Soothing the Smallest with Sudocrem x Ickle Pickles (+ giveaway!)

Every year, 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely or unwell, that's 100,000 babies every single year. These babies need to spend weeks, sometimes months in neonatal care units before they are strong enough to leave. Neonatal intensive care costs the NHS £1,500 per day and many hospitals do not have the equipment to care for extremely preterm babies. My own son was seven weeks premature and spent a week in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit then a week in the Special Care Baby Unit and I could not be more grateful for the care that we received.

My Ickle Sudocrem from SatellitePR on Vimeo.

This summer, Sudocrem and premature baby charity Ickle Pickles are teaming up to raise funds for the vital neonatal equipment premature babies so desperately need. In honour of the partnership a new, limited edition pot of 'My Ickle Sudocrem' has been created and will be sold in Boots and Tesco stores across the UK for six weeks from the 26th August. With each sale of the 'Ickle Pot', 50p will be donated to the Ickle Pickles charity. An historic event for the brand, Sudocrem have never before adapted their classic packaging for a charity campaign such as this.

A typical ventilator costs £25,000, the equivalent of 50,000 little pots. While this may sound like a lot, Sudocrem have enlisted the help of Laura Tobin, the nation's favourite weather presenter, and Georgia Jones, creator of the BUMP YouTube channel and wife to Danny Jones, to spread the word and give the campaign that extra push. Both Laura and Georgia hold the cause close to their hearts: Laura's daughter was born prematurely, as was Georgia's niece. The pair will be doing their utmost to raise awareness of how the public can get involved at home.

Laura says, "No parent should be separated from their child at such a worrying time, which is often what happens when their local hospital doesn't have the right neonatal equipment. Ickle Pickles are a fabulous charity and the more money we can raise for them, the better. It's thanks to the equipment they're fundraising for that Charlotte is the healthy, happy baby she is today."

"When Sudocrem approached me to be involved with Soothing the Smallest, I was delighted. A lot of the work I do is about raising awareness around parenting issues - the good, the bad and the messy - so the campaign was just a natural fit for me," says Georgia Jones. "I'll be doing my best to support it for the duration!"

How can you get involved?

Most importantly, buy a 'My Ickle Sudocrem' pot from your local Boots or Tesco! Every purchase means 50p to Ickle Pickles.

Who said only teddy bears have picnics?

Soothing the Smallest launches with a nationwide panda-themed picnic. Inspired by the UK's love of picnics, plus taking into account necessary precautions of lockdown, Georgia and Laura will kick it all off by launching their own panda picnic to show us how it's done. Those who want to get involved only have to pack up their picnic baskets and head out to the nearest patch of green for some relaxation - and don't forget to bring a panda too. Share the picnic on social media, tagging #soothingthesmallest and who knows? Perhaps a new record will be set for the most panda picnics held in one day! You also have the chance to win a giant panda and picnic hamper if you share your picnics on social media with #soothingthesmallest and #pandapicnic

I'm giving away 3 panda cuddly toys to help out families who don't have a panda of their very own. Laura, Georgia and Sudocrem will also be giving some away on their social media. With the aim to get as many families out there picnicking, Ickle Pickles charity founder, Rachael Marsh suggests inviting another family along for a suggested donation of £5 to the Ickle Pickles JustGiving page. Social distancing rules apply, of course!

"At Sudocrem, we take soothing families extremely seriously, which is why we're so excited about the upcoming Soothing the Smallest campaign. After all, isn't is these tiny, premature babies and their families that need our help the most?" says Nick Lang, head of OTC marketing at Sudocrem. "The aim is to raise enough over the six weeks to be able to help Ickle Pickles in a meaningful way."

"Spreading the word is easy," Nick continues. "We're asking everyone to get involved in whatever way they can. Share details of Soothing the Smallest on Instagram, visit the Sudocrem website and, most importantly, support the campaign by purchasing one of the 'My Ickle Sudocrem' pots."

To be in with a chance of winning 1 of 3 cuddly pandas, just enter via the Gleam widget below.

T&C's:

• Giveaway runs from 30th August until 13th September at 23:59
• Three winners will win one cuddly panda toy
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• One entry per person
• No automated entries

Sudocrem x Ickle Pickles Panda giveaway

A New Peppa Pig book to Raise Funds for Coronavirus Charity

[I have not been compensated in any way for this post. I have however, been allowed to give a copy of the book away directly from the publisher.]

It's such a strange time right now for everyone across the world. Our "normal" living is so different compared to what it was like four months ago and coronavirus is still very heavily a part of our lives.

Ladybird Books have released a new Peppa Pig book, Peppa Loves Doctors and Nurses. 10% of the retail price of this book will go straight to The Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, a coronavirus charity that are doing fantastic work in these tough times. This appeal is run by NHS Charities Together and they will benefit from every copy of this book that is sold this year.

In the book, Peppa and her playgroup have a visit from Dr Brown Bear and Nurse Fox. They learn the importance of washing their hands, staying healthy and they get to experience the brilliant work that doctors and nurses do - things we all should teach our children.

As these are important messages that children should be hearing right now, it can be comforting and familiar to hear them in a book filled with their favourite characters.

Peppa Loves Doctors and Nurses retails at £6.99 and you can purchase a copy from Waterstones.

Ladybird Books would also love to see pictures and videos of your little ones dressed up as doctors and nurses to help support the wonderful NHS staff so join in by posting your images on social media with the hashtag #PeppaLovesDoctorsAndNurses

Ladybird Books have also very kindly allowed me to give a copy of the book away and they will pay the donation so that the charity doesn't miss out. In order to win, just head over to my Instagram account and follow the instructions on the post. Good luck!

View this post on Instagram

*GIVEAWAY* @ladybirdbooks have released a brand new Peppa Pig book - Peppa Loves Doctors and Nurses. 10% of all sales will go directly to The Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, a coronavirus charity. You can find out more by clicking the link in my bio. They would love to see videos and photos of your little ones dressed up as doctors and nurses, so if you share your images on social media, use the #PeppaLovesDoctorsAndNurses hashtag. Ladybird Books have kindly given me a copy to give away! To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is: - Follow me - Let me know that you would like to be entered That's it! If you want to tag friends who might be interested or share this post, that would be lovely. The giveaway ends at 23:59 on Sunday 21st June. I will announce the winner here and DM them on Monday morning. It is open to UK residents only. [I haven't been compensated in any way for this post but the publisher is allowing me to give a book away directly from them.]

A post shared by Rebecca (@13rebecca13) on Jun 12, 2020 at 6:55am PDT

World Prematurity Day 2016

As per my blog name, I am a mother to a child who was born early. November 17th is World Prematurity Day and today I have Catriona Ogilvy from The Smallest Things guest posting for me.

 
World Prematurity Day - just another day on the raising awareness calendar or a chance to make a real difference?

You may not have heard of World Prematurity Day before, you may not know the acronyms NICU or SCBU - why would you? Parents of premature babies, just like me, often say they didn't know anything about Neonatal Intensive Care or the Special Care Baby Unit until one day their world turned upside down.

Neonatal intensive care is a hidden world, not one you would stumble across, where babies sleep within the confines of their incubators. A world tucked safely away behind heavy security doors, where parents embark on rigorous hand washing routines before they set foot within the nurseries.

A medical world where life support machines gently hum and the beep, beep, beep of machines provide a constant soundtrack. As you sit beside your babies incubator alarms cut through the background noise as if to mimic the uncertain nature and ups and downs of life in neonatal intensive care.

I found myself in this world 5 years ago after my first son Samuel was born suddenly and with no warning at 30 weeks. I was lost. I had become a mother, and yet I was unable to be a mother. I could not hold or care for my baby. Every day I would travel home without him, climbing into bed feeling empty and numb.

Often described as a rollercoaster ride the impact of premature birth and time spent in neonatal intensive care cannot be underestimated. I write about my own experiences of life through neonatal care, but also of life beyond premature birth and beyond the hospital doors. I do this through The Smallest Things, which I began in 2014, discovering first-hand that the neonatal journey does not end when you bring your baby home.

No-one warns you about the ongoing hospital appointments, medical concerns, re-admissions, the anxiety of a simple cough or cold, explaining corrected ages, isolation, flash backs, guilt, jealousy and anger... What about having another baby? Will the same thing happen again?

No-one mentions the increased risk of post-natal depression (PND), with 40% of NICU mums developing PND compared to 5-10% of mothers delivering without complication at full-term. They certainly don’t tell you about the anxiety or signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), despite more than half of NICU mothers reporting these symptoms once they are home.

Yep - it's a journey that lasts and a journey that can leave a lasting impact on both mothers and fathers.  

So, World Prematurity Day, a chance to make a real difference?
Yes! Together we can raise awareness of a traumatic and uncertain world, educating those who are best placed to provide mental health support for families following neonatal care and offering support to families currently embarking upon their own NICU journeys.

So please, this World Prematurity Day join with me to shine a light on the hidden world of neonatal intensive care.

Catriona Ogilvy
#SmallestThings #WorldPrematurityDay


Catriona is a Children's Occupational Therapist and mother of two young boys both born premature. She Founded The Smallest Things campaign in 2014 and has seen success with the introduction of The Prematurity Bill, #PreemieProud Red Book Stickers and more recently winning the Mumsnet Campaigner of the Year Award.

Children In Need 'Pudsey and Friends' DVD - Review and Giveaway

In just eight days time, the annual Children in Need fundraiser will be broadcast on BBC One. To coincide with this, Abbey Home Media have compiled some CBeebies favourites on to one DVD to help disadvantaged children and young people throughout the UK. A minimum of £2 per sale of the Pudsey and Friends DVD will go towards these young people having a safe, happy and secure childhood and help them reach their potential.

C and E both love watching CBeebies and I honestly can't think of a show that they don't like. At 4 and 2, they are still quite young so they did ask me about who Pudsey Bear was and I did my best to explain in a way that they would understand. 

At the main menu of the DVD, you can choose to play all or select certain episodes of shows. The kids liked the fact that they could play with no interruptions but now and then E would take a look at the cover, point to a character and say, "This one on!" and it was simple enough for me to find it without having to skip through a lot. She especially liked having a boogie to some of the theme songs - Timmy Time being her favourite!

The DVD contains a whopping 15 episodes, running for a total of three hours!

• Twirlywoos 'Turning'
• Peter Rabbit 'The Tale of Old Rusty'
• Something Special 'Fishing'
• Bing 'Hearts'
• Teletubbies 'Conga'
• Mike The Knight 'The Snoring Dragon'
• In The Night Garden 'Cough'
• Charlie & Lola 'I Can Train Your Dog'
• Timmy Time 'Timmy's Picnic'
• Sarah and Duck 'Sarah, Duck and the Penguins'
• Chuggington 'Trainee Camp'
• The Furchester Hotel 'Peckity Woodpecker'
• Octonauts 'Porcupine Puffer'
• Cloudbabies 'Rainbows Orchestra'
• Q Pootle 5 'Pootle's New Spaceship'

This is such a fun DVD for little ones. My two got really excited about watching their favourite characters and it's raising funds for a fantastic cause too.

I've also got a copy up for grabs for one of my readers. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• The giveaway will run from November 10th until November 27th
• One winner will win one copy of Pudsey and Friends on DVD
• Prize will be sent by the PR company
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• No automated entries
• One entry per person

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 (We received a copy of the DVD for the purpose of this post.)

 

 

Today is World Prematurity Day

The 17th November is World Prematurity Day. Just going by my blog name, you'll know that this is a day which is very close to my heart. 

If you're not familiar with my story, my first pregnancy went well right up until 32 weeks. All of my routine appointments at the midwife and hospital were fine and nothing untoward was picked up on. At 32 weeks I lost my vision. I never want to feel like I'm annoying anyone for a silly reason so I didn't panic and I went to bed hoping I'd be okay in the morning. I was right, my vision was back but my boyfriend Chris urged me to phone the maternity ward just to let them know. I was advised to come in and it turned out that I had severe pre-eclampsia and we were extremely lucky that we went in when we did. My son, C, had to be born almost straight away via an emergency Caesarean. I feel so lucky that 1) neither of us died, 2) the hospital were amazing and 3) C had no developmental problems. He did have a 16 day NICU/SCBU stay and he just thrived from the minute he was born. He, of course, needed help with breathing as his lungs weren't developed enough but he was taking milk wonderfully.

My premature baby then

My premature baby now - sporting his Bliss "World Prematurity Day" ribbon

I don't think anyone understands what it's truly like to have a premature baby until you have one. I know I didn't. I could imagine it but it's hard. It was hard having to be away from him. Back home when he was still in hospital. Not being able to hold him straight away or show him off to everyone. Even when I did get him home, I worried about everything. People touching him was probably my biggest worry, alongside his temperature if I took him outside. I was terrified of him getting sick. I remember in NICU, the nurse gave me a little goody bag of items from premature baby charity, Bliss. Their leaflet was amazing. I could read about other mums and dads who had been in similar situations. No one I knew personally had been through this so I had no one to ask or speak to about it.

I mentioned that the hospital we were at were amazing and I actually feel like that isn't strong enough of a word. I don't know what we would have done without them or where we'd be, the neonatal staff especially. I cried to them many times and they were just so lovely and reassuring.

This year, Bliss have put together an infographic and leaflet of their findings about neonatal units in England. The units are being stretched to breaking point which is a scary thought when it's tiny babies' lives at risk.

• 64% of neonatal units do not have enough nurses to meet national standards on safe staffing levels, and two thirds do not have enough specialist nurses
• 2,140 more nurses are needed to care for premature and sick babies in England
• Two thirds of units do not have the medical staff they need to meet national standards
• Insufficient funding accounts for three quarters of nursing shortfalls at neonatal units, demonstrating an urgent need for investment in neonatal services
• 72% of units struggle with at least one aspect of nurse training and development
• At 41% of units, parents have no access to a trained mental health worker
• At 30% of units, parents have no access to any psychological support at all
• One third of neonatal units are unable to offer accomodation to parents of critically ill babies who live many miles from the hospital
• 70% of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are consistently caring for many more babies that is considered safe
• 855 babies were transferred between hospitals last year due to a shortage of staffed cots rather than medical need, putting babies at risk and adding to their families' stress and worry
• Over half of neonatal units say that clinical leaders were not included in discussions about funded activity levels for their neonatal service

These statistics are scary, especially when you see from the infographic just how many babies need these services. If you'd like to make a donation, head over to the Bliss website to find out how.

Christmas Gift Ideas: The Book of Everyone

I love personalised items and today as part of my Christmas gift guide I'm bringing what I truly believe is the ultimate personalised gift. 

The Book of Everyone is a one of a kind gift that is perfect for your loved ones. The book is filled with stunning artwork and facts related to the person that you have made it for! 

All you need to do is log on to the The Book of Everyone's site, fill in the recipients name, gender, date of birth (if you don't know their DOB but have them added on Facebook, the site can pull it for you) then you choose whether you want the book to go by their current age or age at their next birthday. Next, you can put your name as the author and let the site get to work. 

Once the book has been "created" you have the opportunity to read through the pages and make edits wherever you'd like so it is truly personal. It takes less than a minute! 

The book arrived a matter of days after ordering and I was so pleased with it. The quality is fantastic and the minor detailing is amazing.  I ordered mine for my boyfriend Chris and he read happily through it, chuckling and reading me excerpts. It contain a huge strange of facts such as who the world leaders were, what single was number one and many more! 

The Book of Everyone is available in digital copy (£7.50), softcover express (£19.50), hardcover (£29.50) and deluxe edition (£49.50). Each purchase gets the recipient an ant named in their honour from The Book of Everyone's ant farm. 

The Book of Everyone has teamed together with Age UK. Every book bought also goes towards the gifting of a book for an elderly person who may not receive a gift. Hopefully they will managed to put smiles on some lovely elderly people's faces. 

(Disclaimer: I received a hardcover copy of The Book of Everyone for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Tommy's Launch #MyPrematureBaby App

1 in every 14 babies in the UK are born prematurely. They need huge amounts of monitoring and support for the first few days, weeks or months of their lives. 

With today being World Prematurity Day, the baby charity Tommy's is launching the first ever UK app designed to support parents through the complicated early days of a premature birth. The free app 'My Premature Baby' gives parents access to any facts that they need about prematurity at any time of day, right at their fingertips. You can also keep track of your baby's progress and get practical and emotional support on topics such as breastfeeding and expressing. There is also a feature to 'Find Friends' so that you can connect with other parents who are going through a similar experience. 

The app has been developed in consultation with parents of premature babies and it includes features such as:

• Tommy's expert Having a Premature Baby guide
• A diary, allowing parents to record their baby's progress, milestones, and their own thoughts and feelings. You also have the option to search for other parents diaries. 
• The ability to plot your baby's height and weight on special development charts that are specifically designed for premature babies
• The ability to record times, amounts and types of feeding (ie set alarms for breastfeeding or expressing)
• A sharing function so that you can share your baby's progress quickly and easily to Facebook 
• Finding Friends feature. Here you can enter your postcode and contact local parents going through the same experiences as yourselves. 

As a mum to a premature baby, this app seems like a brilliant idea and I only wish it had been around when C was born! 

The app is called "My Premature Baby" and it is free of charge. It is available to use today.

(Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation in exchange for this post.)

World Prematurity Day - 17th Nov 2014: Ickle Pickles Children's CharityNeed You!

As you all probably know from my posts and blog moniker, C was born prematurely. He came into the world seven weeks early and spent the first 17 days of his life in NICU/SCBU. We were lucky in the sense that he had no lasting developmental problems and he's now a happy and healthy two year old. 

World Prematurity Day is on the 17th November 2014 and Ickles Pickles Children's Charity need your help with their campaign. 

They have come up with the idea of a virtual 'kangaroo huddle' where people post photographs of themselves cuddling their 'Ickle Pickle' no matter how old they are now. There is no limit to how many people can be included in the picture either. 

All Ickle Pickles Children's Charity want you to do is email your #kangaroohuddle picture to rachael@icklepickles.org stating your child's name (or initial if you'd prefer), how many weeks gestation they were born and the hospital in which they were born. You can also tweet your photo to @IcklePickles using the hashtags #kangaroohuddle #worldprematurityday #borntoosoon & #kangaroocare

The charity will then share your photo in order to raise awareness of World Prematurity Day and the amazing work that neonatal teams do. 

This is my #kangaroohuddle with C who was born at 33 weeks and started his life at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast. 

You can find out more about the charity at the website (or Twitter) and even give a donation :)

(Disclaimer: I did not receive financial compensation for this post. This is a cause that is close to my heart.)

Charity Afternoon Tea at Del Toro, Lisburn in Aid of Meningitis Now

On Wednesday, I attended my first ever afternoon tea (I know, I must be living under a rock!) at Del Toro in Lisburn in aid of Meningitits Now. 

Meningitis Now is the new name for Meningitis UK and Meningitis Trust. They've merged together to become a more powerful force in the fight against meningitis and septicaemia. They are determined that in the future, no one in the UK will lose their life to meningitis and that everyone affected will get the support that they need. 

Meningitis Now's goals are: 

To provide a powerful, united voice for people fighting meningitis. 

To fund research into vaccines and prevention. 

To raise awareness and empower the public and professionals to spot meningitis early. 

To rebuild futures with dedicated support for those affected. 

To listen and respond to the needs of everyone affected by meningitis and raise funds to deliver their plans. 

Meningitis and Septicaemia often happen together. We need to be aware of all of the symptoms. They don't appear in any specific order and some may not appear at all. The symptoms can be different for babies/toddlers and children/adults. 

Symptoms for Babies & Adults include:

• Fever, cold hands & feet
• Refusing food & vomiting
• Fretful, disliking being handled
• Drowsy, floppy or unresponsive
• Rapid breathing or grunting
• Pale, blotchy skin, spots/rash
• Unusual cry, moaning
• Tense, bulging fontanelle (soft spot)
• Stiff neck, disliking bright lights 
• Convulsions/seizures

Symptoms for Children & Adults include:

• Fever, cold hands & feet
• Vomiting
• Drowsy, difficult to wake
• Confusion and irritability
• Severe muscle pain
• Pale, blotchy skin, spots/rash
• Severe headache
• Stiff neck
• Disliking bright lights 
• Convulsions/seizures

Someone with meningitis or septicaemia can get a lot worse very quickly. Trust your instincts and get medical help immediately. 

You can find out more at Meningitis Now and maybe even give a little donation while you're there. 

The afternoon tea itself was absolutely beautiful and I would like to give a special mention to some of the companies who donated their time and products to the event: NDsigns, Ruby Jane's Vintage China Hire & Andrew Holden Cakes for all Occasions.

(Disclaimer: I did not receive any financial compensation for this post.)

WorldFoods & Stop Hunger Now

You may notice a shiny new badge in my sidebar - I'm so pleased to be a Grow The Cause Ambassador for WorldFoods!

Let me tell you a little bit about their campaign. There is a charity called Stop Hunger Now and WorldFoods are aiming to give something back to those in crisis and help end world hunger.

WorldFoods have implemented a Christmas charity campaign in which they hope to match the first 5,000 'likes' they receive on Facebook with a donation of $1 to Stop Hunger Now. You can like the page yourself and help out here.

Stop Hunger Now want to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid to the world's most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilizing the resources to make this happen. They have been fulfilling this commitment since 1998.

In 2005, Stop Hunger Now launched their meal packing programme perfecting an assembly process of small meal packets that contain essential vitamins and minerals and have a 2 year shelf life. These cost only 25 cents. This means that a $1 dollar donation from WorldFoods will feed four hungry mouths. 

70% of their meals are provided to transformational development programs such as school feeding, vocational training, early childhood development and orphanages.

What are you waiting for? Your job is easy. Just head over to the Facebook page and fill in your details!

(Disclaimer: I did not receive any financial compensation for this post.)

Check Your Bauballs!

UK male cancer charity Orchid have launched a new campaign - Check Your Bauballs designed to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer, whilst raising money for life-saving research.

If testicular cancer is spotted early, there is a 98% chance of a cure. Bauballs are for life, not just for Christmas so keep getting them out once and month and checking.

A huge host of celebrities including Dr Hilary Jones, Rizzle Kicks and the boys from TOWIE have all endorsed this campaign, posing with their bauballs.

Decorating your tree with bravado will help raise money and awareness of testicular cancer and you're sure to make people smile too! 

You can grab your own bauball at House of Fraser for £5.00 or online at: http://www.checkyourbauballs.com/

Come on everyone, check your bauballs!

(Disclaimer: I did not receive any financial compensation for writing this post. I am simply helping to raise awareness of a great cause.)

World Prematurity Day - 17th November 2013

Today is World Prematurity Day! 

When I was pregnant with C, I was only 20. I was so naive and assumed that everything would be great. I'd have a smooth pregnancy and sure, most people go overdue with their first baby, right? Wrong. 

At 33 weeks, I lost my vision. I ignored it and went to bed but the next morning before Chris left for work, he urged me to phone the maternity department at the hospital. I almost didn't because I was feeling better but I knew he'd moan. I am so glad I did. And I am so thankful for Chris making me do it. If I hadn't, C and I might not have been here today. 

At 33 weeks pregnant awaiting my results

The nurse at the maternity department asked me to go in for a check up, and then I found out that it was pre-eclampsia. They had found high amounts of protein in my urine and as it was so severe, I was rushed for an emergency Caesarean section. It saved both of our lives. 

C was born at 33 weeks weighing a fantastic 4lbs 10.5oz. He had slight jaundice and needed help with his breathing so he was taken straight to NICU. I didn't even get to hold him. We were lucky. He went from strength to strength and never took a step backwards. We was discharged from hospital at 17 days old. He is now a happy and healthy 13 month old with no developmental problems. 

C at 2 days old

C at 3 days old

15 million babies worldwide are born too soon with 60,000 of them being in the UK. The charity Bliss are teaming up with other organisations across the globe to help raise awareness. They are asking everyone around the world to Give a Hug. Many parents of premature babies can't hug their babies for days or weeks (I first hugged C when he was 9 days old) so by giving a hug you'll be helping them raise awareness of issues faced by premature babies and their families. 

Getting to hold C for the first time at 9 days old

Take photos of you, your friends, family and little ones giving a hug and share them with Bliss on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or you can email them to mediateam@bliss.org.uk. 

The international colour for World Prematurity Day is purple, so you could light a purple candle or dress in purple to show your support, and share with everyone to help spread the word.

You can donate to Bliss's World Prematurity Day appeal here.

I've done my part, have you?

Twin Mum & Dad's Charity Raffle

In 2014 , Twin Mum and Dad from Our IVF Journey will be taking part in a number of events to raise money for Cancer Research UK and for Bliss.

Their first event will be a skydive! Neither of them have done anything like this before, so to say they are nervous is an understatement!

They are hoping to raise £2000 for each charity, but they need your help!

Their first fundraising event is their Fabulous Charity Raffle!

What You Can Win

• £50 Experience Gift Voucher to spend at Experience Days
• £25 voucher to spend at Bunnie Knitwear
• A personalised word art print of your choice from Baby Cakes Treasures

• 2 x Forest Jump vouchers at the Celtic Manor Resort (worth £18 each) courtesy of Giggle Giggle Activities
• A5 plain brown men's leather monsieur notebook courtesy of Ink Thistle worth £12.50

Miller heart pendant and Bubba Bangle from GumiGem worth £21.90 (colour depends on stock) 

• 5 gift vouchers (5 winners) to spend at Personal Planner
• Dancing Fairy Cushion from Little Ragamuffin LTD worth £13.95

• £50 voucher to spend at Teeny Beanies
• Prize (TBC) from The Early Years Boutique
• Make your own sock money kit from Presents for Men worth £6.99

• Bottle Starter Set from MAM worth £30.00
• £20 Voucher to spend at Little Gems Boutique
• Pourty Potty and Flexi Fit Trainer Seat from Pourty worth £24.90
• Pink Snoob Scarf from Snoob worth £25.00
• Resusable Nappy from Baba+Boo worth £9.25
• Mama Bear and Papa Bear Soft Toy from Little Bird Told Me worth £30.00

How do I enter?

Tickets cost £1 each

Important - Once you have donated either online or by text message YOU MUST email:twinmumanddad@virginmedia.com with your FULL NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER and THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE DONATED. This is to allow them to confirm your donation and so that they can contact you if you win.

You can enter by any of the following methods

By Text Message

• (Cancer Research UK) Text TMAD47 to 70070 with the amount you would like to donate, e.g: if you would like to buy one ticket simply text TMAD47 £1 to 70070, if you would like to buy two tickets simply text TMAD47 £2 to 70070, if you would like to buy three tickets simply text TMAD47 £3 to 70070 and so on

• (Bliss) Text TMDB60 to 70070 with the amount you would like to donate, e.g: if you would like to buy one ticket simply text TMDB60 £1 to 70070, if you would like to buy two tickets simply text TMDB60 £2 to 70070, if you would like to buy three tickets simply text TMDB60 £3 to 70070 and so on

Online

• Click here to donate to their Just Giving Cancer Research UK page. If you would like to buy one ticket, simply donate £1, for two tickets donate £2, for three tickets donate £3 and so on.

• Click here to donate to their Just Giving Bliss page. If you would like to buy one ticket, simply donate £1, for two tickets donate £2, for three tickets donate £3 and so on.

REMEMBER - Once you have donated either online or by text message YOU MUST email:twinmumanddad@virginmedia.com with your FULL NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER and THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE DONATED. This is to allow them to confirm your donation and so that they can contact you if you win.

Terms and Conditions

• This raffle is open to individuals resident in Great Britain aged 16 years or over. Any person found to be under 16 years of age automatically forfeits the right to any prize. Proof of identitiy may be requested
• Tickets cost £1 each
• Monies raised by the raffle will go to the work of CRUK which is a regisitered charity in England and Wales (1089464) and in Scotland (SCO41666) and also to the work of Bliss which is a registered charity in England and Wales (1002973) and in Scotland (SCO40878)
• Payment for participation in the Raffle can be made by debit card via our Just Giving pages or via text message
• We take no liability for entries from which the prize winner cannot be identified
• The closing date is 25th December 2013. Tickets after this date will not be entered into the draw and monies will be treated as a donation
• The Raffle draw will take place on 4th January 2014 at Twin Mummy and Daddys residence
• The winners will be the drawn at random from all entries received by the closing date and prizes will be awarded in order of selection
• The results of the raffle draw are final and communication about them will not be entered into
• Winners will be notified by email or telephone no later than 11th January 2014
• Prizes are shown above
• All prizes are also subject to the terms and conditions of the prize provider
• By entering the raffle, entrants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (which may be amended at any time by Twin Mummy (aka Emily Higgins). Any entries not complying with these terms and conditions will not be valid
• If you have any queries or complaints please emailtwinmumanddad@virginmedia.com
• We reserve the right to award any prizes not claimed after three months to an alternative winner
• A list of the surnames of the winners will be available on this page by 31st January 2014
• We reserve the right to reject any entry (and award any prize to an alternative winner) if we have grounds to believe the entrant has breached any of these terms conditions, acted fraudulently or illegally or on other reasonable grounds