FOR his parents he is the miracle baby they feared they would never have.

Every Christmas since Lianne and Richard Conklin met, they have longed for a baby to make their family complete.

Now after five gruelling rounds of fertility treatment costing £15,000 and an agonising five-year wait, their dream has come true and they are getting set for their first Christmas with their bundle of joy Oliver thanks to pioneering IVF technology.

“He is the best Christmas present we could ever wish for,” said Lianne from Fareham.

“We are having a big family Christmas. There will be 12 of us so it will be a big celebration and everyone can be there to spoil Oliver. It really is a dream come true for us.”

Lianne and Richard got together 11 years ago and began trying for a baby in 2009 when they were engaged.

“I naively assumed I would get pregnant straight away and we would share our good news with everyone we loved at our wedding,” explained Lianne, a regional sales manager.

However after two agonising years of trying, the couple were referred to hospital after tests at their GP came back clear.

Lianne, 36, and Richard, 34, were diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility' leaving the couple feeling frustrated.

They underwent two cycles of IUI at the hospital which were unsuccessful before deciding to try IVF with Wessex Fertility in Southampton.

Daily Echo:

“We were lucky and given one round of NHS funded treatment. We discussed it all beforehand and decided we could afford to do a maximum of three treatments before looking at whether we should continue or look at other options.”

The first round was unsuccessful and the couple opted to increase their chances by using ICSI, a process where the embryologist injects a single sperm into each egg to assist fertilisation as well as the cutting edge IVF technology Eeva.

The system which has been used for a year at the Shirley clinic and uses time-lapse imaging to monitor embryos while they are being incubated and then uses computer software to select the potentially healthiest embryos.

After another negative result, the couple's luck changed on their third and final attempt.

Lianne, who also started acupuncture at The Centre of Chinese Medicine, explained: “I did the pregnancy test on mum's birthday. I felt different this time and the test was positive.

Daily Echo:

“We were so thrilled.

“I then did a pregnancy test every day, sometimes twice a day, for the next two weeks because I just couldn't believe it.”

Little Oliver was born on his due date 22 August weighing 8lb 11oz and have made the couple's life complete.

“The emotions were overwhelming. Even now I look at him and I can't quite believe he is mine and that I am a mummy.

“I joke with people that Oliver is proof you get what you pay for.

“He is completely perfect and means everything to us.”