LITTLE Louis Baxter is the best Christmas present his proud parents could have wished for.

The tot, who was three months old yesterday, spent the day being spoiled by his family at their home in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

For his parents, Jackie and Darren, the past three Christmas periods have been tinged with sadness - but thanks to the arrival of baby Louis, yesterday was their best ever.

On Christmas Eve in 1998 the couple were devastated when Jackie suffered a miscarriage.

Since then, the festive period has brought back painful memories for the pair, until now.

After an 11-year struggle to have a baby, Jackie gave birth to Louis in October, much to the delight of their friends and family.

Darren said: "When Jackie had a miscarriage at Christmas it was one of the worst times of our lives, but this year has been the best day of our lives.

"We are very happy. Louis is a lovely baby, all smiles and giggles.

"Everyone has spoilt him rotten. He got loads and loads of presents.

"We spent the day with his grandparents and then other family and friends came to see him."

Jackie and Darren suffered years of heartache while trying to conceive. Not only did Jackie have a miscarriage, but she also had an ectopic pregnancy and nearly died.

The couple also had two failed IVF attempts before conceiving Louis naturally.

The miscarriage was not the only tragedy.

A year after, Darren's sister Melissa died from cystic fibrosis, aged 16, and he had to have genetic tests to ensure he was not a carrier of the gene.

In the same year, their brother, Wayne, underwent a heart and lung transplant just days before Jackie and Darren's wedding. He died in 1994.

Darren said: "It got to the point where we had just had enough and we decided that if it was going to happen, it was going to happen naturally, or not at all.

"The miscarriage was a terrible experience, but it did give us a more positive outlook because at least we knew Jackie could get pregnant naturally.

"Now we have Louis."