To feel so sad for this mum and baby but still think she could have been more careful?

[Vivia]

Was in Costa just now. I was in the queue getting a takeaway while two mums were sitting with their newborns on the comfy sofa nearby. Very gorgeous scrunchy babies. I noticed that one mum had the baby lying vertically on her lap, so baby's feet at mother's chest and baby's head near the table. I thought it looked precarious.

And it was. As I walked out, I glanced back I noticed the mum reach over her baby's head and pick up the piping hot mug of coffee. She dropped the large mug of black coffee on the child's face and body. In that split second, I almost didn't register what happened. I ran back in. The security guard from nearby was jumped over chairs and tables to get to the baby, the mother was screaming 'help me!' The security had whipped the newborn to a sink of water and staff were calling the ambulance. The baby screamed at first then went horribly silent. Poor child had been hit in the face by a large, falling china mug and thoroughly scalded by coffee.

I feel so sad but wish the mum had realized that reaching over a newborn to pick up coffee is a terrible idea? I don't mean to judge her but

or as obvious as closing a stairgate behind you?
I mean, the only reason they're there is so your 10mth old doesn't fall all the way down and end up in a crumpled heap and the bottom, right? It's obvious, I'm incredibly protective of DD and I still forgot. We're human, we have lapses - doesn't make it any easier to deal with when our baby's screaming in pain because we were stupid for a split second.

poor baby. I feel desperate to know he/she was okay

I'd say few parents are perfect all the time, I've made some stupid mistakes and been lucky. My hearty goes out to the mum and the baby

I really hope the mother in question never comes across this dissection of her stupidity. I don't see the point this at all. If you want to warn people about the dangers of hot drinks and babies and about how to treat a serious burn then why not start another thread doing but there is not point analysing this poor woman's mistake over and over.

OMG poor mummy she must be beside herself..
I was going up an escilator one day and caught a baby who's mum hadn't strapped him in and he'd fallen out as she reached the top I was near the bottom.. he was so battered..
I still think about it!
Its horrific to watch something terrible happening to a child!

I don't think anyone's 'dissecting her stupidity'. We're all admitting that we've done equally dangerous things - no one's called the mum 'stupid'.

Are you sure you are reading the same thread RollBaubleUnderTree?

What an awful thing to happen. That poor mother and baby. I do hope they are OK.

Not in so many words no. Although 'I don't mean to judge her but....' 'never done the particular stupid thing the woman in the OP did'. 'totally foolish thing to do'.

Just some examples.

I certainly don't want to make the poor mother feel worse I'm sure she keeps going over the accident in her mind and just wants to turn back time. I wish her and the baby all the best.

Morloth Chulita - my thoughts too.

TBH when I talked to other Mums about DS's accidents - not that he's had that many, it made me feel massively better to know I wasn't the only parent who had ever misjudged.

I think most of the listing of 'blindingly obvious' was much more a defence of the Poor woman than a dissection.

Well it is/was a foolish thing to do isn't it? But I think 90% of the posters on here have been sympathetic and admitted to similar foolishness.

So hardly a thread dissecting her stupidity.

God how awful.

Agree with others that it, or other accidents, could happen to anyone. Such is life unfortunately, none of us can guard against everything all the time.

As for the treatment thing - I though run under cold water for a burn. If there are differening treatments for different types of burn - that's all well and good but how is a mum standing in a coffee shop supposed to know what sort of burn it is? Having said that, I would imagine that people working in coffee shops have been trained for exactly this situation and I am sure would have done the right thing.

nhs burns info for anyone wanting to refresh themselves

nhs birth to 5 info

I didnt start another thread, as why start a thread about another thread, when the information is relevant to this thread, hopefully "god forbid" if anybody reading this threads, will know not to put cold water/baby under tap on the scald/burn as it can makes the babies health much worse.

cold water makes babies/adults shiver, at this must be avoided, when a burn/scald has happened.

OMG how tragic poor poor baby

However, there is a part of me thinks she should have been more careful, I knwo accidents happen but there are things you can do to minimise the risk. Hot coffee and jumping little people do not mix well. I am so paranoid about hot drinks I just don't have any whilst around the DC probably as I don't trust myself to put it down and forget about it.

But it's a liar of a parent who has not done something then thought "shit that was lucky"

i really hope the baby and mother are ok. not sure how you would find out as surely it would dpend if the mother contacted costa to let them know.
if by some chance shes a mumsnetter and reads this, i am desperatley hoping all is well.
we all do silly things without thinking or lack of sleep and fortunatley most of us have lived to tell the tale or even laugh about it later if it was a particularly silly accident. I have scolded my ds1 before, he was about 17 months and i was ironing a t-shirt on the kitchen side at my mums house, he was climbing on a little step stool that my mum keeps to reach the high cupbaords, i told him to get down, he moved the stool closer to me, i picked him up and gave him to my sister stoood on other side of the kitchen, unbeknown to me she had put him down and up he jumped by my side and caught his forarm on the iron. he still has a small triangular burn mark there now and hes almost 13.
at the time i grabbed him and run his arm under cool water and was told by the ambulance that we had done the right thing.
i should imagine the hardest part of treating the baby was that its a facial injury, so hard to cover in clingfilm, constant coll water etc without causing any harm.

Roll bauble - I agree.

Bit of trip trapping going on here IMO.

Hopefully the drink would have been sufficiently cooled not to have cause much more than localised erthyema (understand there is a H&S temp limit for hot fluids?.

Poor poor mum, she'll bear the scars of that for a long time - please God her baby doesn't. Going to have a nasty bump on his head from the full china mug too

Thanks Donnie. That was my thought too.

It isn't trolling to start a discussion about something you saw happen which you think could have been avoided. As the OP said, you can think "Oh Fuck, poor Mum and baby" and simultaneously think "I don't think that was a very good idea..." the two are not mutually exclusive.

Really not seeing any troll like activity on this thread.

I just find it hard to get my head around witnessing such a horrible accident and then coming home and posting about it on MN in such a judgey way. It would not be such a leap to think the poor mother could read this or be alterted to it. Locally she may well be identifiable especially as her baby may be very ill and scarred.

So so sad. Poor little baby.

I don't think the OP or the thread are judgey. I think a) there but for the grace of God and b) I'm very glad for the reminder of what to do if a baby/toddler gets burned.

I can't for the life of me see any trolling