Noah Edward Burden

****Edit: oh wow we are extremely overwhelmed with the with the kindness and generosity of people in our lives. Less than 24hours from creating and sharing Noah’s story we have raised enough to donate a cuddle cot to a hospital for a family in need. Even though we have reached this amazing goal we want to continue the fundraising to go towards another cuddle cot. As there are 15 hospitals in need, we thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of our hearts***

From the moment we found out we were pregnant with Noah we began imagining our lives with him. For the 37 weeks he grew inside me we imagined a lifetime of memories we were going to make with our little boy. We dreamt of the day he would arrive, and we would get to meet him for the first time, watching him open his eyes and meet his big brother and sister. We envisaged him taking his first steps, saying his first words and even his first day of Kindergarten. We spent almost nine months building this wonderful narrative that would be filled with all Noah’s firsts. We had anticipated the relationship he would build with his big sister and brother and even what sort of man he would become. It was all so close, and we were beyond excited for the next chapter of our family to begin. We went to bed on the 24th of March 2020 talking about how in exactly 2 weeks time we would be meeting our little boy.

On the 25th of March 2020, like every other morning we were woken early by our daughter Isabelle and our son Robert. But this morning would mark the beginning of the most immense, heartbreaking journey. A journey we will continue to navigate together and one that is still so raw and isolating. A short time after we woke up i realised that Noah had not moved like he had every other morning. We quickly made our way to Hawkesbury Hospital with our two small children. It was clear to me now that something was very wrong & I was truly panicked and the 10-minute trip to the hospital felt like a lifetime. We arrived at the hospital and a short time later the Dr did an ultrasound. It was in that moment we were informed that our beautiful Noah no longer had a heartbeat and he would be born sleeping.

The pain was more than any words could describe, it was immeasurable, it was immediate, and our hearts were broken. Every dream we had for our baby boy, for our family, disappeared in that moment. If that wasn’t enough for our hearts and minds to come to terms with, we then had to prepare ourselves to meet and say goodbye to our beautiful baby boy.

Just after midday Noah Edward Burden was born via C-section, weighing 3.3kg and 51cm. He was more beautiful than we ever could have imagined, a perfect mix of his big sister and brother. We knew in that moment saying goodbye to him was going to be the hardest thing either of us would ever have to do. How to wrap our minds around this, our love for him is greater than words can describe, and we have to say goodbye. How do we do this?

In the hours after Noah was born, we got to hold him and study every feature of his in an attempt to remember the way looked, the way his skin felt and his smell. Noah got to meet and cuddle his sister his brother, and his adoring Aunties. We got to hold him, take pictures and make memories with him. We had two days to make memories with our son when we thought we would have a lifetime. Then there was that last moment with our baby boy, that last kiss and then we had to watch as he disappeared from our sight. He will never disappear from our hearts, our minds or our family. Noah Edward Burden our son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin.

The precious time we were able to spend with Noah was made possible because Hawkesbury Hospital had a Cuddle Cot. This cot was donated by another family who did not get time with their sleeping baby. At the time they lost their baby Hawkesbury Hospital did not have the valuable resource that these cots are.

Loosing Noah has left such a huge hole in our hearts and the hearts of our family. We are thankful for every second we got with him and for other families that have to go on this devastating journey we hope they too can have more time with their babies.

We are fundraising for a Cuddle Cot to be donated to an Australian hospital in Noah's honor to support bereaved families in those crucial days after the loss of their baby. A Cuddle Cot allows the family to spend every moment with their baby, precious moments where every minute counts before saying goodbye forever.

A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system that has been designed to fit within a Shnuggle basket and lies beneath their baby. When a baby passes, there is a short window of time for a family to create memories, say hello and goodbye to their child and the lifetime they had dreamed for them. These Cuddle Cots are such a gift for these families to access as they extend the brief time to be together and allow the family so many more opportunities to shower their child with their love.

There currently is 15 hospitals in need across Australia. Bec and I would love you to help us reach our goal by supporting this cause by making a donation of any amount. Also please feel free to leave a message of support. Noah’s life may have been short in time but the impact he has had on our hearts is immeasurable.