A hospital's baby unit is appealing to knitting fanatics to donate soft toy octopuses – and the reason why will make you melt.
Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax want donations of the knitted sea creatures to comfort premature babies on the Special Care Baby Unit.
The friendly-faced toys are used because of their dangly tentacles, which are thought to comfort the infants as they mimic the feeling of the umbilical cord in their mum’s womb.
Debbie Martin issued an appeal on Facebook for donations which are used for babies born under 34 weeks.
She said: “We had a small supply of octopuses which we have now used up. We would love to offer every baby under 30/32 weeks one but we need a stock of 100ish.
“That’s a year, then maybe every baby under 34 weeks. If you have time to crochet or knit one we would put it to use.”
Donations can be made to Calderdale Royal at an ‘octodrop box’ at the Special Care Baby Unit.
Knitting patterns for the octopuses can be found online, with more information available on Bliss charity’s website http://www.bliss.org.uk/knit-for-premature-babies .
