Hi all, we are the Nowaczyk family! Stephanie and I (Matt) have decided to raise funds again to donate another cuddle cot to a local hospital this year. With the help of everyone we hope to make this happen before the end of 2021. It has been a tough year and we know and understand that not everyone can give financially at this time but ask that you thoughtfully consider.

A little back-story for those of you that don’t know our family and our story. Stephanie and I have 4 children, Jaxon (8), Jonah (6), Kendall (3), and Victoria Grace our angel who will be 2 on October 22nd. Unfortunately at 20 weeks pregnant we found out that Victoria had two conditions that weren’t favorable for life. One of which amputated some of her extremities (amniotic band sequence) and a brain condition (Holoprosencephaly) that didn’t allow for her brain to fully develop into two lobes. With this news we knew that there wasn’t much of a chance that we would be able to take our baby home from the hospital and weren’t even sure if she would make it full term. At the 34 week mark Victoria made her way into this world. I love the way Stephanie tells it so I’ll use her words here:

“Victoria Grace made her appearance at 9:34am. We got to spend 10 minutes with her before she ran into the arms of Jesus. Our hearts were heavy, our arms were empty and our parent’s desire to have her with us makes us ache every second. Victoria is in the best place, surrounded by angels, family and friends and sitting on Jesus’s lap. She came out at 4.2 lbs 17 1/2 inches and a head full of dark wavy hair.. Even though we did not see her eyes I picture them golden with a hint of brown. We kissed her and held her all day not ready to let go……”

Last year while trying to find a way to remember and celebrate Victoria’s first birthday, Stephanie did some research and was able to find something called a Cuddle Cot. A Cuddle Cot is a cooling pad that is placed in a Moses basket allowing the baby to be present in the mothers room the whole time at the hospital. Many parents who have stillborn babies or babies who pass away after birth don't get the chance to have their baby with them the whole day. The baby's body starts to change and is usually taken out of the room so the body can stay cool. EVERY SECOND you get with your baby counts because you have such a limited time.

Since donating our first Cuddle Cot we have known that it has been used more than we would like but also know that because it has been used we were able to help those in the worst moment of their lives. We have heard stories of those not being able to have enough time, like Stephanie and I, and wishing that they would have been able to extend their time with their precious angel. We also know someone personally who was able to use the Cuddle Cot and have every moment with their baby in their room. This was such a painful thing, relating to the loss and heart ache this family was feeing and yet there was a peace knowing that because of Victoria and her story we were able to help them.

Our goal again is to raise money to be able to purchase our second Cuddle Cot in memory of Victoria and a few others who have touched our lives. Please consider donating or sharing to help our cause.

God Bless

Matt and Stephanie