Rainbow baby grow sells out in two hours to raises funds for Feileacáin
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE idea that a baby born after their mother previously suffered a miscarriage, stillborn or neonatal death is a ‘rainbow baby’, served as a key inspiration for two Tallaght women affected by infant loss, who designed a baby grow to raise funds for Féileacáin.
Neighbours and friends Ali O’Leary and Janette McInerney, both from Kiltipper, worked together to design the baby grow to raise funds for Féileacáin, and it sold out within two hours of being launched last Thursday.
Ali's triplets Ted, Bruce and Lenny (16 months) and Janette's son Conor (2)
Janette, who sold the baby grow through her babywear business The Little One, decided to raise money for the charity after she lost her son, Alex, last October.
When Janette was just over 16 weeks pregnant on October 11, she noticed she was spotting and went to The Coombe.
There, she found out that there was no movement and no heartbeat from her baby, and she was induced shortly afterwards.
Janette and her husband, Shane, named their baby Alex. They held a funeral for him, and he was buried in Bohernabreena Cemetery.
During this time, Janette was touched by Féileacáin providing her with a memory box, which included a hand-knitted blanket, and a finger/foot printing kit, among many other mementos.
Janette McInerney and Ali O’Leary
Janette told The Echo: “They give the memory boxes to parents who have lost their babies, and they have such lovely stuff in them.
“I was just blown away by Féileacáin, because I was so unprepared for everything that happened.
“But they have those boxes ready for parents at the most awful time in their lives.
“On days when I’m really upset, it’s the stuff in that box that I cuddle. If my house was burning down, the only item that I couldn’t leave without would be the memory box.”
It was at this time that Janette learned that children born after their mother has lost a baby are called rainbow children, and when she was trying to come up with the fundraising ideas for Féileacáin, she decided on designing a neutral-coloured baby grow with rainbows.
Janette had been planning to launch her Christmas collection of baby grows in late October, but cancelled it as a result of the bereavement, and instead created the charity baby grow – which is called ‘A Gift from Alex’.
Janette enlisted help from her friend and neighbour Ali O’Leary, who had a miscarriage at the end of 2018 and went on to have her rainbow babies, triplets Lenny, Ted and Bruce, in August 2019
Ali told The Echo: “Janette said she wanted to do this for Féileacáin and would I help her with it.
“From an emotional point of view, it was still quite raw for Janette, but I had the gift of time [since I’d miscarried] and I’d been through something similar.
“I understand that helplessness.”
Ali helped out with the social media and organisation side of things for the charity baby grow, and is proud to be a part of it.
“I think it’s a really gorgeous tribute to Janette’s little boy to see babies in his rainbow suit,” she said.
The response to the launch was phenomenal, with hundreds of rainbow baby grows being snapped up within two hours of being launched.
Approximately €3,000 was raised for Féileacáin.
The baby grow was originally meant to be a limited-edition piece, but after seeing the uptake, Janette will have it restocked within the next fortnight and will keep it on The Little One website permanently, with all of the profits from the sale of the rainbow baby grow continuing to go to Féileacáin.
“I feel lucky enough to be able to give back to Féileacáin,” added Janette.
The ‘A Gift from Alex’ rainbow baby grow, with sizes from newborn up to three-years-old, is expected to be restocked within the next two weeks.
To find out when it’ll be available again, follow @the_little_one_dublin on Instagram and visit www.thelittleone.ie.
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