A baby who spent the first eight minutes of his life 'dead' has made a remarkable recovery. Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born, leaving his distraught parents facing 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives. Doctors rushed to resuscitate him and reduce the chance of life-altering brain damage. To his parents' utter relief, they succeeded in bringing him back to life. Now five months old, Theo is a completely healthy baby. Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born and doctors fought frantically for eight minutes to revive him. Now five months old, he is perfectly healthy and suffered no long-term damage . Theo's parents, Adam and Rachel, described the period when he was being revived as 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives . His mother, Rachel Cherry, 30, said:  'When you give birth, all you want to hear is your baby cry for the first time, but when Theo was born there was nothing. 'I kept waiting and waiting but there was no screaming or crying, and I knew something must be wrong. 'I stared around at the shocked looks on the medics' faces - I kept asking if my baby was OK but no one could answer. 'I thought my baby had died.' When she heard doctors counting down from five, she and Theo's father Adam, 29, knew their son was being resuscitated. 'Time passed so slowly. As a parent, it was unbearable being in the same room as my dying child,' she said. 'After eight minutes he was pale blue from being starved of oxygen for so long. 'So when we were told they had restarted his heart, a wave of relief swept over me and Adam - we just had to hope he'd be OK.' With the drama over, Theo was rushed away to  intensive care. 'Like any new mother, all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms and comfort him,' said Ms Cherry. 'Thankfully that's all behind us now. He's recovered and we're so eternally grateful to the hospital staff at the Norfolk and Norwich  Hospital. 'Without them our little baby boy wouldn't be alive today.' With the drama over, Theo was rushed away to intensive care. 'Like any new mother, all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms and comfort him,' said Ms Cherry . After a normal pregnancy, Ms Cherry's problems began in the delivery suite, when nurses explained Theo was stuck. Doctors had no other option but to perform an emergency Caesarean to free him. Following this, doctors then had to bring Theo back to life by clearing his lungs before they could restart his heart. It was uncertain whether he would suffer permanent brain damage or cerebral palsy from the oxygen deprivation. His mother said: 'We had no other option than to wait by his beside and hope he would be OK. 'He was having seizures on his first night and I thought he wouldn't make it. 'He was so fragile - even when I picked him up for the first time he still had tubes all over him, so I had to be very careful. 'It was frustrating not being able to bond with him , but noone knew what would happen from one day to the next and whether he'd pull through. 'When he cried for the first time after one week in intensive care it was such a relief.' It took 12 days before Theo could be discharged with his delighted parents and he quickly settled into life at home. Fragile Theo spent 12 days in intensive care - and it took him a week to cry for the first time. 'Even when I picked him up for the first time he still had tubes all over him, so I had to be very careful,' his mother said . Ms Cherry said: 'Now he's home we can finally bond with our baby and he's loving all the attention. 'He's absolutely gorgeous and constantly has us in fits of giggles, he's a very comical baby. 'I am so grateful to the doctors who saved our baby's life. 'It really could happen to anyone, but thankfully the right equipment was available to keep our baby alive, although not all hospitals have one.' The couple are now fundraising to buy another £10,000 specialist incubator - the same as the one that saved Theo's life - in the hope that it will help other families. Theo was cooled for his first four days to reduce the chance of any damage, which fortunately he didn't suffer. Ms Cherry and Mr Babbage hope that by acquiring another incubator, more babies will be as lucky as Theo.
Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born .
Doctors rushed to resuscitate him and reduce the chance of brain damage .
For his distraught parents, it was 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives .
But doctors managed to revive him; at 5 months, he's completely healthy .
A baby who spent the first eight minutes of his life 'dead' has made a remarkable recovery. Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born, leaving his distraught parents facing 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives. Doctors rushed to resuscitate him and reduce the chance of life-altering brain damage. To his parents' utter relief, they succeeded in bringing him back to life. Now five months old, Theo is a completely healthy baby. Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born and doctors fought frantically for eight minutes to revive him. Now five months old, he is perfectly healthy and suffered no long-term damage . Theo's parents, Adam and Rachel, described the period when he was being revived as 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives . His mother, Rachel Cherry, 30, said:  'When you give birth, all you want to hear is your baby cry for the first time, but when Theo was born there was nothing. 'I kept waiting and waiting but there was no screaming or crying, and I knew something must be wrong. 'I stared around at the shocked looks on the medics' faces - I kept asking if my baby was OK but no one could answer. 'I thought my baby had died.' When she heard doctors counting down from five, she and Theo's father Adam, 29, knew their son was being resuscitated. 'Time passed so slowly. As a parent, it was unbearable being in the same room as my dying child,' she said. 'After eight minutes he was pale blue from being starved of oxygen for so long. 'So when we were told they had restarted his heart, a wave of relief swept over me and Adam - we just had to hope he'd be OK.' With the drama over, Theo was rushed away to intensive care. 'Like any new mother, all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms and comfort him,' said Ms Cherry. 'Thankfully that's all behind us now. He's recovered and we're so eternally grateful to the hospital staff at the Norfolk and Norwich  Hospital. 'Without them our little baby boy wouldn't be alive today.' With the drama over, Theo was rushed away to intensive care. 'Like any new mother, all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms and comfort him,' said Ms Cherry . After a normal pregnancy, Ms Cherry's problems began in the delivery suite, when nurses explained Theo was stuck. Doctors had no other option but to perform an emergency Caesarean to free him. Following this, doctors then had to bring Theo back to life by clearing his lungs before they could restart his heart. It was uncertain whether he would suffer permanent brain damage or cerebral palsy from the oxygen deprivation. His mother said: 'We had no other option than to wait by his beside and hope he would be OK. 'He was having seizures on his first night and I thought he wouldn't make it. 'He was so fragile - even when I picked him up for the first time he still had tubes all over him, so I had to be very careful. 'It was frustrating not being able to bond with him , but noone knew what would happen from one day to the next and whether he'd pull through. 'When he cried for the first time after one week in intensive care it was such a relief.' It took 12 days before Theo could be discharged with his delighted parents and he quickly settled into life at home. Fragile Theo spent 12 days in intensive care - and it took him a week to cry for the first time. 'Even when I picked him up for the first time he still had tubes all over him, so I had to be very careful,' his mother said . Ms Cherry said: 'Now he's home we can finally bond with our baby and he's loving all the attention. 'He's absolutely gorgeous and constantly has us in fits of giggles, he's a very comical baby. 'I am so grateful to the doctors who saved our baby's life. 'It really could happen to anyone, but thankfully the right equipment was available to keep our baby alive, although not all hospitals have one.' The couple are now fundraising to buy another £10,000 specialist incubator - the same as the one that saved Theo's life - in the hope that it will help other families. Theo was cooled for his first four days to reduce the chance of any damage, which fortunately he didn't suffer. Ms Cherry and Mr Babbage hope that by acquiring another incubator, more babies will be as lucky as Theo.
Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born, leaving his distraught parents facing 'the longest eight minutes' of their lives. Doctors rushed to resuscitate him and reduce the chance a completely healthy baby. Theo Babbage's heart stopped beating as soon as he was born and