Albion Park couple Melanie and John Bedsvaag wish they had had more time to hold their stillborn son close.
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The bereaved parents spent five precious hours with little Aidan who was delivered at Wollongong Hospital in May at just 19 weeks and four days.
Mrs Bedsvaag had heard of a specialised cot with an inbuilt cooling system that would allow families more time to say goodbye to their babies, but the hospital did not have one.
So they made the most of the time they had, taking turns to embrace their baby boy, taking photographs they will forever treasure.
Despite their grief, their thoughts turned to others and they have raised enough funds to purchase two Cuddle Cots for Wollongong Hospital.
On Friday, with their daughter Chloe by their side, they handed over the first of these special cots, embroidered with the tribute "lovingly donated in memory of Aidan Bedsvaag".
"At the 19-week scan we found out he had a condition which was fatal - we were told that even if he survived a full-term pregnancy he would not survive long after birth," Mrs Bedsvaag said.
"We made the heartbreaking decision to have a medical termination as we didn't want to put him through that struggle.
"The time we had with him meant the world to us. But because he was so tiny, from the time we were given him to the time he was taken away, the deterioration was quite rapid.
"We didn't want any other parent to have to watch their baby go downhill so rapidly because that was so hard."
The couple set up a fundraiser through Pregnancy Loss Australia and in the first 16 hours the $5500 cost of the cot had been reached. However the donations did not stop coming and by day 33, $11,000 had been raised.
"We are donating the cots to honour our son," Mrs Bedsvaag said. "It doesn't take away the grief but it does provide us with some comfort that in the giving process we are able to help other Illawarra parents who will sadly walk in our shoes in the future."
Pregnancy Loss Australia enables community members to raise money for cuddle cots which can be donated to a hospital or used by a family in their home, or for their baby's funeral.
The cots contain a cooling system which means they can remain in a hospital ward for many more hours, rather than be taken earlier to be cooled in a mortuary.
Wollongong Hospital maternity services nurse manager Melissa Cooke said the additional time allowed parents to say goodbye in their own time.
"It gives the family more time for that bonding, which is so important for them in this situation," she said.
"We are very grateful for the effort and time Melanie and John have put in to donate these cots for families throughout the region."
Mrs Bedsvaag said the nursing staff at the hospital had been fantastic, as had the volunteer organisation Heartfelt which came to Wollongong to give them a gift that was "priceless".
"Heartfelt is an organisation of professional photographers who come to hospitals and take photos of deceased babies free of charge," she said. "Because of this organisation, we have some beautiful photos of our son that are the only memorabilia we have of him."