A devastated mum has issued an urgent warning after her baby was left fighting for his life, with the first sign something was wrong being his sleeping pattern.
Caroline, 29, had no idea of the early signs of her little one Alfie becoming ill, a period that led to him developing meningitis and sepsis.
At just three weeks old, the mum noticed the little one was sleeping a lot while she was visiting her sister and brother-in-law.
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The mum didn't think anything of it though, until things got very serious one night.
Speaking to Mini First Aid, Caroline said: "I put my older son to bed while Chris cuddled Alfie downstairs. I then fed Alfie and went to bed myself – those newborn days are exhausting!
"Chris then went to work as he was on a nightshift, so I breastfed Alfie in our bed and ended up falling asleep with him."
She continued: "I woke up an hour or so later because of the heat of Alfie against my arm. He was really hot, hotter than either of my boys had ever felt. I thought he may have overheated somehow, but he didn’t have a blanket or duvet on him, just a fleecy sleepsuit, so I began to quickly undress him."
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Caroline then noticed Alfie's ribs were 'sucking in' as he breathed while his skin was 'pale and mottled'.
"Alfie’s breathing was rapid and he then started making grunting noises – I was unfortunately not aware these were signs of sepsis at the time," she added.
The subsequent 111 call was when Caroline's world turned upside down and she realised the seriousness of the situation.
"She [the call handler] was going through the questions then heard Alfie’s grunting and her tone changed. She said in a very concerned voice, 'is that your baby? Is that normal for him?' I burst into tears because I could tell by her tone it was serious. She said the ambulance was on its way."
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Once at the hospital, blood tests revealed Alfie was seriously ill with sepsis - something that was caused by E-Coli meningitis that originated in his bladder.
After spending two weeks in hospital, Alfie is thankfully making a recovery, with Caroline now warning other parents of the signs to look out for when it comes to sepsis and meningitis.
As per the NHS website, symptoms of meningitis and sepsis include a high temperature, cold hands and feet, vomiting, breathing quickly and confusion.
Baby-specific symptoms include having a high-pitched cry, being irritable and refusing feeds.
Featured Image Credit: JustGiving/Instagram/@minifirstaid