I lost Jacob at a restaurant today

[Kermit]

Can those of you who have raised children to adulthood tell me how you made it that far without having a heart attack? Being a mom can be very stressful sometimes.

Today I took my kids to eat at Gatti Town with my sister and nephew. It's a pizza buffet place with a very elaborate arcade, sort of like a Chuck E Cheese. The first thing we did after we ate was ride the carrousel. When we got off, I told my sister to watch Jacob while I retrieved my stroller and put Nick back in it. After I got Nick buckled in, I went back to my sister but didn't see Jacob. I asked her where he was, and I could tell immediately by her expression that she hadn't realized I thought she had him.

We both took off running, with me going toward the exit and her looking around the arcade part. I did yell to a worker that I had lost my son, but my sister found him just seconds after that before he had a chance to do anything about it. Jacob was just wondering around looking at all the neat things to do. He had no idea that the situation was alarming.

It happened at lunch, and I'm finally no longer feeling like I need to throw up. Yesterday I spent the latter half of the day with a headache after an incident with my nephew. He fell into a position that looked really hard on his neck, and until my sister went and picked him up, he didn't make a sound or move at all. He just laid there motionless. It only took her about 2 seconds to get to him, but we both thought that he'd broken his neck and couldn't move. So I'd finally gotten rid of my stress headache from that when this happened.

Before I had children, I would get carded at Blockbuster for renting R rated movies despite the fact that I was in my 20s. Now I have wrinkles from worrying so much and would be lucky to pass for the 29 that I really am.

 

[Serena]

You just hug them and go on till the next time.

 

[Lil_Tink]

Im so sorry.. Its ok, Accidents happen.

 

[luvmydogs]

Before I became a parent, I always thought that those who 'lost' their children in department stores, supermarkets, etc., were just irresponsible people. Then I gave birth and came down off my high horse.

My ds10 had bacterial menengitis when he was three, and I swear I'm just about getting over that now. For the longest time after he survived that, I'd call his pediatrician in hysterics if he had a cold or a temp above 98.6--I always thought he had something potentially fatal. It was insane.

And it's funny, but I was diagnosed with an ulcer when ds was four. Hmmm...coincidence?

I'm glad your kids are OK, and that you're feeling better.

 

[jamzots]

I hear ya!!! As the Mom of 2 DS 8 and 13, and a new baby DS 6 months, I can only tell you it doesn't get easier. DS 13 went tot by himself this year and I was having a nervous breakdown the whole 2 hours he was gone. My DH thinks it is all very amusing of course, and tells me I'm overreacting. We have had alot of scares, especially when DS8 decides that it's O.K. for himself to pick up and walk out the door and go to a friendshouse without telling anybody. Gray hair city over here!!!!!!

 

[#1hockeymom]

You need a hug! We've all been there, whether we admit to it or not! It is one of the scariest feelings in the whole world!

 

[mtblujeans]

We just muddled through, actually. Your feelings are perfectly normal, unfortunately for you!

My youngest son, who is now 14, was such a high energy kid he used to run circles around the dining room table when we would sit down for the evening meal. The only way we could get him to sit and eat was to allow him to climb up into Dad's lap and eat that way. I hated that! I wouldn't let him sit on my lap....he had to sit in a chair if he wanted to eat. But, Dad was OK with it! Even if we went to a restaurant, he would try to run around the table and giggle through the whole meal!!

I remember having to run after him all day and then, when Dad would come home, I would fall exhausted into the chair to eat and off he would go! Gosh, I hated that!! Now, I tell him he is just lucky he has survived to the age he is!! If we're lucky, Mother Nature will give them children just like them!

All you can do is laugh it off and keep going....

 

[ASFCurly]

It can be scary, I know. I am not a parent, but worked at a summer camp for 7 years. One year, one of my girls (she was there for 8 weeks) decided she needed to go see the nurse, and didn't tell me. We were walking to an activity and she just walked the other direction. I was scared to death looking for her, and she was 8, she was gone for about 10 minutes, and I was running all over camp asking people if they had seen her before someone told me that they thought they saw her going to the nurse. My heart till races when i think about it, and that was 4 years ago.

 

[staci]

It happens to everyone!

Yesterday, we went out for a walk. Becuase our neighborhood was built in hills, I always take the little umbrella stroller so ds can ride when he gets tired. So he hopped in the stroller, and as we were walking down the hill he leans down over to see the pretty leaves that are all over the sidewalk. I am looking too, cuz they are a gorgeous red. Then, out of no where, the stroller STOPS. Ds just rolls right out onto the sidewalk and lays there looking at me. The guy across the street raking is just staring and I felt like the worst mother in the WORLD! Picked up ds, he was totally fine, just a little suprised. There had been a bump in the sidewalk that was hidden by the leaves.

So, anyways, long story short, DS gives me a heart attack all the time too! Needless to say,id care HOW old he is, I am buckling him in EVERY TIME now,even if he will just want to hop right back out!

 

[Pooh93]

When youngest dd was about 2 yrs, I lost her in one of those play areas at McDonald's. We were gathering our things to leave and I turned around and she was gone!!! I was looking up at all the slides and places they could hide and play and didn't see her. My gut instinct told me she wasn't up there! I went flying out of there into the main part of the restaurant (my mind racing the entire time that someone had taken her, gotten on the interstate and was gone) I guess people could tell by the sheer terror on my face that I had lost my dd, because 3-4 people said, are you looking for a little girl in overalls? "Yes....Yes!"...I was almost shrieking. Everyone started pointing the direction she went. Well.....ended up she had to go to the bathroom and took off!!! I opened up the women's bathroom door and there she was sitting on the toilet, with the door open and her pants around her ankles! It could've been one of those Kodak moments, had I not been about hysterical! (not laughing hysterical either)

I can chuckle (not entirely laugh) about it today, but I swear I lost a couple years off of my life!

 

[MsDisney23]

It can be so scary with all the crazy people out there! When my dd was young and I would take her out shopping etc. with me. I use to buy her a ballon, I would tie it around her wrist. If she did (and they will) go wondering, it only takes less than 30 seconds for their little feet to go. I would look for the ballon!

Mom just give him a hug and you have to go on!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

you know all those parents you see out and about at the mall and in Target who have about 2 or 3 toddlers with them and all the kids are just following Mom around (they never go more than about 3 feet away) as she actually gets to look at things and shop?

I really wish one of them would write a book or something because I can't even keep hold of one without duct taping him to my cart.

 

[C.Ann]

When my DD was younger (around 5) she was in baton twirling lessons.. The parents were not allowed to stay while the girls were having lessons, so I dropped her off and went to a friends house that was less than a block away.. Lessons were done at 7:30 pm, so I left my friends house at 7:15 and headed on over.. Imagine my terror when I saw that the entire parking lot was empty - all of the cars were gone - and the lights were off in the building!! When I rushed up to the door, there was my DD - standing all alone in the doorway - doing that horrible, heartbreaking SILENT crying - where the huge tears were just rolling down her cheeks.. Oh God - I wanted to DIE right there!! Seems my girlfriends clock was 15 minutes slow and that's why I was "late" rather than early.. Of course I was FURIOUS that the teacher left her there alone (and no - she never went back for lessons again) but for MONTHS my heart literally HURT when I thought about that..

Of course now it's become an inside joke between my DD and I.. Whenever my granddaughter is acting up a bit my DD will say, "If you don't knock it off I'm going to enroll you in baton twirling lessons and have Grandma pick you up after your lessons!!"

**Pssst.. Just between you and me? It STILL hurts my heart..

Hang in there.. You still have many more "adventures" ahead of you.. LOL

 

[malibuconlee]

It happens. I used to work retail and you'd be amazed at how many parents and kids get separated.

The scariest was when I found this kid in the middle of a circular clothing rack crying. He'd lost his mom. I ask him questions and we tried paging his mom. I think she was in the Garden Center and couldn't hear the page. It took long enough to find her that I was starting to wonder if he'd been left and I was lying when I was telling him we'd find his mom. I was so relieved when we finally found her.

It was a different time then, but I remember going to K-Mart when I was little (there was no Wal-mart in town back then so don't look down on me for going there ) and getting separated from my mom and going up to the counter to have her paged. She used to hate that.

 

[Pooh93]

OMG, C.Ann! That would hurt my heart also. I can't believe everyone left her!

 

[Keli]

I only have one child and I managed to leave her at church one sunday after service. Actually she had asked if she could ride with my parents to the resturant (we were all going to be eating together) and I'd agreed. She changed her mind and didn't say anything to me about it. I didn't realize my parents had already left when I left and it wasn't until I got to the resturant and there was no Ashli with my parents that I knew I'd left her. I was pretty aggrivated/upset by the whole thing but in my heart I knew she wasn't in any danger even as I drove back to the church because I knew the pastor would never leave her there by herself. Sure enough, they were all waiting at the door for me when I arrived. Everyone else thought it was pretty funny but I felt very guilty.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My oldest dd (14) who has given me enough "lost" moments has made me old.

So I will share my most memorable.....I think she was around 9ish.

While vacationing with my mother & father, me and 2 dd's she got lost. This was before cell phones and to top that off we were staying on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

We were headed to "The Grand Hotel" for the lunch buffet on our bikes, (there are no cars), and my mom was ahead of me as I was toting younger dd in the pull behind thing. Finally I caught up to my mother and she said, "I thought she was with YOU!". (Grandpa was taking the horse carriage there.)
AAACCKK!!!

So my dd is on a bike, on a strange Island!!!!

In the end she did find the Grand Hotel by asking people and then when she got there the employees called our hotel (she did remember the name, thank goodness), and we were able to reunite with her.

Imagine going to the Grand Hotel and having the employees watching your kid. Yes, mother of the year!!!

We did stay and have lunch and it was wonderful!