Mum Kristy Will said that she had remembered being taught technique during her childhood and now urges all mother’s to learn First Aid.
The mother-of-three, from Eye, Suffolk, was left terrified when four-week old Louis stopped breathing in her arms last year.
However, quick thinking Kristy gave her son the kiss of life – which got him breathing again until an ambulance arrived.
She says that she blew gently into his mouth and rubbed his chest and back – skills she had learned as a Girl Guide and seen her mother demonstrate on a puppy.
Once an ambulance arrived, little Louis, now one, was then rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis – a chest infection that can be deadly in children if left untreated.
Now, Kristy is calling for all parents to learn first aid, especially ahead of the cold and flu season.
She said of the ordeal: “It was just instinct really. Thank God it worked or he wouldn’t be here now.
“I thought my baby had a cold but the next minute he was floppy and grey in my arms.
“Now I know how many kids this condition can affect I want all mums to know first aid because the kiss of life saved Louis.”
In the hours before he stopped breathing, Kristy had thought Louis looked ‘off colour’ – but put it down to a simple cough and cold.
She explained: “I’m an experienced mum and I know that babies born in winter can get sniffles so I wasn’t overly concerned.”
After a day out, Kristy says that Louis was sick – but she thought it was most likely mucus from his cold causing him to bring milk up.
She had just cooked tea for her other children Ethan, five, and Isabella, three, and was cradling Louis in her arms Googling his symptoms when he went grey and floppy.
She said: “I’d been glancing at him every few seconds and just looked back and he was gone, it happened that quick.
“I could see he wasn’t breathing and suddenly felt floppy and heavy.”
Recalling what she could from her Guiding days, she began to rub his chest and he eventually drew breath – but stopped again while she was dialling 999.
Kristy said: “The operator asked me to count in-between breaths and when it got to ten seconds and he still hadn’t taken a breath she told me to place my mouth over his mouth and nose and breath into him.
“Maybe it was because of my [Girl] Guiding that I kept so calm because I already had an idea what to do, but I did exactly as she said and after two puffs he took a breath.
“It was terrifying because he was just 7lb 2oz and so tiny so I knew I had to be careful not to blow too hard.
“I kept calm and managed to keep going until the responder arrived and took over. Then I just burst into tears of shock.”
The Sun