A Michigan man came home to the last scene he ever expected. A sweet moment that is typically one of the most precious sights for a new parent was destroyed by horror, after the father to the 5-month-old realized his son was unresponsive while his wife was sound asleep at the infant’s side.

Little Everett James couldn’t be revived despite emergency responders best attempts and was pronounced dead on May 16. What caused his life to come to a quick, tragic end before he even made it to his first birthday was something completely avoidable.

Little Everett James

Most mothers are just like Everett’s mom, Angela, who only wants to be known by her first name. She wanted what was best for her baby and to soak in his early years with a lot of cuddling and bonding time, giving him the right start in life. As part of that, Angela opted to co-sleep with her infant, which ultimately killed him.

After Everett’s sudden death, this new mom posted her story on social media to warn other moms to not make the same “healthy” mistake she did. In what Angela described as the hardest thing for her to have to write in her life, she described in heart-breaking detail the all too real risks of co-sleeping with your baby from a mom who learned the hard way.

“This will be the hardest thing for me to write in my life,” Angela started in her moving social media post, reported by WOOD-TV. “But if it saves even one life, it is worth it.” Then she asks parents to think twice before turning in for the night in the same bed as their baby.

“As much as you love to snuggle and cuddle your little one, please resist the temptation to do so in bed,” Angela wrote. “No matter how difficult it may seem at the time, put them to sleep in their own crib and avoid the greatest pain that one can experience in life — the pain that we are now experiencing. Your child’s life is too valuable.”

In raising babies, two practices are among the most debated between new parents — breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Although the majority of health professionals agree that breastfeeding is the healthiest form of nutrition for infants, co-sleeping is a much more controversial bonding practice that most practitioners warn parents about, rather than encourage it.

Dr. Bill Bush of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan echoed her sentiments, warning parents that the risk outweighs the reward, and anything could happen. “Every situation that happens — it’s so sad for us as a community and for a family. A preventable death,” he said. “We can really, hopefully decrease the number of times that I ever have to have these conversations with families.”

The holistic thought process behind sleeping with your infant is that cuddle time is healthy time that encourages a baby to sleep through the night sooner. This is all too appealing to parents who choose to forgo the advice of pediatricians and sleep side-by-side with their infant anyway. Yet Angela’s story is one to take to heart, from a mourning mom with a broken heart after the loss of her precious son. She tragically learned the reality of the warning and wishes she would have heeded her doctor’s advice before it was too late.

Don’t take that chance, your child’s life is on the line, and there is plenty of time for cuddling during waking hours.