The Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit

One month. One month until we have a 1 year old. Good heavens, that stirs up a whole host of mixed emotions..

So here's the deal:

Instead of presents for Clementine's 1st birthday on August 12th (this girl doesn't need a darn thing!) we would like to ask you, our dear family and friends if you would be willing to donate to a cause very close to our hearts, a place which became a haven and refuge for us both when we needed it most.

It's not a secret how much I struggled not long after Clementine was born. Why should it be a secret? Postpartum is tough for so many women, some more than others and it hit me particularly hard. Harder than I would ever have imagined. I accepted early on that I needed professional help and that help came in the form of the Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit in Nottingham. Initially, I pushed against the idea of going - I was embarrassed, maybe even slightly ashamed that it had come to this, that I was struggling to such an extent, but my baby (and my husband!) needed me to get better so I did what I needed to do.

At the unit, the incredible staff were there 24 hours a day to nurture, love and support - mentally, physically and emotionally. They tended to Clemmie at night so I could catch up on some much-needed sleep and during the day they took over when I felt that I couldn't. We spent two weeks at the unit and I am eternally grateful that such a place exists: it truly is the gold standard of perinatal care and a beacon of hope for mothers in their darkest of days.

Clemmie and I would love nothing more than to give back to the unit and her 1st birthday is the perfect opportunity to do so. I mean, come on: if I can't extort some cash from you on the blessed occasion of my one and only child's 1st birthday then when can I? Yup - that right there is an example of emotional blackmail at its finest.

So come on, let's do it - let's raise some SERIOUS money for this crucial, and oft times, life-saving resource.

Thank you so much.

All our love,

Ceri & Clementine Blue

P.S. Please do feel free to message and ask me more about our experience in the unit, what led to me being there, what our days there entailed and how we have been doing since. I would be only too happy to share. After all, hard moments need to be shared so that they might be a little less hard for someone else down the line.