From the smallest
firsts to a year
full of them.
When Charlie was born, he weighed just 360 grams and measured 27 centimetres long. After being diagnosed with growth restriction during pregnancy, Charlie’s mum, Sam, was closely monitored as doctors tried to give him as much time as possible to grow. When he needed to be born, he was delivered by emergency caesarean and taken straight to Mater’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit.
For Sam and Nick, life with their new baby looked very different from what they had imagined. Charlie was so tiny that his earliest milestones were measured in fractions. One of his first feeds was just 0.4mL of milk. His parents watched as those tiny feeds increased, his weight slowly climbed and each small sign of progress brought new hope.
A different first Christmas.
Sam and Nick spent Charlie’s first Christmas beside him in hospital. For Sam, who loves Christmas, it was unlike any she had known. So many of the moments they had imagined with their baby still lay ahead — going home together, first words, birthdays, family holidays and another Christmas.
But the small steps kept coming.
And eventually, Charlie went home.
And then came a year of firsts.
Since leaving hospital in January, Charlie has filled his first year with moments his family once could only hope for. He’s discovered a love of swimming, travelled interstate to visit family and started getting around with what Sam affectionately calls his “boot scoot.” And while “mum” and “dad” are still a work in progress, he’s mastered one particularly important word: “Hug.”
Charlie has also celebrated his first Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with his parents and, in October, his first birthday surrounded by family, friends and fellow NCCU graduates.
They’re simple family moments. But after the uncertainty of Charlie’s earliest months, they mean so much more.
A lifetime of firsts still to come.
Now, Charlie’s family is looking forward to a very different Christmas.
This year, he’ll be home — with Christmas outfits, photos with Santa, presents to open and a Christmas tree to crawl beneath.
A year ago, those moments felt uncertain. Today, they’re living them.
For families with a baby receiving specialist neonatal care at Mater this Christmas, the milestones may still be small — the next feed, another gram gained or another sign their baby is growing stronger.
Your Christmas gift can help fund the specialist equipment that supports vulnerable babies through their neonatal critical care journey, giving more families hope for the precious milestones still to come.
Watch Charlie's story
Charlie arrived earlier than expected and spent his first Christmas in Mater’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU). His days were filled with tiny milestones that meant everything—each one a step towards a brighter tomorrow.
