Rory and Belinda Sloane welcome newborn baby boy after heartache

In 2018 Adelaide Crows star Rory Sloane and his wife Belinda endured heartbreak, now the pair have a newborn son and his name doubles as a touching tribute.

Rory and Belinda Sloane With baby Leo

Adelaide Crows star Rory Sloane and his wife Belinda have shared the joyous news that the pair have welcomed newborn Sonny into the world, just months after they told of their previous heartbreak as parents.

The duo shared the news through simultaneous Instagram posts on Tuesday night and revealed a special tribute to their stillborn son Leo, with Sonny’s middle name being exactly that.

Sonny Leo Sloane, who was born on Monday, September 16.

Rory and Belinda shared their news with the world through simultaneous posts on Instagram.

The post on Rory’s page was met with plenty of likes and loving comments from the AFL community, with the likes of former Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield, Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin, Geelong forward Tom Hawkins and Brisbane star Lachie Neale among the first well wishers.

Rory Sloane Instagram — “Sonny Leo Sloane Welcome to this world my little man.”

Last month, the pair opened up about losing their first child Leo in heartbreaking circumstances, in 2018 and launched the Lion Warrior program with Red Nose, an organisation `that works to eradicate sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), with an aim to reduce the preventable stillbirth rate by 20 per cent in the next three years.

Rory and Belinda Sloane With baby Leo

The pair sat down for a video to launch the campaign, with the rawness of the pain still evident in both parents, just days after what would have been Leo’s first birthday.

The couple spoke about the bittersweet heartbreak of losing a child in such tragic circumstances.

After Rory and Belinda were married, the pair started trying to have children straight away but after some early trouble, tried IVF, falling pregnant on their first round.

While the pregnancy appeared to be going well, tragedy struck after 34 weeks.

Belinda said the couple had spent the day at the beach but something wasn’t right.

“We got home, had dinner, got into bed, I said to Rory ‘I don’t think this is right … I haven’t felt movement today’,” she said.

Rory said they were never too concerned and assumed he’d just not moved.

After going to the hospital to investigate, Belinda recalled her devastation.

“I said to her (the midwife) ‘there’s not a heartbeat is there’ and she just said ‘no, unfortunately there’s no heartbeat’,” she said. “And I can’t even really remember the moments that followed to be honest. I couldn’t cry, I was just in complete shock.”

Rory said it was a blur and he couldn’t believe it was happening.

At the time of Leo’s birth they also made simultaneous Instagram posts that were heartbreaking to read.

“Last week we said goodbye to our beautiful little man,” Sloane wrote on his Instagram account. “Leo Rory Sloane was born into the world still, but perfect.

“Thanks for making us the proudest parents and filling our hearts with love beyond measure, the moments we had with you are now beautiful memories that will last a lifetime.”