fail signWe've all had mommy fail moments. Come on, even you. It's because that despite our best efforts, we aren't perfect. Though our husbands don't have to know that. There are some of these moments that we all come out of unscathed, but some are downright dangerous and make you say, "My gosh what in the heck was I thinking?!" I'm sure this 30-year-old Swedish mom who thought that breastfeeding her 3-week-old baby while driving is realizing her mistake. This mommy fail moment caused her to get into a car accident, rear-ending a truck that was braking in front of her.

Her two older children were in car seats in the back, but her newborn was on her lap nursing as she crashed.

Thankfully no one was very severely hurt even though the air bags were deployed, but as of this reporting, the mother and one of the children are still in the hospital. She ran into a tanker truck, too, which is horrifying because what if that tanker was full of something that could have exploded? So many what ifs here, but also a big fat WHY? Why did she make the choice to nurse her baby while driving?

Like I said, we've all done things that we aren't proud of, and I don't want to point fingers and say how terrible this woman is for making the poor choice she made. That's just it -- she made a bad decision. Maybe the baby was crying and the mother in haste decided it was easiest to soothe the child by breastfeeding her. Yes, she should have pulled over to a safe spot. I'm sure she is wishing she did just that. And yes, an infant in a car accident while not properly secured in a car seat could have resulted in tragedy. A baby's spine is weak and won't fully harden until around 4, and a crash could have been devastating -- and never, ever worth the risk. But we do things, all of us, things that could result in something bad happening. And too often we do them without thinking. Sometimes we are too reactive without really taking into consideration the consequences of our actions. We all need to slow down.

So what if you are late to that meeting. It's worth it to be late so you arrive safely. If your child is crying in the car seat, it's better to let her cry for a moment until you can pull over and make sure she is okay than to risk her being out of her car seat. If the crying gets to you and it may be a moment before you are able to pull over, try singing a soft song. It could calm both you and the baby. Slowly count to 10 if you can before you react to a situation -- sometimes that can help you make a better choice especially if the situation is tense and your child is crying or being hard to manage.

Mommy fail moments are going to happen. But there are some that can be avoided if we take the time to really think before we do. I also really hope this family is okay.

Have you had a mommy fail moment and learned from it?

 

Image via Identity Photogr@phy/Flickr