Levi’s Legacy
We sat down with Hayley Rodman from Sun & Sand the Collective and chatted about her journey with IVF, her angel baby and the meaning behind her business:
My husband and I bought an old Kombi Van in 2012. After the loss of his father to Cancer and two failed IVF rounds, we needed a holiday. We had no plans, just the two of us on the open road with a bed in the back, we had the most incredible time and so began our love affair with exploring the Australian east coast.
After lots of different tests, we discovered that I had PCOS and Endometriosis. My OB/GYN encouraged me to try different types of fertility medications. However after twelve months we had no success. So we begun the journey of IVF.
Our first two rounds, I only had one good embryo fit for transfer. Both times failed to take. On our third round we were lucky to have two good embryos, the first embryo transfer once again, did not take. So we put the other into storage and 6 months later we tried again and FINALLY got the greatest news ever - I was pregnant!. Our daughter Charli is now 9.
I began trying to naturally fall pregnant when Charli was about nine months old. Again, we had no success. When Charli was eighteen months old we went through another full round of IVF and thankfully fell pregnant in the first round. Our son Knox was born and we placed the remaining four viable embryos into storage.
My family and I have been lucky enough to have travelled up and down the Australian East Coast many times. While exploring so many incredible destinations - I noticed that the beach accessories being sold in stores were made either entirely or part plastic and covered in synthetic yarn, which has devastating impacts on our environment and oceans - particularly our marine life.
I decided I wanted to design and create products for our beaches. Products that were practical yet stylish, travel essentials that would have a minimal environmental impact, and be more sustainable and chemical free. Sun and Sand the collective was born. My products didn't come to me all at once. They developed as we travelled. Every time I would purchase a sand pit set for my children, they would pretty much get one to two uses before the plastic gave way. As if the plastic wasn't bad enough, they used synthetic packaging, which is disastrous when it ends up in our oceans.
Seven years after Knox we once again went through IVF. I would have liked to have done this earlier so that my children were closer in age, however with the Pandemic and the increased costs of living it took a little longer. In October 2022, I had an Embryo transferred and unfortunately had no success. I then tried again in December and was successful! Charli and Knox were getting a long awaited sibling.
When I was five months pregnant I went for an ultrasound at SCHU. There was no heartbeat. My entire world was shattered in an instant. I went from one day picking out prams and cot sets to the next day booking in my induction and deciding between a burial or cremation. I gave birth to Levi on Monday the 22nd of May at 11:30am. He was laid to rest in the teddy bear memorial garden at Buderim cemetery.
I was close to shutting the business down. My entire world had come to a grinding halt. It was an extremely difficult time both personally and for the business. Almost everything was designed with him in mind and what I would have wanted as an ecological warrior mother of a newborn. But after giving it some time, I realised that this was a way in which I could keep his memory alive.
My children are the inspiration behind the business. They are extremely passionate about protecting wildlife and marine life. They walk around the beaches collecting waste and dispose of it thoughtfully on their own accords. They tell me they do it for the turtles.
Hayley Rodman owns Sun and Sand the Collective. Scan to find her silicone sand sets and beach accessories or head to www.sun-and-sand-the-collective.square.site