ON THEIR STILLBIRTH HEARTBREAK TO HELP OTHERS our baby boy made lots memories
morning,” said Brooke. “We both knew he had gone.
“We went to the maternity unit and they confirmed Hunter’s heart had stopped. I was 32 weeks and three days pregnant.
“Both us and our families were gutted, we would have done anything for him but we are glad he chose his time. We were sent home to allow us to take in what had happened. We appreciate that time so much.”
Brooke, Kyle and his mum went back to the maternity unit on Christmas Day to have Hunter.
Brooke was induced in the SiMBA Room, funded by the Lola Commons Fund, and Hunter arrived at 5.41am on December 26, 2018, weighting 2 pounds 11oz.
Brooke thanked all the maternity staff who made the hard experience that bit easier.
She said: “He was beautiful.
“We will be forever grateful to the maternity unit and organisations who made a hard experience so special. “They treated both of us and Hunter with so much love. “We knew Hunter had died but we wanted him to be part of Christmas. It’s like he was trying to make an impact. It was special to us that he got to be part of that time of year.”
Thanks to the baby loss charity SiMBA, they were given a memory box and the chance to take photos of Hunter.
Their friends from Momentum Photos also captured their precious first moments with their son.
Later that day, Brooke, Kyle and Hunter went to Robin House in Balloch, which is run by CHAS.
They spent nine days there in the hospice’s Rainbow Room, with visitors arriving to meet their son and staff on hand to help with anything they needed.
Brooke said: “We can’t even explain or put into words what CHAS did for us.
“It gave us that private space to just taking our time with him.
“It was just me, Kyle and Hunter who stayed but there was 24-hour access so our families and friends could come at any time.
“I thought people would shy away from it but they were so open to meeting him. It definitely made a difference.
“If we hadn’t had that time with people and memories to look back on it would have made everything so much harder.”
She added: “Our journey has been the hardest thing we will ever go through but neither of us have any regrets and we are just so thankful to so many people.
“Thankful for the precious time we got with Hunter, for the care we got both during and after pregnancy from the hospital, the time and support we got at Robin House and the memories we got to make due to SiMBA.”
Brooke wants to break down the taboo of having a stillborn child and wants to raise awareness of Edwards Syndrome.
“I want to honour Hunter’s memory.
“I want to raise awareness of child loss and let people know about the services out there to help people.
“I was totally oblivious to Edwards Syndrome, that anything like that could happen.”
While she was pregnant, Brooke and Kyle knew they wanted to raise money for CHAS and SiMBA and have raised almost £3,000 so far.
They have another charity night planned at the Powerleague in Paisley on Saturday, October 5.
Of the money raised, £1,570 will be spent on a cuddle cot, which is a special cold unit with a basket where parents can place their stillborn child.
To give, go to gofundme.com/cuddle-cot-in-memoryof-hunter-jr-smith