My daughter Amber-Willow is a rainbow baby. She is five months old and has just started to wean having this week tried pear, apple, butternut squash, sweet potato, toast, beans, soup and this morning some of my pain au chocolat. Like her dad and brothers she would rather give broccoli a miss!

Amber-Willow aka Spider Pickle (as named by her youngest brother, Alfred) has a gorgeous smile which she happily shares and a delightful laugh that just brightens up my day. Alfred is very loving to his sister, often wanting to hold her and often first to hug her if she starts to cry!

During my wife’s pregnancy it was difficult for us both. Having lost our baby at a late stage there was no point at which we were able to relax. We are so grateful for the support we had from our consultant, the midwives and from SPRING. We had regular appointments with our consultant who was very straight forward and kept us informed along the way. The midwives at the Royal Bournemouth were happy for us to come in whenever we were worried about the baby and reassured us it was not a problem even if we came in every day – we didn’t, but we did make a few trips for checks on her heart beat.

The SPRING counsellors helped us to deal with our fears and Gena gave us a tour of Poole Maternity Hospital so we didn’t need to join a group of expectant mums and dads who would be blissfully unaware of any potential loss.

My wife still finds it hard to put Amber-Willow in the cot at night and has been known to wake her, checking to make sure she is alright. Her elder brothers who are 18 and 15 are always happy to cuddle her and take interest in her.