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Providing support after the loss of a baby

My Plea:

Thank you for looking at our profile, we are The Lexi Doll Charity we have been going since October 2016. Our aim is to help and support bereaved children through sibling baby loss. The Lexi Doll will be there for the child to hold, cuddle, talk to, help and cherish.

OUR STORY

In October 2015 my partner and I found out we were expecting a baby, having tried for so long we were ecstatic with joy as we thought it would never happen.

We are a close family and told everyone very early as we couldn’t hide our anticipation. I was so excited telling my two nieces about their little cousin to be. Throughout my pregnancy my nieces would interact to play with their baby cousin, kissing my tummy and saying “I love your baby”, it was heart melting.

We were told at 20 weeks after a routine scan we were having a beautiful perfect baby girl. Our world suddenly became full spending the following months excitingly preparing for her arrival and counting down the days. You could say my pregnancy was good, I was only sick once and the worst pain I had was swollen feet and ankles. I loved feeling her kick and move, sometimes for hours. It was amazing to watch my tummy moving and feel her develop her own little personality so early on.

I was induced 15 days after full term and woke the following morning with contractions, finally the arrival of our little girl was near. My partner and I were so excited, it felt like we had been waiting a lifetime to hold and cuddle her.
Once at the hospital I was placed on a monitor and showed she was struggling with the contractions but this was seemingly not picked up. Her heart rate slowed so the hospital decided to do an emergency C-section.

As soon as I woke up in the recovery room I asked the midwives ‘how is she?’. They would not answer and my heart dropped as I knew there was something wrong. My partner was brought in to the recovery room for the consultant to tell us both our little girl was very ill and needed special help. We couldn’t believe what we were hearing, everything went numb. She was fine during my pregnancy, so healthy and perfect this can not be real.

We named her Lexi Anne Elizabeth as she was transferred to another hospital for treatment where after 2 wonderful days with her on the 22nd July 2016 she passed away in her mummy and daddy’s arms.

Our world was completely changed, it became a living nightmare. One of the most difficult challenges we faced was how my sisters were going to tell my nieces, Lexi’s cousins what has happened and why she wasn’t here. How do you explain and comfort children in those tender years, they were so excited to meet her. This is when my partner and I realised we needed to give them something to remember Lexi by and to be able to help them understand. Lexi’s cousins were given a doll each which we named Lexi, so they have something to play with, hold and cuddle.

When we gave the dolls to our nieces we saw what these little dolls did and my partner suggested we should help other children like Lexi’s cousin’s and families who experience the same tragic loss of a baby, This was the birth of the Lexi Doll Charity. Give the parents a Lexi doll to provide support for that child who had all that expectation and wonder our nieces had. Something special to hold, cuddle and play with remembering their angel baby up in the sky.

The Lexi Doll committee is made up of family and friends, and is linked to hospitals by people who are touched by what we do. Lexi was with us for such a short time but everyone involved holds her dearly in their hearts and she has brought with her a legacy that will help children in their time of need.

We have been non-stop fundraising to help more children. We are proud to say that we are in 6 hospitals and continue to fundraise to buy more dolls to put them into more hospitals. There is a lot out there for the parents and rightly so there should be. At The Lexi Doll Charity we wanted to help the children affected by this indescribable thing that happens to many families.

We have had amazing comments from parents about our dolls and how much the children who have been given them love them, and take them with them everywhere. These comments fill us with such emotion because we know that these special little dolls are helping those children in need.
The Lexi Doll Charity will continue our work to make sure that parents have something to give to their child(ren) to help explain to them about their baby that couldn’t come home.

Thank you for reading our story

What Others Have Said

“Lexi was a very loved baby and her death devastated the whole family including Jessica’s nieces.  These children needed comfort – and the family gave them “Lexi Dolls” so they had an outlet for their love and grief for baby Lexi. This was such a help and comfort for the children that it became the family’s dream to offer this comfort to other bereaved siblings and to honour Lexi’s memory. Lexi dolls are absolutely lovely friendly little fabric dolls, and there is truly a doll for everyone as they are made in a wide range of skin and hair tones to resonate with the diverse population of the UK.”