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"I'm a professional baby cuddler!"
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|February 2025
When Jenny Summerson’s own children grew up, she looked for something to fill the hole in her life. What she found were babies who needed a little extra TLC.
- GENEVIEVE GANNON
"I'm a professional baby cuddler!"

When I was pregnant in the '70s I couldn't justify asking family members to look after my children while I went to work, so my husband and I made the decision we would live on one wage so I could be involved with my children and their activities. All through kindergarten, primary school, high school, Guides and Scouts, I was on committees. I was happy, and I was busy. But when my daughter finished high school, my commitments halved and I found myself at a loose end.

I did not enjoy Mondays - the thought of the week ahead with not enough to do. Then in 1992 I saw an advertisement in the local paper: The Mater Hospital in Brisbane was looking for “100 helping hands”. I thought, “Oh, that should be interesting.” So I phoned and had an interview with the manager of the volunteer program.

I had no idea what I was signing up for. There were a few options for volunteers, including flower arranging. I put my hand up to work in the Special Care Nursery, which is where they establish babies' feeding so they can go home. My work as a “cuddle carer” was to be another pair of hands in the nursery and to cuddle babies who needed a little extra care. Suddenly I was busy on Mondays.

I still remember my first day. We had a wonderful nun in charge, Sister Margaret. She had a heart of gold. Every family whose babies were in the special care nursery knew Sister Margaret. When I walked into the nursery that day she was holding a baby, and she handed it to me. It was a three-kilo baby. I thought: “Oh, my goodness, it’s a good size.” That little one was ready to go home.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2025-Ausgabe von Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2025-Ausgabe von Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

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