Our favorite thing about Solly Baby is you—the community of moms and dads doing the beautiful, messy, important work of raising little ones. In our weekly Full Heart Series, we're sharing stories from our Solly Community that resonate, inspire, and remind us we're never alone. Join us as we savor these everyday moments that leave our hearts full.
Let's start with a quick introduction. Tell us the facts.
Name: Hannah Redden
Children: Judah (3.5 years), Ezra (9 months)
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Occupation: Physiotherapist, Health Informatician, and Content Creator
What’s a time in the last week when your heart has felt full?
This week putting up the Christmas tree as a family! My husband and I have always been big Christmas lovers even before kids, but now with kids, it is even more magical. This will be our boys' first Christmas together and it was so special putting up the tree together and starting forever Christmas traditions. Especially singing beautiful carols, baking gingerbread, and reading the Christmas story together.
Something about motherhood that has surprised you?
The raw beauty of learning to humble yourself every day and serve someone else above yourself, and the inherent joy that comes with it.
Something about motherhood that you wish people talked about more?
The inherent calling and profound joy of motherhood! There is so much noise about how hard it is—which it can be—but that’s so not the point! It is a beautiful gift to serve a little human above yourself and makes life richer and more sparkly. That’s why I started my Instagram page @motherhood.miracles, and to tell our miracle baby's story. We were told to terminate our firstborn (Judah) at 20 weeks because he would be "blind and severely disabled," but he is now our completely healthy 3-year-old! I love to look at motherhood and life through a miracle lens.
Can you share more about your pregnancy with Judah?
Our pregnancy had been exciting, joy-filled and low risk until the 20 week scan. I will never forget that day. My husband had bought me pink and blue flowers because we were so excited to find out the gender and to see our little babe. The scan went for almost two hours, and somewhere along the way the air shifted from excitement to tension. Eventually a doctor held my hand and said “I am so sorry but part of your baby’s brain is missing and we don’t know what that means.”
We were told to go home and wait for a call from the high-risk maternal fetal medicine department. They could not tell us anything further about when we would see the team and what would come next.
We underwent extensive medical testing at the maternal fetal medicine unit and were repeatedly offered terminations despite us telling them that this was something we would not consider. We were left with a “high risk of severe disability and blindness” but would not know until birth whether our baby would be ok. This included the risks of our baby being wheelchair-bound, tube fed, on oxygen, suffering from recurrent seizures, regular hospital stays for hormone replacement, and even the potential that he would die early. We spent the remainder of the pregnancy going into hospital for in-utero MRI brain scans. They could never glean much from them, and I was always so anxious.
People would tell me I was so brave, calm, or measured during that time – but I wasn’t. I would pray, distract myself, and when it all got too much I even suffered panic attacks. I had no idea what was coming, but I was shocked by the fierce love and protection I already felt over my baby, no matter how complex or short their life would be.
Judah was born at 38 weeks with all of his specialists present while we waited to find out whether he would be ok. We were in hospital for 5 days while he underwent extensive testing, but he passed every test. We were hopeful.
At 9 days old we went back into hospital and Judah was sedated and taken for his final MRI brain and definitive diagnosis. That evening he was slow to recover from the sedation and we were in special care for oxygen. The neonatologist strolled briskly in and told us “Judah has been diagnosed with XXXX (the disability we had been warned about) and he will be blind and severely disabled. Do you have any questions?”
We were devastated, and were sent home with specialist and disability support. I was told to look out for signs of seizures and disability, but I was a first-time mum—I had no idea what I was doing.
We underwent physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, hydrotherapy, and more. Every appointment I was so anxious about what I would be told, but every time he was ahead with his milestones. When Judah turned six months old, we saw an ophthalmologist to determine whether he would be blind. His optic nerves looked completely normal! The testing went on and on, and Judah always passed with flying colors.
Finally, after a year full of testing and appointments, the specialists acknowledged that he was completely healthy with no signs of deficit. While they couldn’t “undo” his diagnosis, I was given the green light to omit it from his medical forms moving forward.
Judah is still technically diagnosed to this day. It has been such an emotional rollercoaster. We learned that doctors are just wonderful people doing the best they can, but only God can truly know what is ahead. God was good to us every step of the way and Judah is completely worth it. We would have adored him just the same no matter what.
This experience helped me to see the world through a miracle lens and inspired me to start my Instagram page. Because there is so much beauty in everyday, and, as Albert Einstein once said, “You can either live as if nothing is a miracle or as if everything is a miracle."
What was the fourth trimester with baby No. 2 like for you?
Wonderful! The rollercoaster of my postpartum experience with my firstborn gave me a heart of gratitude the second time around—everything was better than I could have imagined! It meant I just got to know him without expectation, and others have said this is what led to a calm, contented, happy baby. Both my boys were like this and slept 12 hours by 8 weeks old! I am actually working on a guide on how I got my babies sleeping 12 hours in 8 weeks (follow my Instagram for launch if you are interested)!
Weirdest pregnancy craving?
Those bakery buns with the pink icing.
Briefly share what a typical day in your life looks like.
It depends on whether I have both boys or just my baby, but coffee, devotions, gym, playground/friend catch-up, quiet time/rest (for all of us!), housework, dinner, bed/bath, skincare routine, stretch/bed early!
Something you loved to do before baby that you still do or would like to start up again (eventually)?
Hot yoga! It’s infrequent at the moment while I’m breastfeeding, but I absolutely love it!
Favorite piece of advice you’ve received about motherhood?
Everything is a phase, and time goes so quickly. So savor the beautiful, and don't let the difficult crush you, it will be past in the blink of an eye!
What Solly pieces do you have? What's on your wishlist?
I have the Houndstooth Nursing Cover and Natural Stripe Crib Sheet. I would love to match my boys in the Winter Toile Women’s Sleep Set and kid pajamas next!
Time for a round of rapid-fire favorites…
Indulgence: My Omnilux red light therapy skincare mask (and 12-step skincare routine!)
Children’s book: The Tallest of Smalls
Drink of choice: Cappuccino extra shot
Mama-time activity: Hot yoga/sauna/facial
Motherhood-related topic you could talk about for 15 min uninterrupted: The joy and beauty of motherhood!!!
After bedtime snack: Peppermint tea and cacao ball
