Horrible news story I read today *warning/not nice*

[TriChick]

My sister called me night before last, in tears. Her friend's husband had gone to grab a towel while the 2 year old and 8-month old were in the bath tub. He returned a minute later (open door and all) and the 8-month old was face down in the bath tub, unconscious with no pulse. She was resuscitated and life-flighted to the top NICU in the state. She is alive and conscious, however they are still running tests to determine physical and brain damage. It can seriously happen in a split second!

Seriously, this mother should never have left her kid's sight. If you forget something, you take them out of the water and carry them, wet or not. It's just one of those things you don't chance, listening out for them isn't enough.

 

[Boo44]

I don't like the fact that they included that the baby had to be removed from the car by the police. It kind of implies that she was a careless mother and will leave most readers of the article suspicious. Maybe the police passed by a minute or so after she went in? Not that I'm excusing her behavior, but we don't know all the facts from that one incident.

That said, what I find odd is her not knowing how the tub got plugged and why she would close the door. My baby isn't here yet so I have no experience with having two kids, but if I absolutely had to leave them in the bath to grab something real quick I'd make sure to put the plug out of reach and leave the door open so I could hear them, but I can't think of a single reason any mom would risk it. My gut says that something is really off...I don't understand how a child can die from starvation in a matter of hours.

Surely even a new born can live for 10 hours if not fed?

Those poor babies I hope they rest in peace and the mother will be able to get both the punishment and help she deserves...I'm sure the fact that she's responsible for their death will be the worst punishment that she'll never be free of

I know leaving for a second may seem absolutely fine but it really isn't It's astonishing how quickly babies can drown in shallow water

It is never ever worth the risk of leaving a baby in the bath for even a split second xx

 

[Lina]

Unless she took something like zopiclone, I don't for a second believe that one can sleep for 10 hours whilst looking after small children without a medical condition.

 

[zanDark]

I know leaving for a second may seem absolutely fine but it really isn't It's astonishing how quickly babies can drown in shallow water

It is never ever worth the risk of leaving a baby in the bath for even a split second xx

I know I've read and heard terrible stories about it I didn't mean for my post to excuse the behavior it's a risk no one should ever take

 

[Noelle610]

Unless she took something like zopiclone, I don't for a second believe that one can sleep for 10 hours whilst looking after small children without a medical condition.

Right.

 

[BrokenfoREVer]

This story sounds very fishy imo.

I wouldn't have thought a toddler could starve to death in 10 hrs. Not unless he'd not eaten for a week prior.

I also don't think she would have passed out for 10 hrs solid. I've been beyond exhastion before & still got up with my LO. I understand it can happen, the body can only take so much before it shuts down, but not for 10 hrs straight surely.

And the bit at the end about her youngest having to be rescused from a car before.

Sounds to me like there was somethere more going on. Maybe she had PND or something. A horrific thought that she might have left just left her children like that, but PND is an illness & people aren't always responsible for their actions. Certainly a more logical conclusion that the "facts" The Sun has reported imo.

 

[Noelle610]

Agreed Broken, I'm thinking even postpartum psychosis of some kind.

 

[Missy86]

There has to be more to this story

I never let go of Liam in the bath, never mind leaving him on his own in there

 

[Bex84]

It sounds fishy to me. To sleep for 10 hours without waking and if you were that exhausted why would you put the kids in the shower. I would not leave my lo alone in the bath its irresponsible, also agree with pp you dont starve in 10 hrs on children with stomach but would be in trouble. Maybe she had ppd, if she was that exhausted she should have put them somewhere safe and called someone. I dont think there is an excuse for leaving your baby in a hot car either. If she didnt wake for 10 hrs surely they should be looking for medical reason if it happened. Maybe lack of sleep effected her mental state

 

[juicyfruity]

Unless she took a sleeping pill earlier and was waiting for it to kick in? has some other disease or problem? It is hard for me to wrap my head around! they stress at the beginnig no previou shistory of mental illness...

this is just too sad

 

[Tasha]

Hard to get my head round it too. I dont understand it.

Whatever happened, those poor babies

 

[kerrie24]

what kind of woman put a toddler and a baby in the shower,CLOSES THE DOOR on them and leaves them?!
Even if she accidently fell asleep for 10 hours(hard to believe imo),they should never have been left there on their own.

 

[TwilightAgain]

I don't know much about the story but it sounds horrific

However I don't believe that someone would necessarily wake up if they heard their baby crying if they were that sleep deprived. I never understood the effect of severe tiredness until I experienced it myself a few weeks ago. I was surviving on barely no sleep whilst doing my dissertation to the point where I was falling asleep in my chair whilst doing something and then sleeping through blaring alarms despite usually being the type of person to wake at the first sound of one. Sleep deprivation can do weird things to you, you can start to wonder whats real anymore and even suffer memory loss of some sort (as I discovered).

Whilst i'd be angry the mother for leaving them alone in the shower, i'm not sure i'd insist that she must of heard them if she had of fallen asleep.

 

[meli1981]

its inexcusable! what did she do? faint? or did she purposely lie down only to fall asleep while her baby sons were in the shower with the water running? doesnt add up! and as for the starvation, you sleep for ten hours at night and dont need to eat, its not long enough to starve.

 

[meli1981]

also after having a baby i became a VERY light sleeper, sleep deprived and all.

 

[lhancock90]

I think there is a lot more to this story.
She was obviously struggling and she had NO help until the worst happened.
She must be torturing herself.
My heart breaks for them all.

 

[Noelle610]

I think there is a lot more to this story.
She was obviously struggling and she had NO help until the worst happened.
She must be torturing herself.
My heart breaks for them all.

Such a good point (as always). It's so natural to be completely horrified by a story like this that it's easy to forget to have empathy, which is always essential.

 

[meli1981]

when i had my first i was completely alone. didnt drive, didnt have family around, my husband worked nights, we lived in the middle of nowhere, i suffered from ppd, and my baby was extremely colicky. it was hell, i was sleep deprived, but i would NEVER do what she did.

 

[Noelle610]

when i had my first i was completely alone. didnt drive, didnt have family around, my husband worked nights, we lived in the middle of nowhere, i suffered from ppd, and my baby was extremely colicky. it was hell, i was sleep deprived, but i would NEVER do what she did.

Fair enough, I was in the same position and wouldn't have done it either.

But we really aren't in her head, so it's hard to say. She may have had postpartum psychosis and could have been suffering from drug addiction.

I'm not defending her. What happened was horrible. But I've found that approaching everything with a tad of empathy helps me to make sense of the situation. Sorry if that sounds preachy, I didn't mean it that way.

 

[KittyVentura]

I can only comment based on my own experience... But having had 2 under 2, one being extremely high needs, I DO understand extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. In fact I'm just coming out of a horrific week of illness here, they both have had gastroenteritis and Amelia has had chicken pox. I've also had a milder tummy upset. I've had less than a normal night's sleep over the whole past week combined, if one wasn't throwing up and needing me it was the other... All night plus my own body dealing with sickness.

That said, I've still managed to bath both alone without needing to leave them. Even with Fin throwing up in the tub. I've been on the verge of falling asleep EVERYWHERE, including the bus and Drs office, but I have managed to stay awake and look after my children. At night, with Ian away, I have still woken to every cry and been able to run to soothe them.

So, I cannot help but think that there MUST be more to this. Not necessarily something sinister, but potentially an undiagnosed illness or medication that would make her very very drowsy. It is an awful news story and regardless of how it happened, that mother must be in so so much pain and my heart breaks for her.