As many of you know and for those of you that don't In 2020 at the very beginning of the pandemic I went into early labour and gave birth to our very own little preemie. 

Not only was Arla-Rose a premature baby but she was also a critically ill baby right from birth with a number of different complications and issues. In less than 12 hours of being born our gorgeous little girls health detoriated dramatically and as a parent nothing prepares you for the thought that there is a high possibility you may lose your child before you even get to touch them. Within 24 hours she had undergone an op, diagnosed sepsis along with a range of other conditions and issues, chest drains, infusions, blue light transferred to another specialist hospital and numerous other interventions, all to try and stabilise her and her premature lungs as a result of her birth all of which without the amazing work Bliss carry out it would not have been possible to do so.

Despite a rocky start and a journey full of ups and downs,  sleepless nights spent at her incubator side mostly alone with only nurses and Dr's for company due to a pandemic and only one parent allowed to visit, the feeling of abandoning your first child to care for your second, the feeling of absolute failure when your body didn't do exactly what its supposed to do (despite knowing it was nothing I had control over) the complete and utter mom guilt over not being able to protect your child, our story had a happy ending. Arla-Rose finally made it home to her family. 

And whist our neonatal journey finally ended just over 12 months later the neonatal fight continues in the Warner family in the shape of our two nephews born at 24+6 weeks. 

Jenson undergoing a number of operations the first being a bowel op within 24 hours of him being born and that is just the beginning of his theatre rap sheet, he then went on to have a further 4 operations within a week and pulled through like the little warrior he is.

Whilst his twin Grayson wasn't to be outdone either with his ups and downs and having a stoma fitted at just over a week old, each day brings new challenges but these boys are fighting everything head on for they may be small but they are oh so mighty!!

I know for many this fight is long and hard and doesn't always come with happy endings and by trekking for Bliss I hope to raise money for them to continue the hardwork they do in supporting the improvements in neonatal care for other families that will be going through this tough journey too.

Every 5 minutes, a baby is admitted to neonatal care in the UK.Bliss is the leading UK charity for babies born premature or sick. They rely on donations to fund their work, and without our help they won't be able to reach the 100,000 babies needing neonatal care each year.Your donation to my page will help Bliss to drive improvements in neonatal care, to ensure that the needs of babies are at the heart of policy and planning for the future, and to provide information and support to all families with a baby born premature or sick.

Whilst I know some of you have never had to experience the life behind the doors of the neonatal unit and have never had to take it minute by minute, stay strong and hope for better days in the face of such heartbreak, its from donations however big or small that the charity can keep supporting premature and sick babies and their families in the fight to bring them home.

So if you are able to donate no matter the amount it would be hugely appreciated by myself, my family, the charity and all current and future families on the neonatal journey.