You could be in with a chance to obtain 7 nights at the Anchorage Holiday Park in a delux cabin, on the north coast of NSW at Iluka. 

This trip was originally offered as a prize for last year’s Walk for Prems top fundraiser. The winner sadly cannot use the trip, so they have donated it back to us – a very big thank you to Mark, Sarah and family for your kindness.

The voucher is for a family of four to enjoy 7 nights in a two bedroom, fully self-contained and air-conditioned Delux Cabin at Anchorage Holiday Park. 

Anchorage Holiday Park nestles on the northern shore of the Clarence River, on the north coast of NSW, only minutes from Iluka’s ocean beaches and boat Harbour. Iluka is a very special place, unspoilt, unpretentious and still largely undiscovered by a busy world.  It’s the perfect spot for a family to recharge their batteries, and there is something for everyone to do.

www.anchorageholidaypark.com.au

So to be in with a chance, tell us in 50 words or less why you’d like this break. The submission judged the best will be taking their family off on a very deserved break. 

Entries must be in by Monday 1st July at 5pm EST 

So get creative and complete the form below – we’d love to be able to give this fantastic holiday to you.

 Conditions of entry:

• You must be the parent of either a premature or sick baby 
• You must be able to take the break by the Oct 2013. Sadly no extensions can be granted. 

• The Giveaway is for the accommodation only at the Anchorage Holiday Park in a delux cabin.  All extra costs incurred, such as airfares, transport, food, activities, are the responsibility of the recipient.

• Entires must be in by Monday 1st July at 5pm EST 
• LLTF require a picture of the winning family on their break, to use on their website and social media
• On entering this Giveaway you accept that your email address will be placed on our database to keep you up to date on LLTF activities. Personal information is never passed onto a third party.
• All submissions will be reviewed by a team here at the LLTF Head Office.
• Winner will be notified on Monday 8th July 2013

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 “No one could have prepared us for the journey we were about to embark”

Milla was born at at the Monash Medical Centre by emergency c-section where she then spent her first 10 days in NICU, then spent her remaining 92 days in NICU and SCN the Mercy for Women.  Milla was so tiny but so strong and determined she has done so well throughout her journey,  without any major setbacks, she came home with us on her due date 11th January 2012.  She has a small heart condition, and ASD with mild hypertension and will require surgery to correct when she is a little older. She is still tiny for her age at 15 months corrected still only weighing just over 6kg, however she is a very determined little girl with no developmental delays. We feel so very lucky to have such a beautiful little girl and that she has gone from strength to strength.  We want to do what we can do to help support other families and raise awareness of premature birth and the work of the ‘Lifes Little Treasures Foundation’ who do a wonderful job supporting families with premature and sick babies like Milla.

We are absolutely honoured to be a part of the Foundation as Ambassadors, and are very passionate about raising awareness of the importance of the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation and the amazing work they do around Australia. Having the right support, friendship and information for any family, going through the rollercoaster journey of having a premature or sick baby, is an absolute must and it really does make a difference. It did for us!

Back to Ambassadors

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The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses

Neonatal Nurse Excellence Awards 2013

The Life’s Little Treasures Foundation is delighted to work alongside the Australian College of Neonatal Nurses, in promoting the Neonatal Nurse Excellence awards for 2013

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Dear Supporter

Australia’s neonatal nurses are among the best in the world. We could all share examples of clinical excellence that we have seen or of care received by outstanding neonatal nurses. Although these nurses would be recognised in their work places by their colleagues and the families that benefit from their care, ACNN would like to formally acknowledge nationally, the contributions made by nurses who are considered by others to perform at a consistently high standard.

The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses (ACNN) launched the Neonatal Nurse Excellence Awards in 2011. The aim of this award is to recognise an individual neonatal nurse’s achievements and to encourage excellence in the provision of neonatal care.

Nominations are open to all nurses working in the area of neonatal care Australia-wide and nurses may be nominated by colleagues or by families of babies who have received care in a neonatal nursery.

Each nomination will be recognised by a certificate of excellence.The finalists will be sponsored to attend the ACNN national conference in Townsville in August 2013, where the overall excellence award winner will be announced. The overall winner will be presented with an award in recognition of their achievement, together with a prize to the value of $1,000 AUD.

This is a great opportunity to acknowledge a neonatal nurse, who you think displays excellence in a neonatal nursing role. Please consider nominating a neonatal nurse for the 2013 neonatal nurse excellence awards.

Melissah Burnett

Melissah Burnett

President

Australian College of Neonatal Nurses Incorporated

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Eligibility

The nominee must be a nurse working in a neonatal care unit (NICU/SCN/SCBU) in Australia.

How to nominate

Fill in the details on your nomination form.

Using no more than two A4 pages, describe the qualities of the neonatal nurse and why you think they are worthy of an excellence award. Provide examples if possible, so that the judges appreciate why this neonatal nurse stands out from others.

Submission

Nominations are to be submitted via e-mail to the ACNN Secretary at thesecretary@acnn.org.au and a copy of the nomination sent to contact_us@lifeslittletreasures.org.au

Nomination deadline

All nominations must be received by COB on Friday 12 April 2013

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Nomination Form

Details required of the neonatal nurse being nominated

Name of nurse:

Name of neonatal unit:

Name of hospital:

Phone number for the neonatal unit:

Details required of person submitting the nomination

Full name:

Mobile phone number:

Phone number:

e-mail address:

Relationship to the nominee (e.g. colleague; family of baby):

Terms and conditions

• All nominations will be treated with the strictest confidence.
• Nominations will not be accepted after the closing date of Friday 12 April 2013.
• No extensions will be granted.
• All nominations must include contact details for the person making the nomination.
• Nominators will receive an acknowledgement of receipt for the nomination.
• All nominations will be judged by a panel selected by the ACNN executive committee.
• The decisions of the panel will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
• No member of the ACNN executive committee may be nominated.

Thank you for taking the time to nominate a neonatal nurse for an award. Your nomination is gratefully received.

Posted: 28th Feb 2013

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Paralympic Swimming Champion

The Foundation is delighted and very honoured to announce it’s newest Ambassador Matt Levy.

Matt is one of Australia’s national treasures, born at just 25 weeks, 15 weeks premature, he is  26yrs old has Cerebral Palsy and is legally blind, he has also survived 46 operations to get him to where he is today. If there’s one thing Matt Levy hates, it’s losing. Such determination has taken Matt far in life and will take him further as he aims high in his swimming career.

One of his first great sporting moments was breaking the world record in the 200m freestyle short course in 2003. Since then, Matt has competed at the 2004 & 2008 Paralympics, 2006 IPC World Swimming Championships, 2007 Telstra Short Course Championships and 2010 IPC World Championships.  In the 2012 London Paralympics, Matt brought home his best medal haul to date with relay gold, 100m freestyle silver and three bronze medals in the 200m individual medley, the 100m breaststroke and the 4x100m medley relay.

He admires Ian Thorpe and uses him as inspiration to achieve personal bests each time he races. He believes his parents have been the most influential people in his life.  Matt believes there is no greater honour than representing Australia and is hoping to continue his swimming career. He currently works for Westpac Bank as a Change Analyst.

Mat is very honoured to be an Ambassador for the Foundation and is passionate about raising awareness of premature births in Australia.

Parool Shah, Co Founder of the Foundation says “We are honoured and privileged to have Matt as an ambassador and to help us spread the word.  Matt is a a true Aussie battler who has overcome much in life and provided hope and inspiration to many.

Read more about Matt:

http://www.paralympic.org.au/team/matt-levy

http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/london-paralympics-2012-matt-levy-set-to-shine/

http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/london-paralympics-2012-four-medal-haul-for-levy/

Posted: March 2013

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“Every year in Australia, around 21,000 infants are born prematurely and admitted to neonatal intensive and special care units – which equates to approximately 59 babies a day,” said Parool Shah, founding director of Life’s Little Treasures Foundation and mum to premature baby Luke.   

Having a premature baby often leaves parents feeling like they have landed in a foreign country where everyone is speaking a different language. With this in mind the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation developed a FREE app that is a glossary of terms, machines and people that families will encounter in neonatal intensive care units and Special Care Nurseries. This app has been very successful in the Apple App store with over 5500 downloads in the last 12 months and the Foundation hopes that more families worldwide will now be able to benefit with the launch of NICU words into the android market.

 “The Life’s Little Treasures Foundation believes that information, education and resources are key to empowering families and helping achieve the best outcomes for premature babies,” said Ms Shah.

 Preterm birth is the number one killer of newborns worldwide, and rates of premature births are on the rise in Australia and other Western countries.

The NICU Words Android app is now available now on Google Play and still also available  in the App store

Download the Android App HERE

Download the iApp HERE

To view other App developed by the Foundation go HERE

Posted: 25th February 2013

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This is also the time of year of sharing and giving, with people buying gifts for their family, friends and loved ones.  However for those with babies in hospital, the story is quite different.  For many this is a time when the financial burden of having a baby in hospital becomes more apparent.  Instead of spending money on their loved ones to make Christmas special, families often have to count and save pennies in order to feed themselves, pay for petrol, parking and in some cases accommodation whilst their baby is in hospital.

The Life’s Little Treasures Foundation understands what these families are going through and have just launched their “Hospital Christmas Giving Program” nationally.

Co Founder & Director Parool Shah says the “It’s a program whereby we are able to provide financial assistance and gifts to families with a baby in hospital.  So many families do it tough at this time of the year and we like to make things a little easier for them.  Let them know, someone cares.

After many years of running the program successfully in Victoria, we are delighted to take the program nationally and assist families in need in hospitals all around Australia. We hope that our ‘gift’ will provide them with some joy and make Christmas feel that little bit more special.”

To all the parents around Australia with babies in hospital over Christmas, we are thinking of you.

A few tips from our website on spending Christmas in hospital READ HERE

Meaghan and Alex parents to twin prems Millie & Lachlan share a few of their thoughts on spending Christmas in hospital.

“The connection and bond that is created between parents and staff caring for the most precious gift, ‘our children‘ is special and Christmas day was an experience where this relationship was strengthened and nourished by the desire we had to embrace family and friends in the traditional spirit of the day.”

If you would like to help the Foundation continue services such as this then please DONATE NOW and help us help these families.

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On 17th November 2012 the Foundation was very honoured to be part of the official groups representing Australia in a worldwide campaign to raise awareness of prematurity and change the lives of babies born too soon everywhere.

As part of the day, Australian prem groups who are part of the National Premmie Foundation, showed their support by being part of the ‘Light it up Purple’ campaign. The Questacon building in Canberra was lit up in purple to mark the occasion.

Families were asked to show their support by lighting a purple candle at 7pm and wearing something purple. They were also encouraged to take photos or videos and share with us.

Parool Shah, Co-founder & President of Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, says, “World Prematurity Day is a day when we can all come together globally to support these families, and also the health professionals who have dedicated their lives to giving these babies a healthy start in life. It is a time to further raise awareness of an issue that currently affects over 25,000 babies in Australia every year and is the number one killer of newborns.

The impact of having a premature baby on families is far reaching and has many social ramifications as well.  We need to make those that are in a position to make a change understand this.  We are very proud to be a member group of the National Premmie Foundation, celebrating this important day with our other global partners around the world,  March of Dimes, Bliss, EFCNI and Little Big Souls.”

See what World Prematurity Day Ambassador Celine Dion had to say, via video on our home page.

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To view event pictures click HERE

Families came together from all over Australia to be part of the annual Fun Run / Walk “Walk for Prems” 2012.  A national event to bring families together in various states to celebrate Australia’s Little Treasures.

Parool Shah, Co-founder & President of the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, says, “Walk for Prems” is a day when we can all come together nationally to celebrate our Little Aussie Battlers. It is a time to further raise awareness of an issue that currently affects over 25,000 babies in Australia every year and is the number one killer of newborns.  We are committed to providing support and assistance to these families accross Australia.”

The Foundation sends A BIG thanks to everyone who came and took part in Walk for Prems 2012.  What a day! It was so much bigger and better than we expected!  The most amazing visual was the sea of orange t-shirts around the different venues across Australia, demonstrating a wonderful community united for the day. We hope everyone who attended the walks had a great time!

Across Australia we had over 3,000 people participate. That is over 1,000 more than last year! Life’s Little Treasures’ Walk for Prems is growing every year. We are excited to see what 2013 brings.

The fundraising efforts were tremendous by everyone who did the walk, we were also so thrilled with all the various events that were held around the country on the day to fundraise by those that couldn’t attend official walks . We have broken our fundraising target of $150,000!  and are thrilled to announce that the final tally for the walk  is $174,000 an outstanding result.  To all of our fundraisers and their sponsors, thank you for your hard work. You have really helped to make a difference to families in need.

With the funds raised, Life’s Little Treasures will be able to reach more of the 45,000 families who have a baby in Neonatal Intensive Care and Special Care Nurseries. Alongside our current support services we will also be able to provide these families, free of charge, with our newly published hospital guide, “A Guiding Hand to NICU & Special Care”.  This invaluable resource will help them navigate the daunting journey in hospital with their babies. We are proud of this publication and with your participation in the 2012 Walk for Prems, it has made it possible for families in need to receive one.

The Life’s Little Treasures Board would like to sincerely thank all of the volunteers who helped to make the 2012 Walk for Prems possible. Without volunteer contributions, this day would not be the success it was.

There are many others that we would also like to thank.  We would  like to acknowledge and thank our corporate sponsors – Medela, Earlybirds, Kidspot, Living Textiles, Evans and Peck, PAMS and Michael Kouril Pty Ltd, without whom this day would not have been possible.

We would also like to thank all our ambassadors and supporters – Brooke Hanson, Clare Bowditch, Brodie Holland, Leigh and Stacey Harding for stepping out in support and helping to raise awareness.

A big thank you also to all the people and organisations who were involved in making this day happen.  A special mention to the following:

Kim at Toddler Tucker, Eventpower, Instant Shade Marquees, Sarah Hone, POWA productions, Pulse, Photographers Nicky, Shoshanna from  LaDeDa Photography and Natalie from Peachy Prints Photography,  Fit for Everything, City Haven Massage, Rent-a-twoway and Pink Fencing.  The amazing Rebecca from Petite Marguerite Greetings & Well Wishes who was chief creative designer fot the event.

Karin & Katrina

We can’t forget Kairn & Kartina the event managers extraordinaire who made it all possible and whithout who we couldn’t do what we do each year.

Finally but not least, thank you to each and everyone of you who came along on the day in each state to make it such a memorable event.  We look forward to our 2013 celebrations and seeing you all there again next year.

Warm Wishes

The Board of Directors and all the team at LLTF

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We are delighted to be partnering with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute on a new program currently being developed.  The program aims to develop an online program for parents of very premature children, a first of it’s kind in Australia.

They are currently seeking Victorian families who have experienced the premature birth of a baby ( who are at least 12 months out of NICU)  to be filmed for the purposes of this program.  They would like to film the parents talking about things such as tips for parents in the NICU, supports that helped them during the initial months and longer term, and other things that might be helpful for other parents to know (such as early intervention, tips for communicating with doctors, etc.).

These interviews will most likely be filmed at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Parkville. They will be used to illustrate information and strategies in the online intervention program that parents can then use to help support their premature babies in the NICU and at home. Filming will take approximately 1 hour and they are flexible on times, so mum & dad can attend.

The online intervention program being developing is based on an evidence based home visiting program for parents of premature children that they have already studied and found to be helpful for parents and children. They are developing this online version of the program so they can reach more parents with less cost.

The online program aims to educate parents about their child’s development and things parents can do to help, strengthening the parentchild relationship and supporting parental mental health. They program is not intended to replace other intensive early intervention programs, but rather aims to complement them. After they have finished the development phase of the project, they will conduct a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) study of the program with parents of premature children.

They anticipate the initial evaluation study of the program will take 4-5 years, and after this time we will focus on translation of the program into clinical practice. Please take some time to think about whether you would like to be part of this program and consent to be filmed for the it.

The Foundation’s President Mrs Parool Shah has said

“We are delighted to be partnering with such a well known and internationally renowned  research institute in developing this online programme for families. The birth of a premature or sick baby is very stressful for all family members and parents are often concerned about long term outcomes for their babies – providing an online parenting tool such as this will help empower families and give them a better understanding of how to achieve the best outcomes for their babies. “

 ”To be involved in a programme that will make a huge difference to babies and families is fantastic and helps us in realising one of our core missions of the Foundation, which is “To help families achieve optimal child and family health and wellbeing.”

If you would like to participate, or have any questions about the filming, please contact the program coordinator, Karli Treyvaud, on 9345 4756 or email karli.treyvaud@mcri.edu.au

It’s a great opportunity to share your experience, assist future families and be part of an Australian first program for families of premature babies.

Video interview topics for parents of premature children

Note: Parents can choose to talk about all or some of these topics

• Initial feelings and reactions to the NICU
• Experience with kangaroo care and involvement in care giving activities such as feeding, baths
• Fathers talking about their experiences in the NICU and supporting themselves and their partner (in the NICU and at home), balancing home and work life
• Things that help parents look after and care for themselves during stressful times (in the NICU and at home)
• Things that help parents look after  their relationships with others (partner/spouse, other family, other children, friends)(in NICU and at home)- may also talk about influence of the premature birth experience on relationships with others
• Bonding with their baby, seeing their baby for the first time, how the relationship changed over time 
• Tips for coping in the NICU
• Tips for coping once you are home with your baby
• Transitions: moving from the NICU to Special Care Nursery, different hospital and/or home
• Support groups that were helpful e.g., LLT
• Any other information parents want to talk about that parents of premature children might find helpful

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There are three stages of a man’s life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus. ~Author Unknown

Thank you to all the fathers who took part in our father’s day competition. It was fantastic to receive so many beautiful words describing “what is the best thing about being a dad”. It was very moving to read the entries and very hard to choose the winner.

For us, all you dads out there are winners, but we had to choose a winning entry. After lots of deliberation, we decided to award this prize to Chris Woolis with the winning entry of

“Seeing, hearing and embracing the laughter that permeates from our home…

the minute I walk in the door, nothing else in the world matters”

Thank you once again to all the dads who entered, we really appreciate the time that you have taken in putting your thinking caps on and sending us your entries. We will be showcasing some of these entries here on the website once it is ready, so keep a look out.

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