By Heather O.
You know I write this stuff just to make y’all feel better that you are not as lame a parent as I am.
Today is the first day in about a week where we have seen the sun, so we were out doing yard work, trying to tame nature. My daughter toddled about my feet, and then wandered over to our trees. My husband and I stopped and admired her, a tiny, shining figure amongst the green foliage. She was happily engaged with one of the trees, and we (DH and I) literally both sighed with the beauty. I continued to prune my boxwoods, then went over to pick Little Sister up. Only then did I realize that while her father and I cooed from afar, she was businly engaged with a HOLLY TREE and had been stuffing HOLLY BERRIES into her mouth. I did the fingersweep thing, which made her cry, and then pulled all the berries out of her hand, which made her cry more, and then called Poison Control.
“Are you sure they were holly berries?” the nice lady asked.
“Yes. I’m sure.” Because it was from my OWN FREAKIN’ YARD.
“Well, she should have an upset tummy, possibly some vomiting or diahrrea. If she vomits, call us back, and we can advise you from there.”
Some days, I just don’t cut it as a mom.
So please share. What stupid things have you done that, you know, ENDANGER YOUR CHILD’S LIFE?
On a side note, I have now finished my CERT class, and have since taught both my next door neighbors how to shut off their gas and electricity if need be. So yeah, my kid may be choking down poisonous berries, but boy howdy do I know my utility shut-offs…
I threw away the wrapping (dripping with chicken juice) for some raw chicken into the garbage in my kitchen. I didn’t bother to take it to the outside garbage can like I normally do. About an hour later I noticed my daughter (2 at the time) kept coming out of the kitchen with her hand in her mouth, licking her fingers. She did it over and over for about 30 mins. Finally I thought “gee maybe I should go in and see what she’s doing”. She had been wiping her hand on the chicken wrappings and then sticking her hand in her mouth to get the juice off of it. Yeah good times. Poison control said to give her plenty of water, and watch for vomiting. Her Dr’s office never called me back (that’s when we decided it was a good idea to change dr.s) Anyway no side effects, she must have an iron stomach.
Comment #1 by ModdySeptember 27th, 2008 at 1:50 pmAt least you’ve got the emergency response down. With crawling looming on the horizon as the next step of my being a mother, I figure I ought to start getting the numbers for poison control, etc, programmed into my phone and listed on the fridge. Any suggestions for important phone numbers to have available with a mobile child other than poison control and the pediatrician?
Comment #2 by kaduseySeptember 27th, 2008 at 2:28 pmMy son had an ear infection and his eardrum burst before I had even realized that he was sick — I thought he was just cranky from teething. Mother of the Year again for me!
Comment #3 by AndreaRSeptember 27th, 2008 at 2:48 pmUm, yeah. I call these “Wost Mother Ever” moments, and I have a morbid love of hearing/sharing them. It’s cheap therapy that makes us all feel better about ourselves.
When DD was a few months old, I was coming home from somewhere one night and set the carseat down on the kitchen floor — only to realize that, to my horror, I NEVER BUCKLED HER IN. She was just lying there in the car seat. Not only that, but it’d been such a long time since I’d changed her diaper that she’s soaked through her clothes and onto the car seat. Yep. It was my most shining moment.
Comment #4 by AmandaSeptember 27th, 2008 at 2:49 pmI had put 2 of the Dr Scholls wart remover disc’s on my 2 year old and covered them up with the circle bandaids that come with them. Of course he pulled them off and ate the 2 discs. I called Poison Control who said not to worry that he would have to eat something like 100+ of the discs for them to cause him to be sick….
Ah yes..forgetting to strap your child into their car seat…guilty of that one…..
Comment #5 by katieSeptember 27th, 2008 at 3:22 pmMy oldest got into holly berries when she was tiny. Scared the livin’ daylights out of me. Poison control told me the same thing - watch and see what happens. She should be fine.
And she was. But I was not!
Comment #6 by JenniferSeptember 27th, 2008 at 3:35 pmWe have a infant car seat with a base. So, usually, I just buckle my baby into the seat, snap the seat into the base and away we go. Once, when I put the seat into another car without the base, I forgot to actually put the seat belt around it. I was horrified when I went to take the car seat out of the car and realized there was no seat belt to undo. I always have to double check that now..
Comment #7 by ddrplantSeptember 27th, 2008 at 3:56 pmWhen my daughter was 4 months old we drove across the entire island of Oahu without her seat being buckled to the car (on vacation and not using the base). Last year I also managed to leave a bottle of children’s chewable Tylenol where my 1-year-old could get it and eat a bunch. Poison control told us that we were lucky he hadn’t gotten into the adult kind. But at least the adult kind don’t taste so good. The worst moment for us was when my husband and I were in our room working on something on the computer. Our daughter was about 2 1/2 and she climbed on our bed, wrapped the blinds cord around her neck, and jumped off. It was so scary. We hadn’t worried about the cord because she was usually not in the room, and she had to climb on a pillow to reach it. Since then we’ve been paranoid about cords. Thankfully our new apartment only has vertical blinds. They’re ugly, but they’re a lot more safe for kids.
Comment #8 by FoxyJSeptember 27th, 2008 at 4:37 pmOh yes the carseat… I did that with my 1st and she was only 6 weeks old, vowed to NEVER do it again, well then we had another baby and she too was left unstrapped at 1 week. Then there was the Tylenol(bought at Sams club 500 count) I spilled all over the kitchen floor and forgot to look under the frig. and low and behold my 1 year old found A LOT of them and I found them in her mouth, poison control said she would have to have ingested 2000 mg in order for there to be a problem they said she may sleep a lot that day.. Oh and the razor blade in the bathroom my 2 year old found last week and cut her finger… I swear I am never going to get a mother of the year award….
Comment #9 by sandraSeptember 27th, 2008 at 4:57 pmForgetting to buckle the seatbelt? Its happened at least once with each one of our 4 kids. Once DH was carrying the baby in the seat, refused to strap her in because we weren’t actually getting in the car, the side of the seat hit the doorway while he was walking and baby went flying superman style into the middle of the room. Funny now. NOT FUNNY then. She’s fine, 13 years old now and getting good grades.
These kind of incidents seem to happen on a daily basis, it’s hard for me to recollect a specific recent one.
Comment #10 by jendoopSeptember 27th, 2008 at 5:24 pmHere you go. Photographic evidence I’m a bad mom.
And here. You think they’re just rolling around in the dirt. But oh, no.
Comment #11 by Susan MSeptember 27th, 2008 at 5:29 pmMy one-year-old has fallen down our back stairs (14 of them! Bare wood!) not once but TWICE. Yeah, there’s a door at the top, which I forget to close. She’s fine. Resilient little bugs, aren’t they?
Comment #12 by LibbySeptember 27th, 2008 at 6:55 pmWe, as mothers and sons, all went out last night cuz we were left from the daddy/daughter ward campout. We thought giving the boys some pizza and running around time would wear them out good. Well, as we’re leaving I’m rounding up my 3 when I notice my 2 yo missing. Check by the toys: nope, check by the video games: nope, check by the salad bar: nope, check under all tables to see if he’s hanging out with other families: nope. As I’m walking towards the kitchen door to see if I can peek in to locate a 2 year old towhead, a lady comes in from OUTSIDE holding Eli. I rush over mainly to appologize to her for having to grab my kid, and she says with a disproving frown on her face, “He was trying to climb in the dumpster.” Oops. Sorry.
We all went home, the boys were given some Benedryl and mommy camped out on the couch with a chick flick. Just tell me why, when I have my 2 daughters gone, that I still feel like I have 5 kids home?
Comment #13 by KrisSeptember 27th, 2008 at 7:13 pmI have oh so many stories. And my oldest is only 2! My main failing as a parent though is that I let the 2yo play with the baby without watching them like a hawk. It usually ends up with the baby crying.
Oh and I have totally taught her to lick batter out of the bowl. Salmonella here we come!
Comment #14 by RachelSeptember 27th, 2008 at 7:32 pmthe thing I feel worst about, is discovering a sippy cup that had black mold growing in the spout.
Makes me sick to think my kid was drinking their water from that, and since we’ve had several kids over several years, this has happened many times. yuck!
Comment #15 by cchrissyySeptember 27th, 2008 at 7:51 pmMy child constantly runs into the street. Thankfully cars have always stopped for him. The other night at McDonald’s he wanted to go home, so he ran off and instead of running after him I opted to clean up our dinner mess. Yeah, that was dumb, he was outside running around by the drive through window and all the cars. Next time I am leaving the mess, and letting the restaurant clean it up.
Comment #16 by AmyboBamySeptember 27th, 2008 at 7:59 pmUm, my 8 year old daughter walked around with a broken (like REALLY broken) arm for 10 days before I took her to the doctor.
Comment #17 by bythelbsSeptember 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pmI let my then 19 month-old play in a kitchen cupboard while I was cooking. I was thinking nothing that went into FOOD could possibly harm her. I looked over and she was shoving handfuls of baking soda into her mouth. Later I got to thinking that it might be harmful to eat it in large quanities. It wasn’t until an hour later when I called posion control that we wound up in the emergency room… What a great night that was!
Then there was the time that I didn’t think that she was that sick, and when I fianlly took her to the doctor they admitted her to the hospital…
Comment #18 by DeniMarieSeptember 27th, 2008 at 8:43 pmIt took a lot longer than usual to get discharged after our third baby was born. DH had to leave to meet son #1 off the school bus and was projected to be right on time. Only one little snag…
It was early release day and the kids left school for the start of Christmas break two and a half hours before normal dismissal.
Son #1 (just turned 7 years old two weeks earlier) had crawled in through the doggy doors, helped himself to Kool-Aid and crackers, and was found parked in front of the tube watching Spongebob Squarepants.
I pay more attention to the calendar now.
Comment #19 by anonymous to avoid DSSSeptember 27th, 2008 at 8:50 pmYou mean other than last weekend when my four year old took himself to the football game alone and was returned by a cop and we didn’t find out until our neighbor told us the next day in church? Something else?
How about the time I drove from Park City to Provo down the winding/scary/icy canyon with my UNBUCKLED 3 week old. It’s a wonder any of them survive our sleep deprivation.
Comment #20 by AzúcarSeptember 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pmi’ve done the unbuckled car seat thing too…six weeks old. i cried when i found it…and the time i thought it was oh so cute that the baby was trying to get our cat’s attention. yep, cute until she scratched him. i don’t let the cat near him anymore…
Comment #21 by cornnut32September 27th, 2008 at 9:37 pmYeah the unbuckled seat. Backed out of a parking space but had to pull forward again and put on the brake really hard, and suddenly my 2 year old was standing between the front seats of the mini van. Somehow landed on his feet like a cat. Phew.
Comment #22 by mormonhermitmomSeptember 27th, 2008 at 9:58 pmThe other night I went out with a friend of mine. I had wanted to leave the baby, he’s only 4 months, at home but decided to take him. After dinner, we went to the grocery store. As we were walking to the doors I realized I had forgetten my coupons and grocery list so I went back to the car to grab them. As I was running back to the store my friend yells out “What about the baby?” He had been so quiet I had forgetten he was with me. I remembered my coupons though!
Comment #23 by ChristySeptember 27th, 2008 at 10:25 pmUnbuckled kid in car seat winding through DC traffic not once but several times, accidentally dislocated 13 month old’s elbow while on vacation (best to let go than try to pull on one arm!) Didn’t buckle 4 yr old into grocery cart @ commissary - turned around in time to watch him attempt to hang himself! Didn’t know above 4 yr old had ear infection not once but several times leading to @ least two ruptured ear drums & a very slight hearing loss (aforementioned child doesn’t feel much pain in his ears & never has!).
The list goes on but it’s pretty sad & this is only from my oldest. We got smarter w/ the second one & well, we ran out of time for any more. Oh & the aforementioned child is 11 1/2, smart & fun so I’m hoping that no lasting damage was done!
Comment #24 by sues2u2September 27th, 2008 at 10:45 pmOkay…big confessions here. Five children and 22 years take their toll.
Comment #25 by LaurieSeptember 27th, 2008 at 11:02 pmThere was the time I didn’t lock the infant seat handle and the baby slipped out backward onto the linoleum floor. Or the time I left his bottle on the banister…and he reached for it…I heard every bump all the way down the stairs.
Then there was the time I locked my one month old in the car on a sunny day and my husband was an hour away with the only key.
Oh, and then the time when my infant daughter was left on the table in her seat and she rocked it backward until it fell off…upsidedown on the floor.
The worst was the day my 3 year old took 9 pills of three different medications at his grandmas house while we were visiting. That won him a three day stay in the hospital, complete with stomach pump, charcoal, hourly blood testing and lots of attention.
It’s a wonder we were allowed to continue to parent.
The good news is that we finally learned and I can’t think of any stories from my last two children!
I think we’ve all done the forgotten carseat buckles at some point. It’s a sucky feeling.
Beanie found some Bennedryl in my purse when I was on bed-rest with Abby, and he thought they were Pez and ate some. Poison control said he might sleep a lot, but he would have had to eat a whole lot of them to have to go to the hospital. Good to know, I suppose?
Comment #26 by Tracy MSeptember 28th, 2008 at 1:16 amLadies, I needed a good chuckle today. These are things that we harbor in our hearts because we think we are the worst moms ever, only to find out we are normal.
Here are my worst moments as a mom:
*Told 5 year old to suck it up and stop crying after he got hurt on the trampoline. 3 hours later, we were at Primary Children’s Hospital because he had broken his arm.
*Spanked 3 year old so hard he went flying across the kitchen, hit a chair, and still has a scar above his eye to show for it.
*Doing daughter’s hair as she sat on bathroom cupboard, she twisted and fell off onto her head…twice!
*And we have all done the unbuckled in the car seat thing.
It’s a good thing kids are resiliant!
Comment #27 by CamilleSeptember 28th, 2008 at 7:49 amWell, there’s the time that my 3 yo ate the (what i thought was an entire) bottle of flinstone’s vitamins (with iron).
I called poison control only to find out that death by iron is one of the leading causes of death in children.
Then there was the time the child drank the Tylenol (no idea how much). Yeah, that’s not so good on his liver.
I’ve called poison control sooo many times. In tears half the time.
It seems to happen pretty often.
Comment #28 by jessawhySeptember 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pmAnd, I didn’t know holly berries were poisonous! Thanks for that.
Just tell me why, when I have my 2 daughters gone, that I still feel like I have 5 kids home?
Comment #13 by Kris
This deserves it’s own post!
Comment #29 by jessawhySeptember 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm(says me, the mother of three sons
[…] Child of the Year moments Posted by bfwebster on September 28, 2008 Posted under Family, Humor, Main, Personal, Personal HistoryHeather O. over at Mommy Mormon Wars has a posting about “Another Mother of the Year moment” (which involves her toddler daughter stuffing her mouth with holly berries). The comments (be sure to read them all) have similar “I can’t believe I did that” parental moments. […]
Pingback #30 by Adventures in Mormonism » Blog Archive » Child of the Year momentsSeptember 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pmI’ve done the car seat thing too many times to remember….This is my shining moment.
Comment #31 by JodySeptember 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pmDad taking our two youngest (6 months and 2 years old)out for a walk in the double stroller, my 2 year old is sitting in the front and leans forward and falls as she trys to catch herself with her hands. She complained a little after it happened. Time went on, and sometimes I could see she favored her right arm, called the drs office and the nurse said if she can grab a sucker with that hand, then she is fine. I tried it, and she grabed it just fine. Two weeks later….yes two weeks, I have a play date at the park, and she is still favoring that arm every once in a while. I finally think I should maybe take her in…….and yep, you guessed it…….it was broken!!! We went to the same doctor that I took her to four months earlier, when she was throwing a fit in the mall and I was trying to pull her up and pulled her elbow out of socket. I really didn’t think I would get out of the doctors office with out a visit from child services.
http://alisonwonderland.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/why-im-glad-it-wasnt-very-hot-today/
Comment #32 by Alison WonderlandSeptember 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pmLong story short 2 yr old son climbed the fence ran down the street and locked himself into some random neighbor’s car. I blame him. Certainly it’s not my fault.
My worst mommy moment was locking my 1 1/2 yr old son in the car. I was going to a grocery story with my mom and went to unbuckle him while he was screaming and throwing a fit. I had half of him unbuckled when I said “Fine” and shut the door. I had forgotten that I had used the keyless to lock the doors, threw them in my purse and left the purse on the floor. He somehow managed to get himself completely unbuckled and I was trying to get him to climb into the front sit and play with the buttons to unlock the doors. No such luck. We were both crying hysterically. During all the comotion my mom had somehow gotten a hold of a car lock person to come and unlock the doors. I never did that again. As my husbands alway’s telling me “slow to anger”.
Comment #33 by D'On MSeptember 28th, 2008 at 9:59 pmWhen my son was two, some really helpful ward members opened the church double doors for him when I was far behind. I yelled for him to stop which of course only made him run faster. I kept yelling but knew the chase was on. I was gaining on him as he approached the parking lot traffic, when suddenly he listened to the yelling and stopped. I did not anticipate that so I ran right into him. He bounced off my skirt INTO oncoming traffic. Yeah. Nice.
Everyone stopped in time and he’s still alive at 5 but that was a low, low mommy moment.
Comment #34 by Laurieann ThorpeSeptember 29th, 2008 at 3:41 amI’m not even counting the carseat stuff.
My 6 month old son had a cold and during the night was struggling to breath during the night. It was really really bad, (like RSV bad). I really wanted to sleep and I finally got him to sleep in his carseat that night.
Fast forward to the next morning, by the time we got him to the ER his oxygen saturations were in the 60’s.
I have tremendous guilt over this, I should of just taken him in in the middle of the night. Instead because I was tired I made him feel like he was suffocated all night long. Did I mention guilt.
He’s 2 now and on oxygen permanently because he has a lung disease, it would of happened regardless of whether I took him in that night or the next morning.
But ladies (and men) if your child is retracting, panting, nose flaring take them to the dr. or ER right then, don’t wait.
Comment #35 by SarahSeptember 29th, 2008 at 6:04 ambetween me and my wife:
car seat thing?… check
eating dishwasher tablets?… check
escaping the fence and running down the street, and us finding our when the neighbor calls and says “did you know boo-boo (2 yr-old) is running in the street”?… check
waiting two days to go to urgent care, and 1-yr old ends up in the hospital with RSV?… check
playing with cat poo in the sand box?… check
realizing 14 mo old has gone up and down the flight of 12 concrete basement stairs without help or supervision?… check
locking both boys in the car in summer with the car running and A/C (thankfully) on?… check
I’m sure there’s more, but maybe they’ll have to wait for their own post.
Comment #36 by DaveSeptember 29th, 2008 at 6:08 amSarah–
My daughter got a serious cold that turned into airway trouble when she was about 18 months. We picked her up from the babysitter in the afternoon and she seemed “tired” (ie lethargic) and was “making a funny noise” (ie wheezing). We had no idea what it was since I’d never seeen it before. Finally after a few hours I called the nurse at the Dr.’s office, who told us to “come down right now” and I freaked out. Yeah, her oxygen levels were low and she ended up in the hospital for three days. Since then I’ve been pretty paranoid about her breathing since she seems to have asthma that flares up when she has a cold.
Comment #37 by FoxyJSeptember 29th, 2008 at 7:57 amMy six angels have never done anything wrong, and I have never made a “call child protective services” mistake.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it - so nobody ask my wife to comment on this thread. I know I’m not mentioning it to her.
Comment #38 by RaySeptember 29th, 2008 at 9:21 amFoxyJ
It was probably bronchiolitis that she got, esp when they are under 2.
Wesley gets bronchiolitis with ever cold he gets, that is because of his lung disease. It was the 6 month cold that damaged his lungs (but it would of happened eventually with whatever cold he got).
My daughter had something similar happen at age 2, but it was an isolated incident. She got sooooo much more sick before my mommy brain went off and I figured I couldn’t get her into the ped (but I could of, you say I’m coming now they’ll let you) so I dragged her to Instacare and she was lifeless by the time we got there, and took the lovely ambulance ride to PCMC.
If I had waited that long with my son, i’m not sure he would of made it.
Oh and for everyone add wheezing and grunting to things you go immediatly to ER or Dr. for, forgot those.
And Ray I have the best CPS story.
Comment #39 by SarahSeptember 29th, 2008 at 10:17 amWell yeah, there was that time we bought the fridge without any shelves, because it was cheap. And the oldest climbed in there and shut the door. She sat there in terrified silence for about two or three minutes before we figured out she wasn’t playing with the Tupperware. I’ve never been the same since. Nothing like opening the fridge and seeing a three year old with tears welling up in her eyes and knowing that she would have been dead in a half hour. Needless to say the fridge got some makeshift shelves that minute. Still flips me out to think about it.
Comment #40 by JamiSeptember 29th, 2008 at 10:45 amMy list is too long, so I’ll pick a few. 4-yr old son climbed out bedroom window onto GARAGE ROOF, slid down onto front porch (only a 4 foot drop), walked 3/4 of a mile across TWO BUSY RAILROAD TRACKS to the Apple store, where the nice man who owned it called me to let me know he was there with the $50 bill he’d taken from my purse. But hey, he was napping! Then there was the Sunday afternoon we were all napping… except my 2-y.o. daughter who was running naked down the street. The catholic neighbor who hated Mormons called the cops. That was AWESOME.
But let me tell you, today I feel like mother of the year. I found out my 15-y.o. might be a pot smoker and I haven’t done or said anything about it because I have no idea what to do or say. He’s my golden child, too. Or at least he was. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Comment #41 by JewelsSeptember 29th, 2008 at 11:01 amThe church has substance abuse/addiction help. They have groups that run like Alcoholyics anonymous. They have one for those addicted and for family members that are dealing with it. Talk to your bishop and go to the one for family members. It is those there that will probably be able to help you more than we can.
Comment #42 by SarahSeptember 29th, 2008 at 11:13 amI didn’t know that- thanks for the info, Sarah.
Comment #43 by JewelsSeptember 29th, 2008 at 11:34 amI’m not sure what state you are in but here is a link for all of the LDS family Services offices, there they can give you dates and times of the SA meetings
http://www.providentliving.org/ses/emotionalhealth/contact/1,12169,2128-1,00.html
fingers crossed the link will work
Comment #44 by SarahSeptember 29th, 2008 at 12:08 pmI had only been a mother all of about a week before I had the scarring experience of locking my baby in the car with the keys. Luckily there were some apartment maintenance guys working on a nearby apartment and they let the wild-eyed crazy woman (me) into my apartment to get the back-up car key. After that we concealed a key on the outside of the car.
Comment #45 by ResearcherSeptember 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pmReading all of these brought back memory after memory of this kind of thing. But I think the worst one was the time that my mother and I went shopping for a good 30 minutes or so and didn’t remember that we had brought the baby until we got back into the car. Where she had been quietly sleeping while we shopped. And this was in Texas. In October. It was warm.
Comment #46 by NancySeptember 29th, 2008 at 12:30 pmAlso among my mothering highlights are letting the baby suck on the diaper-cream bottle for a minute before wondering if it was toxic (it was). Not strapping the baby into the carseat. Not strapping the carseat into the car. Sleeping through the baby screaming for who knows how long because the baby monitor was off. And leaving the baby in his carseat for a good 10 hours on a road trip without even thinking to change his diaper.
Worst Mom moment ever….being a SAHM with nothing on the schedule for the day and forgetting about DD preschool graduation. I was wondering why all the parents were on the playground with the kids when I went to pick her up. She was the only one with out someone there. I felt like dirt!!!!!
Comment #47 by CindySeptember 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pmThis past Saturday, my 4-year-old bumped into the huge marble vanity top we had leaning against the wall, it fell on him and mooshed his little head, splitting his nose open from stem to stern and filleting his upper lip. It’s a miracle that he’s alive at all. We’re just glad he got a ton of stitches instead of a funeral.
We sometimes joke about how my sister-in-law lets the angels watch her children . . . thank goodness they watch mine, too.
Comment #48 by LayneSeptember 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pmI started giving fake names at poison control. I thought maybe they were tracking me. (Here’s a tip: The bottle of stool softeners they give you after you deliver a baby does NOT have a childproof lid.)
The worst for me was when my daughter who already had a diaper rash started crying at church. We realized we forgot her diapers, so I had to strap her in her car seat to take her home and get one. I tossed the keys onto the driver’s seat and walked around the other side of the van. locked! I totally freaked out because it was almost 90 degrees outside. Luckily we had two cars at church that day, so my husband stayed by her in the parking lot while I rushed home and came back with the spare keys and some diapers. She was totally red, sweaty, crying, and rashed-to-the-max. I almost put myself in jail that day.
Comment #49 by Steph @ Diapers and DivinitySeptember 29th, 2008 at 1:37 pmMy husband and I drove separately to church one Sunday, which was uncommon for us. I walked into sacrament meeting a few minutes late which caused people to stare, but I was even more embarrassed when I looked over to my husband and saw him mouth the words “where’s the baby?”. I had left her at home on the sofa, buckled into her car seat and ready to go. I’ve lived in the same ward for 9 years, and there are still people who won’t let me live this one down. My only consolation is that my older sister once accidentally kicked her son’s two front teeth out. I don’t know if it gets much worse than that.
Comment #50 by RochelleSeptember 29th, 2008 at 4:34 pmRochelle,
Comment #51 by cchrissyySeptember 29th, 2008 at 8:47 pmwhen my husband was little, his mom was doing the airplane thing where you lay on your back and lift the kid up on your feet, and she launched him across the room for fun, except it badly broke his arm.
My 9 year old daughter told me she wasn’t feeling very well but she didn’t seem to have a fever and wasn’t coughing too much. She thought she should see a doctor. I told her there was no way she was faking her way out of school and I would take her to the doctor but to get her backpack because “we are going right over to school when he tells you you are fine. Honestly, you shouldn’t be such a drama queen!” On the way, I stopped to run an errand and she said she was too tired to go in the store. I left her in the car (in Minnesota, in the winter) while I ran in to make my return. We finally got to the doctor’s office as I tapped my foot wondering why I even bothered to indulge her by coming. Mommy of the year moment when they immediately ordered an x-ray and told me she had pneumonia. Her lungs were deeply infected and the fact that she wasn’t coughing was a BAD sign. The fever kicked in shortly and I kicked myself for months. Needless to say, I didn’t make her go back to school!
Comment #52 by christineSeptember 29th, 2008 at 10:47 pmI think the day I recieved my award was when my son ate a dishwashing detergent tab, and it wasn’t the first time I had to call Poison Control that week!
Comment #53 by SallyGirlSeptember 30th, 2008 at 10:24 amI cannot express how relieved I am that I’m not the only one who has driven around with an unbuckled child.
I’ve got parrots, but I’ve been so sick with pregnancy, I haven’t been able to clean up after them as much as I should. So my son will sometimes eat bird poop in front of company in order to get my oh-so-wonderful reaction. I try not to give him attention for it, but I don’t know what else to do when he’s deliberately doing it in front of my in-laws. He normally stays out of it.
Comment #54 by FirebyrdSeptember 30th, 2008 at 5:44 pmA couple months ago, my 3 year old daughter was occupied eating cheerios for breakfast. I decided the moment was as good as any for a quick shower, so I put my 9 month old in the family room with a bunch of fun toys. When I got out of the shower, I immediately listened for screaming - none, so I figured everything was okay. When I finally got out to the kitchen, my daughter was still sitting at the table, sweetly eating cheerios (which she had poured all over the table and floor). The baby was underneath her chair, picking up the cheerios she spilled and eating them.
Then I realized the floor was also wet, and I tried to remember if I gave her juice that morning - no…Was there a leak somewhere? No…Then I realized my daughter had an “accident” (she was in the middle of potty training at the time) and my son had crawled right into the puddle and was gobbling down the pee-soaked cheerios. Totally gross!
Comment #55 by KatieSeptember 30th, 2008 at 5:56 pmMy daughter was two weeks old when I left her unbuckled in her car seat. I think you have to do it once as a mother at least.
Comment #56 by KayceSeptember 30th, 2008 at 8:02 pmMy favorite moment was when my daughter was climbing on her box (which she does all the time). She never slips and she is very good about getting down so I went into the other room. I walk back into the room just in time to see her eat it. Her two bottom teeth rammed into her lip and she bit through it. She bled for a long time, because I couldn’t calm down enough to get her to calm down. But to make it better, she loves the taste of baby tylenol so I gave her 0.8 ml to make her feel better…
Her liver will be gone and so will her lip. Definitely a great moment.
I let my four month old baby with congestive heart failure roll out of her hospital bed onto the un-carpeted floor. The oxygen nasal canulas she was wearing was a short tube, and it kept her head from hitting the floor.
I pulled my eighteen month old son’s arm out of the socket during Sacrament Meeting while we were trying to walk thru the cultural hall…
Comment #57 by hayngrlSeptember 30th, 2008 at 8:09 pmDone the non-buckled car seat. Done the elbow out of the socket.
DH seems to be the more dangerous force in our family though. He taught our then 4-year-old to throw himself backwards when he was on dad’s shoulders. And then he’d get an abdominal workout righting himself. DH was always very careful about doing this in the middle of a room, or outside. But he forgot to mention this safety tip to DS — who decided to try it right next to Grandma’s granite counter-top. That was one of the worst sounds I have ever heard. I will never again curse my sons incredibly thick head. He had a headache, but thankfully nothing worse.
And then, when DS #2 was 7 months old, DH was lifting him out of a strap-on highchair at a relatives house. They had a counter-height table, with appropriately high seats, and a very inappropriately low ceiling fan. DS took a couple swipes in the temple and started oozing that terrifying purple head-wound blood. DH fell to pieces. A quick trip to the ER and some Derma-Bond made everything all better. Both boys are fine.
Oh — I did have to call poison control once to find out how many TUMS were okay for a two-year-olds tummy. *sigh*
Comment #58 by teresaOctober 1st, 2008 at 12:36 pmI am a little late on the post… but never-the-less love to join the ‘Mommy of the Year’ ranks.
One of our very first outings after the birth of #1 DH and I were engaged in deep conversation on the way to SIL’s house. We arrived, parked, and went inside. Just as we walked in the door I remembered that sweet, innocent #1 was still in the car. Feeling SOOO guilty and embarassed as SIL (who’s a little Holier-than-thou) asks you where your baby is and why you have to go back to the car? There’s no way to sneak a car seat BACK into a room of watching people…
#1 has been a runner since he could walk, so when I had him safely in my grasp walking out of Chick-Fil-A I did not think that #2 would bolt from me, dart between people’s legs, and sprint out the door and into the drive thru before I could get to him. Lovely looks from the drivers waiting to order that day as I football hold #2 and struggle to hold #1’s hand, the car seat, and diaper bag.
There’s more… but I’ll stop here for fear I totally take the award home tonight.
Comment #59 by 2boys1crazyMomOctober 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pmThey can eat the whole bottle of tums, does nothing but constipates them. BTDT
Comment #60 by SarahOctober 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pmWell, I have a young daughter, and expect to have plenty of stories soon enough (she has tendencies of pulling chairs to where she wants them and jumping off of them). However, I have nominated my mom for the award on more than one occasion when I was younger.
There was the time she was about to leave for the store in the suburban. I was standing next to the car, and the door got closed on my thumb, closed enough to be too small to let it back out, but enough to latch. At this point she started pulling out of the driveway (did I mention I was about 9 years old, too small to be seen through the window of a suburban?). It took 2 other people in the driveway and me beating on the door for her to realize she needed to stop.
Then there was the time she left me and my best friend at the time (we were about 5 or so) playing alone. My friend and I decided to climb the solid oak bookshelf. When we neared the top, the whole thing came falling forward. If it had not been for a childrens toy chalkboard (built into an A-Frame), I am sure we would have been crushed. As it was, when my mom rushed into the room, all she saw were arms sticking out from under the bookshelf and a pile of books.
I love my mom, and have always felt she did a great job raising me. This coming from a son that put her up plenty of times for the “Mother of the Year” award. Just a thought for all the posting mothers out there.
Comment #61 by KevinOctober 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 amAmanda(comment #4), it must be something with the name, because I, too, have gotten home from work, about a 6-mile drive, mostly on the freeway, in Utah, with unarguably the worst drivers on the planet, and was home for over 2 hours with ds sleeping in his carseat… he woke up and was making noises, so I lifted up the blanket and he was slumped over sideways in his seat! I bawled for hours and called my mom and told her to call cps on me because i was unfit to be a mother!
Comment #62 by AmandaOctober 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 pmSpeaking of having to admit your failures to other, I forgot to mention the time that I let my eight-month-old eat a bite of my peanut butter sandwich. (She was screaming for it, and I let her have a bite to shut her up.)
Fast forward a few hours and she has developed a huge rash that started on her face and spread to her whole body. Then try to explain to all of the doctors and nurses that while you KNEW that babies weren’t allowed to have peanuts ESPECIALLY if they have excema that you gave her a peanut butter just to make her be quiet.
See how that one goes over.
Comment #63 by DeniMarieOctober 2nd, 2008 at 7:57 pmwell Im thinking Im almost threw with raising children, But I do have stories for being a worst mommy ever. Okay child #1! 7 mo old child was in her car seat screaming for attention , And like a ding bat I took her out to feed her a bottle. Tobad that woman who ran the red light didnt see the child in my arms, Long story child was fine and mommy broke her arm making sure baby didnt hit her head on the dash. Child Number 2 was playing pillow fight with daddy and hits her ear on the edge of wall afew stiches later and shes fine. Child # 3 slams child #4s fingers in the bedroom door and breaks 2 fingers on lil sister. Oh and Ive known for years about Holly Bushes , I had them in my front yard 3 weeks before child #2 desided they looked good. as for Poison control I think they were my best freinds when the kids were lil.
Comment #64 by karenOctober 17th, 2008 at 7:06 pmI don’t feel so bad now. I’ve gone so far as to leave my kids with the sitter until nearly midnight, when my DH asked me “aren’t the kids supposed to be in bed by now?”. Why he didn’t ask me that at dinner time, I will never know. I drove right past the babysitter’s house and went home from work! When I asked her why she didn’t call, she said she wanted to see how long it would take me to notice!! If DH hadn’t said anything, it would have been the next morning when their beds were empty! Thankfully, the sitter was my sister and thought it was funny!
Or how about the time that #4 got himself, at 14 months old, unbuckled and out of the stroller in Boscov’s, and disappeared? They locked all the doors, shut down all the escalators, stopped all the elevators, we looked for him for over an hour! After all, he wasn’t very big and could hide just about anywhere. (and frequently did). He was found in the ladies dressing room, playing with his reflection in a mirror. Every time someone called his name, he was saying “minit” and thinking we heard him! Needless to say, I did not leave the store without buying and using a zip-up-the-back baby harness.
Or the Christmas when #1 was 5 and we took her to see santa at the mall. When the meltdown came, we picked up the little child in the purple coat and snow pants and walked away. It was probably 20 minutes before we realized we had picked up a child of another race!!! Same coat and snowpants!! Her parents noticed a bit sooner, as our child was not riding on shoulders with them. That was the last time we took her to see santa!
Or when #3 was 11 and was using our brand new wheeled trash can as a go cart to roll down the hill with. (to be fair, it was his friend felecia’s idea) He fell and broke his tailbone on the curb. His sister, who was babysitting while I worked, called and tattled that he refused to get up off the ground and help clean up the yard. I yelled at him to get up and do his share. Yup. You know it. Spent that evening at the ER with his broken tailbone! The ER report chart hung on the wall of shame up there for a looooong time, just because of how it was done. Trashcan accidents are few and far between in our little town.
Or when #4 pushed #5 down a flight of stairs in his walker while I was in the basement with the laundry?
I don’t know how any of them survived childhood. I don’t know how I survived their childhoods!!
Comment #65 by NinnNovember 7th, 2008 at 9:42 amI must say, I enjoy reading your blog. Maybe you could let me know how I can bookmark it ? I feel I should let you know I found your page through yahoo.
Comment #66 by Willy ClutterMay 9th, 2010 at 9:43 pm