Most parents have nine months to prepare for the arrival of a baby — Scott and Abby McCulloch had just a few weeks before welcoming their adopted baby.
"We got the phone call, and were told 'Yes, you're going to be parents in three weeks'. I couldn't even think!" said Scott.
"I just remember not being able to sleep that night," added Abby.
"My mind and my heart were so happy and so overwhelmed. I was like whoa, this is an amazing privilege. I can't believe this is happening to me — to us. Holy heck, let's do this."
Abby recalls the day they then met their daughter at the hospital's maternity ward.
"We heard the nurse coming down the corridor, wheeling her towards us. I can still picture it now, us peering over the bassinet.
"Oh my gosh, I'm getting teary," she added.
"Yeah, it was magical," recalled Scott.
The Tauranga couple adopted Bodhi three years ago, and their community rallied in support.
"Food delivered to our kitchen, clothes on our doorstep, our legal fees suddenly paid. It was incredible — all these people coming together in support of Bodhi's life and saying, 'We love you, and we want you in our lives'," said Scott.
As with many new parents, they were keen to start a baby book for Bodhi, capturing all the details of her first weeks. They began a scrapbook, but the sleep-deprived couple admits they didn't get very far.
"It seemed like you had to be quite creative with arts and crafts," said Abby. "I didn't have the time."
"We started one and didn't get past the second page," said Scott.
"The feedback I've had consistently from other parents was that they had a half-finished baby book at home for their first child. And none for their second child — and they had a lot of regret."
So, the new parents hunted for something that was still personal, but without the hard work.
'A child's birth story'
"I knew about personalised story books, where you could put your child into the story," said Scott.
"I searched all over the internet, all over the globe and could only find stories that were generic about your first day at school or about slaying the dragon.
"But nothing specific to a child's birth story. No one had been able to solve the problem of applying this technology to the complexity and diversity of children's birth stories."
He added: "I knew about the research, which says that our brains are wired in narrative structures. In other words, we become the stories we believe. What story is more foundational than your birth story? Was I loved and wanted during my first days?"
So, the McCullochs decided to create something themselves, launching HATCH storybooks.
"Parents can go on the website and answer a series of questions. Based on their unique answers the software takes those, and with algorithms and artificial intelligence, puts together a uniquely illustrated storybook that has the details of how loved your child was. Who came and visited, and who gave gifts.
"You can print it or download it, put it in a format your child can return to again and again."
The couple have invested their life savings in the project and hope to take the business global.
"We launched a Kickstarter and it was really interesting to see how much buy-in there was from the international community.
"Through the help of some amazing leaders in the business world, we've been able to secure $175,000 in investor funds."
The couple says they want to help all parents record the important details of their child's arrival before they're forgotten due to sleep deprivation.
Ensuring Bodhi's story was captured accurately was vital.
"Every child needs to know that when they came into the world, they were loved and wanted. Adoptive children have that extra need because of the trauma that's taken place in their life," said Scott.
Abby agreed.
"People say you're so good to adopt. Ah, you have it wrong."
"We are the ones who are lucky."
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