Years of heartbreak led to this smile

Scrolling through the website filled with prams, car seats and all the baby clothes you could imagine, my stomach did an excited flip. It was late 2008 and, after a year of dating, my partner, Dave, then 36, and I were expecting our first baby.

‘We need to pick a theme,’ I told Dave, thinking about the nursery. It was early days, but I couldn't help but start planning.

Only, at just over six weeks, I went to hospital suffering from crippling stomach pains and bleeding. The doctors confirmed I’d miscarried. I was devastated, but tried to be positive as I’d read one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and many women go on to have healthy babies.