day besides the odd blip, Indie has come on an absolute dream and in February 2020 she was discharged from the Out Reach nursing team meaning we officially had freedom of our little girl. Hopefully its finally our time to catch a break and lead a easy life!