‘Both my sons were born through artificial insemination.’
‘Thomas was older and healthier. He was always hungry and ate a lot.’
‘That night, I gave both boys milk in bed. Joseph fell asleep very quickly, and I placed him in the crib right next to my bed.’
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“In fact, the day before he passed away, he had a routine check-up, and they said he was healthy.”
Caroline Wheeler
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‘Thomas wanted to continue breastfeeding, then he fell asleep while nursing, and so did I.’
‘Two hours later, I woke up because Joseph was crying. I turned on the bedside lamp to pick Joseph up to feed him, and I saw Thomas lying very quietly next to me.’
”When I checked, he looked very strange, and I realized that Thomas had died. It happened very suddenly.”
Still a mystery
Caroline stated that the autopsy results did not reveal much information about Thomas’s death.
“They found nothing at all. There was no evidence of suffocation, nor was there any indication that he was too hot.”
“The tests only showed that Thomas was a healthy, normal baby. In fact, the day before he passed away, he had a routine check-up, and they said he was healthy.”
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Caroline Wheeler, mother of Thomas (Photo: BBC) |
Caroline mentioned that in a way, she wished investigations would reveal a specific cause for Thomas’s death, even if it was a result of her falling asleep and accidentally rolling over him.
“I almost hoped that something like that would happen because then I would know never to let Joseph sleep in bed with me again.”
Joseph is now a healthy 5-year-old boy and has a younger sister named Yasmin.
Caroline believes it is important for future mothers to seek expert advice on the best practices for putting their babies to sleep.
“Of course, after losing Thomas, I realized that the best place to breastfeed is sitting in a very uncomfortable chair so that I never fall asleep again.”