Coralee Andersen was breastfeeding her daughter Kara on Saturday, as she had so many times over the past 15 weeks, before laying her down to sleep.
But sadly, Kara never woke up. The 20-year-old mother hadn’t done anything differently but she awoke the following morning to see her bubbly daughter ‘limp and lifeless’.
‘It’s the most terrifying thing. Your baby goes to bed happy and then you wake up and it’s the first thing you see… it’s what nightmares are made of, really,’ the Queensland resident told FEMAIL.
The family have since set up a memorial in their house to honour Kara’s memory, sharing sweet photos of her and holding up her baby book.
The family have set up a memorial shelf in their house to honour their daughter’s memory, sharing sweet photos of her and holding up her baby book
Doctors told a distraught Miss Anderson and her partner that their daughter had suffered from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) – a condition that killed 94 babies in 2016.
After two miscarriages Miss Andersen fell pregnant with Kara late last year.
‘My pregnancy was amazing right up until the end when I was diagnosed with Cholestasis – when the flow of bile in the liver stops or slows – and a form of high blood pressure called Pre-eclampsia,’ she explained.
She had Kara at 37 weeks via an emergency c-section, describing her as ‘the happiest baby’.
‘It’s the most terrifying thing. Your baby goes to bed happy and then you wake up and it’s the first thing you see,’ Coralee Andersen said
Coralee Andersen was breastfeeding her daughter Kara (pictured) on Sunday, as she had every day for 15 weeks, before laying her down to sleep as normal
But while nothing the 20-year-old mother had done was out of the ordinary, Kara never woke up
‘She always slept through the night for me and she had the biggest personality on her… sometimes I’d cry and she would look at me in shock and start laughing at me,’ she said.
‘Kara was really bright for only 15 weeks… very alert and ahead of her development.’
Putting her daughter to bed on October 28, Miss Andersen woke up in bed to see Kara lying still in front of her.
‘I woke up staring at her and half of her was purple and she was cold. I will never get that out of my memory,’ she said.
‘That’s when we grabbed her, ran to the car and drove straight to the emergency room where we bolted in and they tried to resuscitate her.’
The Ipswich local had Kara at 37 weeks via an emergency c-section, describing her as ‘the happiest baby’
‘Kara was really bright for only 15 weeks… very alert and ahead of her development,’ she said
Miss Andersen was ‘fully aware’ of the syndrome that took her little girl and ‘absolutely knew the risks associated with the bed and baby’
Miss Andersen was ‘fully aware’ of the syndrome that took her little girl and ‘absolutely knew the risks associated with the bed and baby’.
‘The autopsy showed no obstructions. They’ve basically put it down to SIDS but more intense research is ongoing at the moment to find out if there is anything deeper,’ she said.
‘She was the best baby I could’ve ever had.’
While the couple are still coming to terms with their loss, Miss Andersen did have some advice for other parents currently struggling through a similar situation
While the couple are still coming to terms with their loss, Miss Andersen did have some advice for other parents currently struggling through a similar situation.
‘I think the best thing to do is get help as soon as possible and don’t let anyone tell you how to grieve,’ she said.
‘It’s at your own pace and you have to do what makes you feel better. When you think negatively about it, remember your baby would want you to be happy and how happy they were because of their amazing parents.’
You can donate to baby Kara’s memorial on GoFundMe here.