Every Thursday afternoon, Elisa lives out a life-long dream that many of us would envy: she cuddles babies at Mater Mothers’ Hospital in South Brisbane.
For Elisa, this is a dream realised; one that had been embedded within her long before her retirement.
“I’ve loved babies since I was a teenager—in my family I’m known as the baby whisperer.”
“I always told my colleagues that when I retire, I was going to cuddle babies. Sometimes they laughed and said, you’re never going to do that. But that’s exactly what I did—I love it.”
Elisa officially began as a Volunteer Cuddle Carer in May 2023, after already having spent a year volunteering as a ward nanny, providing support to new mothers and babies.
While the ‘Cuddle Carer’ title leads most to believe that what Elisa does is simply holding babies, the reality is far from that.
Cuddle Carers play a vital role in the Special Care Nursery and Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, helping to care for sick and premature babies, and providing support to nursing staff and families.
Elisa explains that it’s difficult for families to be by their babies’ side 24/7, and the pride she takes in being able to provide an extra set of hands during a difficult time in their lives.
“I feel like I'm helping not just the babies, but also the parents who can't be there all the time,” Elisa says.
“If they’re missing Mum, I can give them a cuddle and settle them back down to sleep.”
Elisa is supporting the House for Life campaign in support of Mater Little Miracles, as she has seen first-hand the power of vital medical research and equipment in caring for Mater’s tiniest patients, and ensuring babies can go home with their families.
“I’ve seen hundreds of babies go through the doors,” Elisa says.
“It’s just amazing what can be done for these babies—the more research that they're able to do, the more they can help babies that years ago would never have had a chance.”
“Research is very important in saving these babies lives.”
When starting this volunteer role 18 months ago, Elisa never expected that her worlds would collide.
Earlier in the year, her first granddaughter, Alice, spent her first four days of her life in the NCCU and another three days in the Special Care Unit, at Mater Mother’s Hospital.
“I had seen it many times before, so I knew that she was being well looked after and was in the best of hands.”
Elisa had the chance to have her first cuddle with her granddaughter in the NCCU where she volunteers—but this time her title was ‘Grandma’.
For Elisa, the greatest reward comes from seeing the babies reach milestones and get closer to going home.
“I come in every Thursday and the first thing I do is walk around to all the cots to see if there’s any babies from last week that have been able to go home,” Elisa says.
“It's the highlight of my week.”
The House for Life home goes to auction in April 2025 and is the 10th project undertaken by Plantation Homes in support of Mater Little Miracles—an outstanding philanthropic contribution now exceeding $6.5 million.
