WITH full hearts and open arms, the Upper Highway Baby Home (UHBH) welcomed a new addition to their family, baby Phoebe.
According to founder of UHBH, Gary Stanton, she was placed in their temporary care just before the national lockdown in March.
Born only nine weeks ago, Phoebe was cared for by the staff at Wentworth Hospital for six weeks before she was placed in her new temporary home of safety.
“Since her arrival, she has made quite an impression and the staff and our family have grown rather attached to this sweet baby girl,” said Gary.
At the same time, they are preparing their hearts to say goodbye to their four oldest babies Allie, Georgie, Thobi and Sonny. The four children were meant to be meeting their adoptive parents but this has been delayed due to the lockdown.
Gary said, “This will be a bitter sweet moment for our family, the team at UHBH and the volunteers. These precious little humans have crept into our hearts, but as hard as it will be to let them go, we are truly thrilled that they have found their forever family.”
It has been a particularly busy time at the UHBH as the one-of a-kind family has received little to no help due to the lockdown.
“It truly does take a village to raise a child. While we are really missing the help and support of our regular volunteers, that is not our most pressing need at the moment. Since the lockdown, we have seen a drop in financial donations and so we are desperate for any help we can get,” said Gary.
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In addition to financial donations that will be used to pay staff, cover medical costs and monthly bills, he said the UHBH team is also in need of in-kind donations:
General cleaning products: Handy Andy (lemon), mildew buster, Jik, Toilet Duck, kitchen towels, automatic washing powder, Sunlight dishwashing liquid, tablets for the dishwasher.
Baby goods: Pouches of baby food (Purity, Squish and other brands), nappies sizes 1 to 6 (Pampers Active or similar), baby hair de-tangler, Infacare 1 and 2, Isomil 1 and 2, wet wipes, nappy sacks, glycerine suppositories, Lacson, Daktarin Gel, Gynodaktarin and Antipoel.
Groceries: Sugar, Rooibos, long-life milk (full fat), margarine, tinned tomato and onion mix, tomato puree, All Gold tomato sauce, juice, fresh fruit and vegetables, mince, stewing lamb and chicken breasts.
“The babies of today are our future. Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up with a family that not only loves them, but believes in them and allows them to be the future hero they are born to be. We can all make a difference in the lives of these babies, we just need to try,” said Gary.
To make a donation, visit the Upper Highway Baby Home’s website or Facebook page for details.
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