‘Rainbow baby’ Elsie brings joy to family
History has repeated itself as five generations of one family met for the very first time in Hednesford at the weekend.
Prison officer Jodie Smith, aged 24, of Cannock, gave birth to her “rainbow baby” Elsie-Mai Gwilt on August 3.
Her arrival brought particular joy back into the lives of Jodie and her partner, Zachary Gwilt, a 26-year-old lorry driver, after the couple last year lost a child who was stillborn.
Amazingly Jodie’s mother Nicola Smith, aged 40, also from Cannock was also a fifth generation baby when she was born in 1981.
Elsie-Mai is now getting lots of cuddles from her grandmother, Nicola, great grandmother Jill Borton, aged 62, also from Cannock, and has finally met her 89-year-old great great-grandmother Doreen Holt.
Jodie said: “It is amazing that history is repeating itself.
“Elsie-Mai is our rainbow baby after we unfortunately lost a child at 20 weeks last year.
“She is a very quiet and contented baby and loves to pull faces at people and is very cheeky. Elsie-Mai has certainly filled a lot of hearts with joy.
“Doreen is really pleased with her name, as Elsie was the name of her own mother.
“When we met at Hednesford it was the first time that we had been able to get together because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For my mother, Nicola, Elsie-May is her first grandchild and she is often coming in for cuddles and kisses.
“My grandmother, Jill, cries every time she sees her and has said that her arrival has made her very happy.”
A rainbow baby is a term for a child born to a family that has previously lost a child due to stillbirth, miscarriage or death during infancy.
