Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

I stole somebody else's baby

216 replies

LiveLoveWoof · 05/11/2020 10:51

Name changed as outing.

This was yesterday. In supermarket with DD 3 year old DS and 14 week DD. DH had the pushchair & I had the trolley. We were in a bit of a rush so DH said he'd go get a few bits and we'd meet in the middle. Off he goes and takes the pushchair with him. DS stayed with me. Had a quick look at the baby clothes for DD. Left trolley at end of aisle. Wandered up another couple of aisles then turned round and automatically put my hands on the pushchair that was there. Started walking off and DS pipes up "that's not my sister" I looked down and realised DD was now wearing boys clothes and had aged by about 6 months. I panicked and returned baby to the aisle I stole him from. Thankfully I'd only got to the end of the aisle and turned to go into the next aisle before DS said something. The other mum never even noticed!

OP posts:
Ellmau · 05/11/2020 19:03

*Mind you this was in the 50s

My Nan took me as a baby (about 4 months) to the shops in a pram. She left the pram outside whilst she went in (people did that then). Then she came out, forgot she had brought the baby with her and just went home.*

I know someone this happened to, but in the 60s. His mum left the pram outside the shop, did her shopping and got the bus home.

About half an hour later, after getting home, she wondered where the baby was. He was still asleep in the pram outside the shop ;)

Herewegoagainx4 · 05/11/2020 19:07

Loved this thread, has really cheered me up Smile

A couple of weeks ago at soft play DH took DS who's 3 to the toilet. After washing hands DS went to dry them on his dad's jeans, only they were another man's legs. The poor man! DH was mortified! DS came over to me and announced he had dried his hands on the wrong daddy Grin

ChocolateCherrybomb · 05/11/2020 19:12

Ah, that's the modern world of convenience for you.

In my young days babies were found underneath a gooseberry bush, now you can get one in the produce aisle at your local Tesco.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

3 year olds Families
pizzamummy · 05/11/2020 19:15

Omg that's hilarious and so scary. Anything can happen in a split second! I once experienced the same thing but with hand luggage. I picked up someone else's hand luggage in WHSmith lol. I had my money, passport in my luggage and thankfully, we switched our hand luggage's back by telling security lol because the poor man was looking for his luggage too.

One2Three4Five6 · 05/11/2020 19:37

@Pumpertrumper

Total opposite but as a pre teen I used to find it hilarious to just wander the aisles of Asda on a Saturday morning shouting ‘mum’ and watching 99% of the aisle turn to look.

Many hadn’t even brought their children. Mums answer universally, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing!

I work in a school and several students call me Mum now, after one said "watch this" and did the exact thing you used to, call out Mum and see if it's an instant reaction. It was, I turned round... so now I am Mum to a handful of students, which is only increasing as more catch on to it... It did however confuse my actual DD when I was approached by a student outside of school who then said "Hello Mum"
GoudaGirl · 05/11/2020 19:44

I once 'kidnapped' a husband. I was in a Centreparks outdoor swimming pool/relaxation area at night, with my husband, and not wearing my contact lenses. People were relaxing on their backs on a kind of jacuzzi bed. I grabbed my' husband' by his ankles and yanked him sharply towards me with his legs akimbo , practically wrapped his legs around my waist.. only to suddenly find it was not my husband but another bloke in similar swimming trunks!
Returned him back sharpish and sheepishly.
Not sure who was more surprised!

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 05/11/2020 19:47

LOL OP.

A friend of mine, Sam, got kidnapped by a harassed dad when he was about 8 at a park. In the days when you could shove unlimited kids in the boot of an estate car, the guy was there with his son and a load of the son's friends- presumably for a birthday - all sitting in the boot, eating cake. Sam likes his food so he wanders over. The dad sees him, says, "Oh Christ, there's another one of you. Get in", 10 minutes later, Sam's panicked parents find him happily scoffing cake with in a stranger's boot Grin

TheWristBoundLatexBitch · 05/11/2020 19:51

@LittleDoritt

I've never stolen someone else's child but I have roared "Will you pack it in!" to my two squabbling children, only to remember that mine were actually at home with their Dad and these, horrified little ones were strangers to me.
I have said "I am not telling you again, now put your on properly!!!" To a child who wasn't mine, he looked very confused and mine was standing behind me Blush(with his coat on)
elephantoverthehill · 05/11/2020 19:53

I was walking up the steps to a hotel and instinctively put my hand out behind me to help Ds up the steps. It was taken by a rather nice gentleman who said 'Sorry I just couldn't resist it'.

orangenasturtium · 05/11/2020 19:55

@Pumpertrumper

Total opposite but as a pre teen I used to find it hilarious to just wander the aisles of Asda on a Saturday morning shouting ‘mum’ and watching 99% of the aisle turn to look.

Many hadn’t even brought their children. Mums answer universally, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing!

My friend has a theory that he calls "the mum test". If you hold something out to someone while you are talking to them - a half eaten cheeseburger, scrunched up tissue, anything - mothers will automatically take it whereas anyone else will look at you as if you are mad Grin
UnholyStramash · 05/11/2020 20:07

OP, I nicked somebody’s dad in the same way when I was mid-teens. Grin I was at the supermarket with my dad and we were apart from some reason (I cannot recall why, to get something off a shelf or some other innocent reason), then I saw my dad’s jacket, rushed up to him, put my arm through his arm and started chatting. A few seconds later I was mortified to realise it was a total stranger inside the coat. I mumbled an apology and rushed off, found my dad, still in his own coat I’m happy to say and told him what had happened. Blush It turned out both men knew each other through work - I found this out up the next aisle when they met each other. Of course they were both very amused by the whole thing.

dementedma · 05/11/2020 20:09

First time I took dc1 out in the pram I parked her carefully outside the chemist and went inside. It was snowing and when I came out I wanted to get home quickly. got home and realised DD was still parked outside the chemist! Just wasn’t used to having a pram.
Not a good start to mother daughter bonding!

ThatsHowItStarts · 05/11/2020 20:11

I was wondering along chatting to the beef

😂

ThatsHowItStarts · 05/11/2020 20:14

My friend has a theory that he calls "the mum test". If you hold something out to someone while you are talking to them - a half eaten cheeseburger, scrunched up tissue, anything - mothers will automatically take it whereas anyone else will look at you as if you are mad

My dp does this... He hands whatever to me and says here you go, then walks off and I'm stood there with an empty cup or squashed cheeseburger! Grin

UmmH · 05/11/2020 20:26

@EatPrayYoga

I hope you disinfected the pushchair handle before giving it back!
I read this as a joke too.

When I was a child my mum had quite an unusual model of car, and while we were waiting to pick up my brother a strange man got in and looked at us as if to say what are you people doing in my car? He realised his mistake, had a laugh and went away. Then a couple of weeks later my mum was in the car in a totally different place and the same man got in and said 'Oh my God, I've done it again!'

WitchitaMickey · 05/11/2020 20:27

On holiday, DD (4) was wading in some shallow water and waving to DH and I as we sat on the sand close by. She then walked over to a man who was standing a few feet away from her in the water and, thinking it was DH, put her arms around his legs to give him a cuddle. Poor man looked terrified, disentangled and walked away as quickly as he could without running Grin DD looked about to see if anyone had noticed and then walked back over to us looking very shifty!

EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide · 05/11/2020 20:27

This thread has really given me a good laugh!

EggyPegg · 05/11/2020 20:44

DS1 is a redhead, as is another boy in his class. One day after school, I'd been chatting with the other mum. At the end of the conversation, she put her hand on DS1s head and went to lead him away, before doing a double take. She was mortified, I was howling and DS found it funny too.

EggyPegg · 05/11/2020 20:44

@GoudaGirl

I once 'kidnapped' a husband. I was in a Centreparks outdoor swimming pool/relaxation area at night, with my husband, and not wearing my contact lenses. People were relaxing on their backs on a kind of jacuzzi bed. I grabbed my' husband' by his ankles and yanked him sharply towards me with his legs akimbo , practically wrapped his legs around my waist.. only to suddenly find it was not my husband but another bloke in similar swimming trunks! Returned him back sharpish and sheepishly. Not sure who was more surprised!
This is my favourite!
mbosnz · 05/11/2020 20:50

There was a little girl at my daughter's primary school, that she was so like my daughter, I grabbed her hand to take her home.

Realised what had happened, took her back to her Mum, apologised profusely, and her Mum peeled with laughter and told me she'd done the same with mine the week previously!

gonerogue · 05/11/2020 20:51

Not a child but was talking to a friend of a friend in a car park one day. We both set off walking across the road and I grabbed hold of her hand to bring her across. I was mortified but then we both burst out laughing - she's a mam too so understood the instinct.

Original poster
LiveLoveWoof · 05/11/2020 20:59

Oh these are brilliant and I've just remembered another one.

On holiday staying on a haven site. Instead of caravans they were all chalet bungalows all dotted around. All looked the same. Early one morning about 4am we were woken by this bloke fumbling around in the dark. We screamed. He screamed. Turned light on to see this stranger in his pyjamas with coat on, holding a dog lead with a westie attached to it. Turns out we hadn't locked our door, this man had taken his dog out as it needed a wee and then he got confused and came into our chalet 😂

OP posts:
Bubblebox · 05/11/2020 21:05

I once tried to steal a whole class.
Took my class on a trip to a local museum and nipped to the loo at lunchtime. Came back and wondered why my TA had let them get so out if hand.
I raised my voice and ordered them into a line (Whicj they did) while telling them how disappointed I was and that they had really let themselves and the school down.
A little voice behind me suddenly said my name and I realised that my class were behind me, already in a beautiful line and looking confused.
The other class just happened to have the same colour uniform. Blush

TheSunIsStillShining · 05/11/2020 21:15

@Katinski

the sun is still shining - all the others are funny, yours is heart-wrenching, tho.it's a long time to be forgotten in a strange country when you couldn't communicate.Flowers
It's horrifying if i think about it as an adult, but for some strange reason it's not a bad memory. It was still light when my dad came and the street was interesting. We moved to that country only a short while back so everything was new and fun. I do remember I had to pee really badly by the time we got home. It's funny how things seem horrid as an adult, yet as a kid it was perfectly okay and couldn't care less (air raids, bombings...). I still think I had a wonderful childhood :)
Welikebeingcosy · 05/11/2020 21:26

My cat went missing and I found her miraculously one day about six months later. I called some strangers to help me and they went home to get me a cat box. We wrestled her into the box and I was so happy and told everyone on the bus the wonderful story about being reunited with my cat after all this time. Got her indoors an hour later and realised it wasn't my cat. Had exactly the same unique markings and size but indoors the mannerisms were just completely different. I'd had my suspicions when it didn't go food crazy for the treat I was tempting it with but assumed that 'the wild' had changed its eating habits. I called the vets and they said best thing to do was to take it back to where I'd found it. Owners would never know that their pet had been cat napped and on an adventure across the city and on a bus for the first and only time in its life.