Mum thought baby was just having 'a big crying fit' - then doctor put head in his hands

A mum thought her newborn was just having a "big crying fit" only to discover she had a fatal brain tumour.

Baby Niamh was just seven weeks old when she died, leaving parents Lucy Knowles and husband James devastated. Lucy has spoken out about the heartbreak, saying how her daughter's cries were actually her suffering a seizure.

Lucy and James, from Warrington, were ecstatic to welcome their first child in July 2013, describing how their hearts "swelled" with joy. But what should have been the first few weeks of getting to know their daughter turned into horror after receiving the devastating news that their little girl had a brain tumour.

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"Niamh was born with a full head of hair and was absolutely gorgeous," Lucy, 41, told the Liverpool Echo. "We were so proud when we welcomed her into the world. I remember holding her when she was first born and promising her all these things we'd do together."

At nine days old, Niamh began having was Lucy described as a huge crying fit and "looked like she'd stopped breathing", with the parents calling for an ambulance. Medics told them Niamh has suffered a seizure, with the infant transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

"I remember a doctor taking her chart and as I looked at him through the window, he had his head in his hands," Lucy said. "We knew it wasn't good news." Niamh was diagnosed with a brain tumour just a few weeks after she was born and the family made the difficult decision to turn to Claire House for palliative care.

Lucy and James, 42, spent four weeks at their local children's hospice before Niamh died in September 2013. Lucy said: "We chose to come to Claire House to enjoy the time we had left with Niamh and it was the best decision we'd ever made. The staff were amazing. We obviously couldn't do everything we'd planned, but Claire House organised for us to take her to Chester Zoo."

"They gave us privacy, but they were there if we needed them. We've got some beautiful photos from that day. We bought her a big, cuddly orangutan, called Chester, which we took back to the Butterfly suite at Claire House and now keep next to her ashes."

The couple later had another daughter Harriet, who also tragically died when she was born at 21 weeks. They now have two more daughters, Orlaith, eight, and Meabh, six.

The family want to raise awareness of Claire House and their amazing support. They will be taking part in the lantern walk next month to keep Niamh and Harriet's memories "alive."

Lucy added: "Niamh was seven weeks old when she died. We can never thank Claire House enough for what they've done for our family. Because of Claire House, we can look back on our time with Niamh with fondness and happiness. They helped to turn a bleak time into happy memories."

"Now we have our rainbow babies, Orlaith and Meabh, they will make sure Niamh's legacy lives on by doing things like the lantern walk for Claire House. The girls want to do the walk to remember their sisters because we miss them."

"They love the fact that it's a night time walk because that's when we say Niamh and Harriet come out, they'll look up and say, 'there's the brightest star, that's Niamh. As a family, we'll always try to raise money to help Claire House because they were so brilliant at caring for Niamh and all our family in her short, precious life."