Need a little sympathy - got a huge fright from my 6mo :(

gosh I sound like the most careless mother in the world after rattling off that list, and they are only what I could think of on the spot, in fact I just though of a few more, but I'd better stop there, and I'm more helicopter mum than most people I know! edited by kiwispiers on 16/10/2013 You're a great mom I'm sure. Thanks for sharing though, makes the rest of us moms feel we're not the only ones :-)

gosh I sound like the most careless mother in the world after rattling off that list, and they are only what I could think of on the spot, in fact I just though of a few more, but I'd better stop there, and I'm more helicopter mum than most people I know! <em>edited by kiwispiers on 16/10/2013</em>

I'm sure your mum and husband are just trying to make you feel better, and of course it doesn't sound so scary to them after the fact but yes I bet it was scary for you at the time. Truth is it won't be the first near miss, I remember discovering my 15 month old son waving around a very sharp carving knife like a sword after the dishwasher was left open, have found my daughter playing at the top of our slippery spiral marble staircase more than once when the downstairs gate has been left open and there have certainly been countless other heartstopping moments over the years (finding baby standing up on tv cabinet rocking the flatscreen, baby pulling cup of (luckily not so hot) tea off the dining table onto herself, baby rolling off the bed onto tiles (somehow landing in a handstand rather than on head, son falling off the couch onto tiles (no idea how he didn't break his neck), coming downstairs the other night from putting the baby down to find the front door wide open and three year old outside (our house is right by the street, thankfully a neighbour found him) you have to live and learn as your mum said otherwise it will eat you up. Parenting is pure terror from the second you conceive in many respects. We also had to stop swaddling overnight at 5 months when I realised my son could roll over in his swaddle, luckily I was sleeping in his room at the time as we were travelling and noticed straight away as really a facedown baby with their arms swaddled is pretty dangerous. We also used the naturebaby sleeping bags, which were good from 6 months until around 2 years (a bit less as my son is tall). Take care, yep something really really bad could have happened, but thankfully it didn't, that is what you have to focus on. I suspect your mum has had so many of those moments she forgets how hard the first few are, you are realising how easily something could happen to what is now your whole world, its something that all mums have to struggle with and imho that constant fear is behind a lot of the judgement and competitiveness that you see between mothers, as if we think we can somehow bulletproof ourselves by being the perfect mother.

Very well done for sharing this with others. It will make mums even more careful now when they put their babies down. You may well have saved someone else from the same or an even worse experience. Also a suggestion from me not to leave any loose toys/cuddlies in the cot which could topple over onto the baby.

Philly Well done on following your instincts. I don't think those mum feelings are every wrong. Your DH and mum might be right but you are just as likely to have avoided something much much worse. As per Notnewintown's note - maybe think about sleep suits. As a fellow kiwi I can't rave more about the Nature Baby ones. The Change Initiaitve sometimes has them or they ship from NZ too. Lots over good ones out there on the market. Well done again Xx

Well done for listening to your mother instincts. Now, as little ones grow older they will move more and you should be remove/replace hazardous things. Have you ever tried using a sleeping bag instead of a swaddle?