A traumatized mum has been left "heartbroken" after she woke to find her newborn baby boy had died in her arms after they both fell asleep on the sofa. Chelsea Love, 24, had taken eight-day-old Leo out of his bouncy chair when she noticed he was falling asleep and put him on her chest for a cuddle.
She was frantically woken up an hour later by Leo's father Sam Coles, after he saw his son had changed colour. Leo was rushed to hospital but despite desperate attempts to save him, he tragically died on October 26, last year.
Paying tribute to her son, Chelsea, who is also mum to two-year-old Scarlett, said: "He was just perfect, he was glowing and was a little star.
"As soon as we found out we were having a boy we were just so excited as we already had Scarlett and he just completed our family.
"My pregnancy and birth was fine and I was so excited when we got to take Leo home, we were a proper little family.
"The day before he died I actually said it felt like Leo had been with us forever."
Chelsea had a healthy pregnancy and Leo was born by cesarean section at Hull Women and Children's Hospital on October 18 last year, weighing 6lbs 1oz. An inquest into Leo's death heard how the family had enjoyed a trip to Hornsea in the afternoon before the tragedy. They had returned to their home in Didscourt, north Hull, when Sam went to collect a blanket made for Leo by a friend.
Devastated Chelsea told the inquest: "Leo was falling asleep in his bouncy chair so I decided to get him out for a cuddle.
"He was laid on his back, I had part of the duvet over my lower body and Leo's feet were covered. I was really tired but I didn't think I would fall asleep.
"I woke up to Sam screaming, I could not work out what was going on."
The couple dialled 999 and paramedics arrived at the scene immediately. Leo was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where doctors managed to restart his heart. He was then transferred to Leeds hospital for specialist treatment, however a CT scan revealed he suffered extensive brain damage from a lack of oxygen and would never recover.
His parents then made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support machine and he passed away surrounded by his family. Chelsea says she has felt "broken" since Leo's death but her little girl is helping her through her pain.
She said: "If I didn't have my little girl I don't know what I would have done, she has helped us all through it," she said.
"Although she is only two, she knows all about Leo and can say his name. We always look up at the stars before she goes to bed every night and say night night to him."
Now, Miss Love bravely wants to raise awareness of what happened to other mums.
"I want to help people that have been in the same situation as me," she said.
"This could have happened to anyone, but I felt people really looked down on me at the time.
"If people have not been through this, they don't have any right to comment as they don't know how it feels.
"I have had people making horrible remarks and tipping rubbish in my garden where my little girl plays after they read about Leo's death in the paper. It was awful.
"I have been doing my driving lessons and I am working towards becoming a support worker myself.
"I really want to help people who have been in the same situation as me as I don't Miss Love would also like to thank everyone who donated to a fund set up to pay for Leo's funeral and Jones Funeral Directors who helped pay for the baby's service.
"I really appreciate the help and want to say thank you to those who donated," she said. "Even people I didn't know came forward."
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