The day before your birthday this year you said, “she’s everything we dreamed of and more isn’t she?” So are you husband Kevin!
Read MoreDear Mom,
Where to begin with Liz - quite simply she is the most amazing mama to Coraline I could ever have imagined.
Dear Mom,
I love you! That's all you need to know, and all you need to know you will know!
Read MoreIt stems back to the day Coraline was born and I still see flashbacks to that first week in hospital and to the time we were told, within an hour of Coraline’s birth, that she had Down’s Syndrome.
Read MoreLadybird symbolism: I suppose it symbolised 'abundant blessings are on the way; be open to receiving them'.
Read MoreWe found ourselves telling the Irish midwife who came to our house on our first day home from hospital with Coraline all about this. She said, "well that encounter was meant to happen".
Read MoreWe had read before we had Coraline about how it's great and reassuring for a baby if you talk them through what you're doing and what's happening. So that's what we have done since she was born.
Read MoreWe try to do ten gratitudes in the morning, and at the end of the day look back over all the things we are grateful for which happened in the day and choose the top one. It's amazing how this just flips you into a mindset with a glow for the day.
Read MoreSo to the moment, the wonderful moment, when I met Coraline's Consultant Paediatrician together with Kevin (who had already met him). He smiles when he talks, so you smile when you listen. I told him, "I could listen to you all day".
Read MoreThe nurses from the ICU, so taken with Kev's energy and devotion visiting and being with her, found a bed they had and wheeled it to our room for him (dads normally sleep in a chair).
Read MoreOur baby was born by caesarean as her growth rate had slowed. She was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome at birth. We had amazing care from the midwives.
Read MoreWe began to learn that sometimes it is difficult for babies with Down’s syndrome to breastfeed as they can have difficulties latching on.
Read MoreThe Emotional impact of learning our baby had Down’s syndrome: A big thing Kevin has taught me is to feel your feelings fully. Don't try to stop them. If you feel them, they pass through. If you resist and enter into a dialogue with them with your mind, they persist.
Read MoreOur baby had a little scrap of blanket with her in the ICU and meanwhile I had a matching one. These were swapped between us so that she had my scent with her.
Read More"My respect for him has always been high but now it's stratospheric. He's set the tone for us all. You've got a treasure there. He's just the right mix of quick witted and immensely practical".
Read MoreCoraline was born at 12.15pm on Monday 7th August 2017. We had a playlist in the theatre including Bruce Springsteen, Enrique Iglesias and she arrived to Lionel Ritchie.
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