Sienna’s Story: Born Sleeping, Forever Loved.
19th January 2025 | 13:21 | 40 weeks + 3 days | 6lb 9oz
On Sunday, 19th January 2025, our beautiful daughter, Sienna Elizabeth Rose O’Shea,
was born sleeping at 40 weeks and 3 days, weighing a perfect 6lb 9oz.
The day that should have been the happiest of our lives became the day our world
changed forever.
This is Sienna’s story. A story of unimaginable heartbreak, a mother’s love, precious
moments we can never get back, and the legacy our little girl continues to leave behind.
The morning everything changed
It was a Sunday morning, and I was doing what most heavily pregnant mums do in those
final days, nesting, cleaning the house and preparing for our baby girl’s arrival.
Then my waters broke.
I had never felt so excited. After nine months of waiting, imagining her little face and
dreaming of the moment I would finally hold her, our baby girl was on her way.
I immediately began texting family and close friends with the exciting news. Sienna’s
Nanna, Karen, had just landed at Málaga Airport, perfectly timed to meet her
granddaughter.
After my waters broke, I could still feel Sienna wiggling and moving inside me. Everything
felt normal.
But just 20 minutes later, I began bleeding.
I remember remaining incredibly calm. I didn’t want to panic or distress my baby. We made
our way to the hospital as quickly as possible, with my partner and mum arriving just
minutes after me.
I had planned to give birth at a hospital in Marbella, but because of the urgency, we
diverted to a hospital in Estepona.
I had no idea that walking through those hospital doors would change my life forever.
“Please save my baby.”
As the doctors examined and monitored me, they struggled to find Sienna’s heartbeat.
There appeared to be only the faintest sign of one.
As the doctors examined and monitored me, they struggled to find Sienna’s heartbeat.
There appeared to be only the faintest sign of one.
Everything happened so quickly.
I was rushed into theatre for an emergency crash C-section under general anaesthetic.
There was no time to process what was happening, no time to say goodbye, no time to
prepare for what was coming.
My last memory before being put to sleep was begging the surgeon:
“Please save my baby.”
At 13:21, our beautiful Sienna Elizabeth Rose was born sleeping.
I didn’t know she had died.
During the operation, my own body suffered serious complications. My lung collapsed, and
I was placed into an induced coma.
My partner and family were not only told that our beautiful daughter had died, but that they
might lose me too.
I still cannot begin to comprehend what they went through during those 24 hours. The fear,
the heartbreak and the possibility of losing us both.
Our beautiful, perfect little girl
Sienna was everything I had imagined and so much more.
She had the most beautiful little lips, dark hair with tiny curls, the cutest button nose and
the biggest hands and feet — bless her.
She was absolutely perfect.
While I lay unconscious, her Daddy and both her Nannas were able to spend precious
time with her.
They cuddled her, kissed her, dressed her and put on her little nappy. They made sure that
every moment she spent in this world was filled with love.
They even brought Sienna into intensive care and laid her on my chest so that, somehow, I
could hold my daughter.
I have no memory of that moment, something that will always break my heart. But I have
photographs, and those photographs are among my most treasured possessions.
Because although I cannot remember holding her, I know that I did.
The goodbye that came far too soon
Unfortunately, the hospital did not have a CuddleCot.
For anyone unfamiliar, a CuddleCot is a specialist cooling system that allows babies who
have died to remain with their families for longer, giving parents the precious gift of time.
Time to hold their baby.
To kiss them. To dress them. To take photographs. To introduce them to siblings and grandparents. To make memories that will have to last a lifetime.
Time that we so desperately needed.
In Spain, funeral arrangements can happen very quickly, with burials and cremations often
taking place within days.
Within hours of Sienna’s birth, funeral directors had already arrived at the hospital to take
our daughter away.
Despite the incredible efforts of people trying to help us, Sienna was eventually taken to a
funeral home two hours away.
And I was still unconscious.
Waking up to a world without my daughter
When I woke from my coma the following day, I was told that my beautiful baby girl had
died.
I had gone into hospital expecting to bring my daughter home.
Instead, I woke up with a C-section scar, a body that had given birth, and empty arms.
I cannot put into words the pain of discovering that not only had my daughter died, but that
she was no longer at the hospital and I couldn’t even hold her.
My body had been through childbirth. My milk would come in. I was a mother in every
possible way.
But my baby wasn’t there.
Because of the complications with my collapsed lung, I was too unwell to leave the
hospital and travel to see her.
Every hour that passed was another hour away from my daughter.
After four days, I discharged myself from hospital.
I needed to see my baby.
Nothing in the world was going to stop me.
One precious hour
We made the five hour round trip to the funeral home so I could finally hold Sienna.
I remember seeing my beautiful little girl lying there.
I held her. I cried. I smiled. I kissed her tiny head, her hands and her feet.
I studied every inch of her, desperately trying to memorise the daughter I had waited nine
months to meet.
I had one hour with my baby.
One hour to do all the things I had imagined doing for a lifetime.
It remains one of the happiest and saddest memories of my entire life.
I would give absolutely anything to relive that hour, again and again.
To feel her in my arms one more time.
To kiss her little face.
To tell her how loved she is.
One hour was never going to be enough. A lifetime wouldn’t have been enough.
Saying our final goodbye:
On 28th January 2025, we said our final earthly goodbye to Sienna.
We held the most beautiful service in Vélez-Málaga, surrounded by pink flowers, white
feather balloons, teddy bears and candles.
Every little detail was chosen with love, to give our daughter the beautiful farewell she
deserved.
Instead of planning newborn photographs, first outfits and bringing our baby home, we
were planning her funeral.
It is something no parent should ever have to experience.
During those darkest days, some incredibly kind people set up a GoFundMe page to help
ease the financial burden of losing Sienna.
The generosity, kindness and love we received were overwhelming. We will forever be
grateful to every person who supported us.
And from that kindness, something began to grow.
Sienna’s Legacy: Turning heartbreak into change:
After losing Sienna, I knew that I wanted to make a difference.
I couldn’t change what had happened to my daughter. I couldn’t get those precious hours
back.
But I wanted to do everything in my power to help another mother, another father, another
family facing the unimaginable.
And so Sienna’s Legacy was born.
Our mission is to provide CuddleCots to maternity hospitals across Spain, giving bereaved
families something we were denied — more time with their babies.
Because when your baby dies, time becomes the most precious thing in the world.
Time for one more cuddle.
One more kiss.
One more photograph.
One more moment to be their mummy or daddy before having to say goodbye.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, we have now raised over €20,000
in Sienna’s name.
Together, we have:
• Raised enough money for almost nine CuddleCots, with eight already delivered.
• Provided 30 comfort boxes to support bereaved families.
• Donated two baby urns to families in need.
• Helped provide beautiful baby sleeping gowns to hospitals for families experiencing
loss.
Every donation, fundraiser, shared post and act of kindness helps us continue Sienna’s
legacy.
And every CuddleCot placed in a hospital means another family may be given precious
time with their baby.
A mother’s love doesn’t end when her baby’s life does
I share Sienna’s story because pregnancy and baby loss are still subjects that so many
people struggle to talk about.
People see the loss, but they don’t always see everything that comes afterwards.
The mother recovering from childbirth without her baby.
The milk coming in with no baby to feed.
The empty car seat.
The nursery waiting at home.
The funeral arrangements when you should be announcing a birth.
The birthdays, milestones and memories that will never happen.
And the overwhelming love that has nowhere physical to go.
Sienna was here. She was real. She was beautiful. She was our daughter.
Her life may have been heartbreakingly short, but her impact continues to reach families
across Spain.
I wish more than anything that I was telling a different story. That I was sharing
photographs of my little girl growing up, celebrating her milestones and watching her
discover the world.
Instead, I share her name, her photographs, her story and the difference she continues to
make.
I cannot give Sienna the life she deserved, but I can make sure her life continues to
make a difference.
And if sharing our story helps just one family feel less alone, or gives one mother a little
more time holding her baby, then I know that speaking her name matters.
Sienna Elizabeth Rose O’Shea.
Born sleeping on 19th January 2025 at 13:21.
Forever our first daughter. Forever loved. Forever missed.
And forever the reason behind Sienna’s Legacy. 🩷
Thank you for reading our daughter’s story, for remembering her name and for helping us
turn the deepest heartbreak into something that can offer comfort to other families.
You can find Sienna's mum's work here and the go fund me link below:
Facebook page :
Fundraising link :
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