In 2007 my cousin was born at St Peters Hospital. Unfortunately there were birth complications and she was rushed off to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Although I was only 10 at the time, I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was as if time had stopped for my whole family as we waited with bated breath hoping for a miracle. A miracle that the doctors and nurses of GOSH performed.
A few weeks later she was brought to the NICU at St Peter’s Hospital, where she was looked after by their beautiful team and the Little Roo Foundation! That is where we first met she was this tiny little baby that had fought a battle bigger than most ever would. Since then my family and I have spent the last 14 years raising money for GOSH, St Peters and the Little Roo Foundation, it was a way to show our appreciation and to give something back.
When Music in Hospitals and Care approached me in 2019 asking if I would like to perform at their lullaby session on the NICU at St Peter’s Hospital I jumped at the chance.I started performing regular Lullaby session for Music in Hospitals and Care at St Peter’s Hospital in the Summer of 2019. It was a life changing experience being able to provide comfort and calm in these difficult situations. Giving parents a precious memory with their little one at such an uncertain time was an honour and extremely humbling! This experience was made even more remarkable by the positive feedback from the parents and their families, as well as the response from the babies via their heart monitors.
When the pandemic hit, I was heartbroken that I could no longer provide this service, so I tried to find other ways to reach families with my lullabies. A few parents contacted me asking for private recordings of their favourite lullabies from the NICU sessions. One family even asked if I would perform at their child’s baptism.This fantastic response inspired me to create Snug As A Bug Lullabies.