Couple blessed after heartbreak
AFTER losing four babies in four years, having another child seemed impossible for Jade Large.
She and her partner Mark Payne already had a blended family of six, but the couple desperately wanted another.
“We could never make it past six weeks,” Ms Large said.
“Each pregnancy I had confirmed by doctors, but by six weeks, I would start cramping and bleeding and doctors confirmed miscarries.
“Each time the early ultrasound confirmed our little baby had no heartbeat.”
The Tassie mum said it was a depressing time for both of them.
“It was even more upsetting for Mark, as his firstborn son was born sleeping at 23 weeks gestation, so it triggered a lot of sadness for him,” Ms Large said.
Finally, they were blessed, and Hailie Jade was born on February 20, 2019 — their miracle “rainbow baby”.
“After every storm, the sun comes out and there is always a rainbow.
“We went through four storms before we finally got to see how beautiful the rainbow really was,” Ms Large said.
Little did they know another little rainbow was to follow, with Hailie’s little sister MarliRose born on June 8, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another Tassie mum who had to give birth during the pandemic was Emily Kearnes, who welcomed daughter Sophia on April 15 at Launceston General Hospital.
“I wasn’t allowed to have any support people or anyone to come to the hospital with me for any of my appointments and scans, so my partner missed a heap,” Ms Keanes said.
“Being pregnant through the pandemic got a bit lonely and stressful.”
The Launceston mum — who miraculously fell pregnant despite having surgery on her fallopian tubes — said the hardest part was not being able to have any family contact for the first few weeks.