I don’t even know where to begin. Our journey to have children started 13 years ago. After many years of trying and several unsuccessful fertility attempts, my husband and I gave up our quest for children and accepted that it just wasn’t God’s plan for us.  Little did we know on April 19th 2019, Good Friday, after a trip to the emergency room our lives would be forever changed.   That day we found out that after all our years in waiting, we were pregnant. Finally!!!  Our miracle baby was no longer a dream!

My pregnancy was perfect, wonderful, and I dare to say easy!!  We were beyond excited and couldn’t wait for dec 4th to get here so we could finally meet our son.  I went into labor Dec 3rd, a day before my scheduled section, finally it was time.  When we got to the hospital our lives took another turn.  Our lives changed instantly.  We were prepared for it to be the best day our lives; not the worst.  As the nurse placed the monitor on my belly to check on Wyatt, I knew something was wrong. The look on her face will be something I will never forget. She immediately left the room to get the doctor. The doctor came in with the ultrasound machine and said “I’m so sorry, there is no good news here”. Our precious Wyatt was gone. His went to be with Jesus just 16 hours before we were supposed to meet him  

Wyatt was delivered at 12:44am on dec 4th via c section. He was perfection!  He was the absolute perfect mix of James and I. His nose and lips were all from me, but that chin and that curly reddish brown hair was all his daddy.  Our hearts were broken. This wonderful miracle we waited 12 years and 9 months to meet wouldn’t get to come home with us.  Devastated I immediately started asking the nurses how long we would have with him.  

That is when I learned about cuddle cots. The hospital brought a bassinet to our room that was temperature controlled.  This wonderful device would allow us to keep our son and spend time with him before ultimately handing him over to the funeral home.  

To my surprise, I later learned that hospitals usually don’t have cuddle cots because they are considered an unnecessary medical expense.  The only reason this hospital had one, was because a family lost their daughter. That family only got to spend 2 hours with their daughter and  because of that they donated the cuddle cot.  That donation is the only thing that allowed us time with our son.

While we were soaking in all of Wyatt we could, we found out that a mother down the hall went into labor early and her 24 week old baby didn’t make it. The hospital only had one cuddle cot and I had it.  My heart broke for that mother. How selfish would I be to take that precious time away from that family just because my son passed away first?  I just couldn’t rob that family of that time. We made the decision to call the funeral director and told the nurses to take the cot to the other family.  

We spent 22 amazingly perfect hours with our son.  To celebrate his birthday, honor his memory, and ensure no family ever misses the chance to spend time with their babies born sleeping; we want to purchase and donate a cuddle cot to the hospital in Wyatt’s name.  We would appreciate anyone who wants to be a part of honoring Wyatt and giving families the precious gift of more time.