Millie Smith and Lewis Cann were over the moon upon the revelation that they would become parents. Having a number of twins in their family, Millie had the gut feeling that she was carrying two babies herself, and her mother’s instinct didn’t fail her.
The ultrasound showed that she was indeed expecting twins, but even at the beginning of the pregnancy, doctor’s could determine that one of the babies wasn’t likely to survive.
When Millie gave birth at 30 weeks pregnant, they were told that one of their daughters had anencephaly, a life-limiting condition where the baby’s brain and spinal cord (the fetal nervous system) do not develop properly.
They were also told that their bundle of joy only minutes to hours to live.
Knowing this, her parents wanted to name her before they could say the final goodbye. They chose the name Skye.
“We knew that Skye needed to have a name before she was born,” Millie said. “Knowing she would only survive for seconds or minutes, I wanted her to be named during that time.”
The meaning behind “Skye,” she explained, symbolized “somewhere we knew she would always be, that we could look up at the sky and remember our baby.”
“We were cuddling Skye when she passed away. This was the worst moment in our lives. I have never ever felt heartbreak like that before. But I am proud that she fought for so long to spend time with us.”
Skye only lived for three hours, time her parents spent admiring her beauty and enjoying her presence into their lives.
Following her passing, the couple were provided with a “bereavement midwife” and a “Daisy Room,” a space where parents can be with their infant before and after death, to help them cope with the loss.
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