A COUPLE from Blackburn have been left heartbroken after their ‘princess’ died aged just 23 days.

Little Ruby Julie Monaghan was born on December 8, weighing a healthy 7lb 3oz, but started having breathing diff-iculties when she was three weeks old.

She was admitted to hospital when her parents Laura Gray, and dad Jordan Monaghan, noticed her face turning blue, and the little girl was struggling to breathe.

After two days of being monitored by doctors, she was released from hospital on New Year’s Eve, but she was found dead in her Moses basket in the early hours of the following morning.

Mum Laura, 20, of Wellington Road, said: “She was beautiful. She was so perfect. She was our princess.

“Everything about her made us smile, and she was spoilt by everyone.

“It still doesn’t feel real to me yet. I can still go and see her in the chapel of rest.

“I don’t know how I’m going to cope tomorrow when I have to give her away for good at the funeral.

“She was taken away so young, but she will always be in our hearts and we will never forget her. She’s with us every day.”

The couple, who have a 14-month-old son called Logan, have been devastated by Ruby’s death.

Laura said: “Ruby started with breathing difficulties on Saturday, December 29, at about 9.30pm. She was breathing fast and she was turning blue in the nose and mouth.

“We called for an ambul-ance and she was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hosp-ital.

“On the Sunday, her oxy-gen levels had dropped to their lowest point, but the same night, at about mid-night, they took the moni-tors off her and said she didn’t need them any more.

“We didn’t agree, but we just thought that they knew best because they are the experts.

“On the Monday, they discharged her at dinner time and it was a big relief to bring her home. The doctors said they were confident that nothing like this would happen again, and said it was likely to have been a viral infection.”

The young family had planned a quiet night in for New Year’s Eve.

Dad Jordan, 21, said: “At about 7pm that night, she started breathing fast again, but only for about a minute.

“We said if she does it again, we would take her straight back to hospital.

“She fell asleep in her Moses basket, and later that night when I went to wake her for her feed she wasn’t responding. I shouted up to Laura who was in bed asleep that I didn’t think she was breathing.”

Laura said: “I started to shake her, but she wasn’t responding. I got her out of the basket and I knew she was gone because she was cold.

“Jordan was doing CPR and mouth-to-mouth, but there was no response from her. The ambulance crews took over and took her to hospital, but at 2.45am on Tuesday they pronounced her death. It was heart- breaking.

“We had so many hopes and dreams for the new year, and now I just want this year to be over with.

“All our family have been really supportive and have helped us through this.”

Ruby’s funeral will be held tomorrow, at 11.15am, at St Anne’s Church, in Blackburn, followed by inter- ment at Pleasington Cem-etery.

A post-mortem exam-ination has proved inconc-lusiv. An inquest is expected to be held on April 23.