Caring Cradle in honor of Daisy Doherty

**UPDATE-  We are currently fundraising for our third cradle to be donated in Daisy’s honor. I am so blown away by the support we have received for such an amazing cause and can’t put into words what this will mean for families like us and their sweet babies, like Daisy. Thank you from the depths of my heart for helping me honor my Daisy girl. My daughter’s legacy lives with me, and having the support to do such an amazing thing in the honor of her life is a very humbling opportunity that I don’t for a second take lightly. For Daisy.**

When Daisy died and during the Wave of Light, we were asked by many where they could donate in her honor. It’s taken some time to coordinate but after working with the hospital where she was born (BSW Temple) we’ve been cleared to fundraise for and inevitably purchase something that is very much needed for their labor and delivery unit.

In honor of our baby girl, Daisy, we would like to gift the hospital a caring cradle.

Daisy’s death was an unexpected, unpreventable, and a devastating, world shattering tragedy. Our girl would not be coming home with us, and the hours we were able to spend in the hospital with her were extremely limited.

I carried Daisy for 8 months.

I labored for 22 hours.

We only got to spend 6 hours with her.

We’re not the first family that has a limited number of hours, photos and memories with their baby here on earth, and unfortunately we will not be the last. The second your baby is handed to you, it’s as if the countdown begins on when it will be time to hand them back.

When it’ll be time to say goodbye, after your heart just finally got to say it’s first earth side hello.

When it’ll be time to be wheeled out of the hospital holding nothing but a box of belongings and footprints in your lap, instead of your baby.

Time to put that box in an empty back seat, and drive home to an empty nursery.

Time to wake up day after day just to relive the same nightmare that your baby is never coming home.

Before Daisy, I had no clue what a caring cradle was. It’s a cradle used in the hospital that allows parents much needed extra time with their baby. Without it, you’re limited to a few hours before seeing significant changes in your baby. The caring cradle also provides an attached cooling mat blanket, giving parents more time with their sweet baby in their arms. It’s easy to set up, no constant beeping, and requires no nurse supervision, giving families the necessary private time to say their final and impossible goodbyes.

We didn’t get to use a caring cradle or cooling blanket with Daisy. The one they had (different brand) wasn’t working, and even if it was, it didn’t provide the option of holding her during use. All that I wanted to do in those moments was hold my baby. I didn’t want to let her go. I wanted to use whatever second I had with her, with her as close to me as possible. All of this is such a personal decision, during the most impossibly devastating moment of your life, and we’d like any family that walks the same path that we have to at least be given options that we weren’t. Losing a child is something you can’t prepare for, but a situation where every minute is a fleeting gift of the last, and usually, the only, memories you get to make with your baby here on earth.

I have been in close communication with the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital and this is something they know we’re doing and it is something they need. It is planned that once the cradle has been purchased, we will go donate it ourselves in person, share Daisy’s story, and hopefully be able to thank some special nurses in person that showed us more compassion and empathy than I could’ve imagined during the most devastating days of our lives.

While we’re usually pretty private on social media, this is something I will do the opposite on. I want my baby girls name to be known, and I welcome any questions one may have about her or this process in general. I will provide updates on donations, when the cradle is purchased, and provide pictures when we go to give the cradle in person.

Thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart for reading this. If you do choose to donate, please know that it means more to me than I could ever express. I will provide all options for donating below.

For Daisy, and for all the other sweet babies that for some reason don’t get to be here.

For our girl. For our little sister.