That went wrong: ‘I turned white, suddenly my baby was gone’

Romy (25), single mother of Yara-Liv (4) and Owen (3):

“Yara-Liv was two months old when I went into town one afternoon to buy baby items. After the Hema I walked to the H&M. Once in the pediatric ward, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my pram. My memory was really a sieve through all the hormones, but I never expected that I could even forget my child. Tears welled up in my eyes and I hurried back to the Hema. But no matter how I searched, no pram. I shot at an employee: had she perhaps seen a blue Quinny? When she said no I turned white; my baby was stolen!

In a panic, I ran out into the street and collapsed in the middle of the square. At that moment, two officers cycled past who anxiously inquired whether everything was going well. ‘No, I’ve lost my pram with baby’, I squeaked. Immediately more officers were called in, police cars drove around the city, looking for a blue pram with a two-month-old girl.

Read also
Mother shares genius tip: this is how you can find your child if he is missing >

Lost

The police tried to calm me down, but the longer it went on, the more scared I became that people had taken her. Until suddenly my mother made a video call. She saw me surrounded by police and asked what was going on. Crying, I told them that I had lost Yara. My mother then burst out laughing: ‘I just called you to let you know that she had a good drink and is now sleeping soundly!’ She turned the picture and I saw my little girl, in her own bed, fast asleep. My relief, shame, and insecurity made me roar even louder.

Finally, the officers took me to the police station, where I could relax for a while. We all had a good laugh about that. I got a trauma bear for my daughter, went home and didn’t let her go that night. A week later, we brought a bunch of flowers to the desk together.”

This one that went wrong is in Kek Mama 01-2022.

Curious about more mothering blunders? Every Monday you can read a new ‘That went wrong’ story on Kekmama.nl.