Southend Bereavement Suite, In Memory Of Caitlyn
Donation protected
Our beautiful daughter, Caitlyn Rose Blayney was born sleeping on 23rd January 2019. She is just perfect and looks so much like her big brother. The pain is unbearable but we are so grateful for the precious time we have had with Caitlyn and also the happiness she has brought into our lives these past few months.
Caitlyn was born in the Butterfly Suite at Southend Hospital, which is fully private and away from other parents welcoming their babies into the world. The suite is very much like a hotel suite, with a double bed so family can stay, a living area, a private bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen with food and drinks supplied. The suite was filled with beautiful items for us to use once Caitlyn arrived - there were perfect little outfits for her, knitted blankets, books so we could read stories to her, teddies, keepsakes, the list was endless. The room also had a cuddle cot, which enabled us to stay with Caitlyn as long as we needed until we felt able to say our goodbyes. The three of us spent lots of time making memories in private with no pressure to leave and that is something we will forever be grateful for. Without the suite and the cuddle cot that just wouldn’t haven’t been possible. The Butterfly Suite is not NHS funded and the midwives maintain the room through their own efforts and donations.
The midwives on duty during the time we spent at the hospital, along with the bereavement midwife Amanda, have been nothing short of phenomenal the past few weeks. Being in labour knowing our daughter was going to be born sleeping was by far the most emotionally painful time of our lives, but the compassion shown by those midwives not just to myself and Scott but also to visiting family was more than we could have ever hoped for. After Caitlyn was born, due to some minor complications I had to be taken into theatre, meaning we didn’t get to spend time with her as soon as we would have liked. The midwifes on duty, who had been assigned to look after only us and nobody else, without being prompted took some beautiful photos of Caitlyn straight after she was born using the ward’s own professional camera, and I cannot even explain in words how priceless those photos will always be to us. They also later captured moments of Scott and I with Caitlyn, and those photos are now amongst my most treasured possessions. They arranged for Caitlyn to be blessed by the hospital Chaplain and they dressed her for us in the little outfit we had chosen.
Amanda visited us at our home, undertook all of the funeral arrangements for us and took care of all the official paperwork so we didn’t have to. She even went back to the hospital the day she was due to go on holiday so she could take Caitlyn’s hand prints, foot prints and even clay casts for us. She gave us her personal phone number so we could contact her on holiday if we needed someone to talk to. Amanda also arranged for a professional photographer to come and take some more photos of Caitlyn for us and redressed her in a beautiful pink knitted dress ready for these photos to be taken. She gifted Scott and I with beautiful butterfly keepsakes which had hearts taken out the middle of them which she had already placed in Caitlyn’s hands for us. When we visited Caitlyn in the Chapel of Rest she just looked beautiful, all snuggled up in a beautiful knitted blanket the midwives had provided for her, clutching the hearts amongst other precious keepsakes we had requested be kept with her. Knowing how well Caitlyn has been looked after by Amanda and her team has been a huge comfort to us in this devastating time. Just last night Amanda came to our house with a beautiful keepsake box for us filled with all of Caitlyn’s keepsakes and the memories these amazing midwives created for us. She had even washed and wrapped up Caitlyn’s first little outfit for us to keep.
Losing a child is a pain like no other, but we have been overwhelmed by the kindness, care and compassion we have received from these amazing midwives. They really are just phenomenal. Without their support and the privacy of the Butterfly Suite I have no idea how we would have got through the past few weeks. We have not been asked to contribute towards the cost of anything, but the facilities in the Butterfly Suite, the clothes and blankets, the cuddle cot, the ward's professional camera, the photographer they hire and all of the beautiful keepsakes we have been gifted with are not without cost. We cannot thank Amanda and her team enough for everything they have done for us and we really want to be able to give something back to them so they can continue to help other bereaved parents in our situation.
A lot of people have contacted us asking about flowers for Caitlyn’s funeral on 14th February. We have decided as the funeral will be very private to only have family flowers, but if anyone would really like to help we have set up this page to fundraise for the Butterfly Suite in our little Caitlyn’s memory. Once we are feeling up to it we also hope to arrange a fundraising event for later in the year.
All monies raised will go directly to the Butterfly Suite at Southend Hospital.
Thank you all so much for helping us help such a wonderful cause.
Sarah, Scott, Zachary and our beautiful angel Caitlyn x
Caitlyn was born in the Butterfly Suite at Southend Hospital, which is fully private and away from other parents welcoming their babies into the world. The suite is very much like a hotel suite, with a double bed so family can stay, a living area, a private bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen with food and drinks supplied. The suite was filled with beautiful items for us to use once Caitlyn arrived - there were perfect little outfits for her, knitted blankets, books so we could read stories to her, teddies, keepsakes, the list was endless. The room also had a cuddle cot, which enabled us to stay with Caitlyn as long as we needed until we felt able to say our goodbyes. The three of us spent lots of time making memories in private with no pressure to leave and that is something we will forever be grateful for. Without the suite and the cuddle cot that just wouldn’t haven’t been possible. The Butterfly Suite is not NHS funded and the midwives maintain the room through their own efforts and donations.
The midwives on duty during the time we spent at the hospital, along with the bereavement midwife Amanda, have been nothing short of phenomenal the past few weeks. Being in labour knowing our daughter was going to be born sleeping was by far the most emotionally painful time of our lives, but the compassion shown by those midwives not just to myself and Scott but also to visiting family was more than we could have ever hoped for. After Caitlyn was born, due to some minor complications I had to be taken into theatre, meaning we didn’t get to spend time with her as soon as we would have liked. The midwifes on duty, who had been assigned to look after only us and nobody else, without being prompted took some beautiful photos of Caitlyn straight after she was born using the ward’s own professional camera, and I cannot even explain in words how priceless those photos will always be to us. They also later captured moments of Scott and I with Caitlyn, and those photos are now amongst my most treasured possessions. They arranged for Caitlyn to be blessed by the hospital Chaplain and they dressed her for us in the little outfit we had chosen.
Amanda visited us at our home, undertook all of the funeral arrangements for us and took care of all the official paperwork so we didn’t have to. She even went back to the hospital the day she was due to go on holiday so she could take Caitlyn’s hand prints, foot prints and even clay casts for us. She gave us her personal phone number so we could contact her on holiday if we needed someone to talk to. Amanda also arranged for a professional photographer to come and take some more photos of Caitlyn for us and redressed her in a beautiful pink knitted dress ready for these photos to be taken. She gifted Scott and I with beautiful butterfly keepsakes which had hearts taken out the middle of them which she had already placed in Caitlyn’s hands for us. When we visited Caitlyn in the Chapel of Rest she just looked beautiful, all snuggled up in a beautiful knitted blanket the midwives had provided for her, clutching the hearts amongst other precious keepsakes we had requested be kept with her. Knowing how well Caitlyn has been looked after by Amanda and her team has been a huge comfort to us in this devastating time. Just last night Amanda came to our house with a beautiful keepsake box for us filled with all of Caitlyn’s keepsakes and the memories these amazing midwives created for us. She had even washed and wrapped up Caitlyn’s first little outfit for us to keep.
Losing a child is a pain like no other, but we have been overwhelmed by the kindness, care and compassion we have received from these amazing midwives. They really are just phenomenal. Without their support and the privacy of the Butterfly Suite I have no idea how we would have got through the past few weeks. We have not been asked to contribute towards the cost of anything, but the facilities in the Butterfly Suite, the clothes and blankets, the cuddle cot, the ward's professional camera, the photographer they hire and all of the beautiful keepsakes we have been gifted with are not without cost. We cannot thank Amanda and her team enough for everything they have done for us and we really want to be able to give something back to them so they can continue to help other bereaved parents in our situation.
A lot of people have contacted us asking about flowers for Caitlyn’s funeral on 14th February. We have decided as the funeral will be very private to only have family flowers, but if anyone would really like to help we have set up this page to fundraise for the Butterfly Suite in our little Caitlyn’s memory. Once we are feeling up to it we also hope to arrange a fundraising event for later in the year.
All monies raised will go directly to the Butterfly Suite at Southend Hospital.
Thank you all so much for helping us help such a wonderful cause.
Sarah, Scott, Zachary and our beautiful angel Caitlyn x
Organiser
Sarah Blayney
Organiser
England