Baby falls are a terrifying experience for parents. When your children are so small, you have no idea what kind of impact a fall can have on their health and growth. And while many parents are inclined to not talk about it when a baby falls, they’re more common than people may imagine.
One mom on TikTok is opening about about how special infant seats can cause baby falls after her daughter suffered a head injury. It’s scary to be honest on social media, but the mom hopes that sharing her story will save another family from the same fate.
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The mom did something that a lot of moms do.
Ashley, who goes by the TikTok @messybunmommy1, shared her story earlier this year. “Most vulnerable post I’ll ever make,” she wrote in the caption.
She begins by saying that she had “debated a long time” about sharing her story. But it was something she was seeing come up and knew she had to share her experience.
In June 2024, when her daughter was 9 months old, the baby fell off the counter onto the floor. Ashley explained that she often put her daughter in a baby seat in the kitchen. “I would put her on my island and prepare food right next to her just so she could see me. It was really convenient and easy,” she explained.
@messybunmommy1 Most vulnerable post ill ever make. I just want to make this psa to save babies and their families from this. PLEASE. KEEP. THE. SEATS. ON. THE. FLOOR!!!!!!! #psa #urgent #babiesoftiktok #momsoftiktok #momtok #pleaseblowup #watchtillend #pleasegoviral ♬ original sound – Ashley | SAHM of 3 💙💙🩷
Her typical experience turned terrifying in a matter of seconds.
While her husband put away the groceries, Ashley turned away from her daughter to put pasta into boiling water. It was in that time that things took a turn. “In the span of like five seconds my daughter kicked herself back and fell in her seat onto the floor,” the mom shared.
Ashley and her husband were unsure if their daughter was hurt, but she said the girl wasn’t crying. That was all she needed to be concerned. “I got her out and I was like she’s okay, she’s okay. I put her on my shoulder and I was patting her and as I was doing that I felt her tense up,” she revealed.
She then saw her daughter’s eyes roll back as the infant began to have a grand mal seizure.
The parents knew they had to act fast.
Ashley called 911, and the operator guided her through caring for her daughter.
“They told me that she may have broken her neck when she fell, so we needed to get her on a hard surface. I laid her on our carpet and was just trying to talk to her while she was seizing,” she shared. But then things didn’t get better.
“She was not breathing at all. I then had to give her CPR until the EMTs got there. They got her breathing and they stabilized her neck, because they thought her neck was broken,” she said.
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She had no idea if her daughter would survive.
When they got to the hospital, doctors explained that her baby could be in a coma state. “I really thought I would never see her awake again,” the mom said.
Thankfully, the little one woke up and was immediately taken for a CT scan. The scan revealed that she had a skull fracture behind her left ear. “It could have been a lot worse,” Ashley said.
Months later, her daughter is again having seizures. “I truly believe it’s from her fall,” Ashley admitted.
Many comments praised the mom for bringing awareness to the repercussions of baby falls.
“The bravest and most compassionate video I’ve ever seen,” one person wrote. “You’ve started a movement that will save lives.”
“This is why we don’t need to judge,” another commented. “We just need to be here for each other because maybe had there been other parents not afraid to mention it you would have seen a video and not done it good job.”
Someone else posted: “As someone who works in an ER, THANK YOU for sharing this vulnerable post. It will save innocent babies lives. As a mother, I’m virtually hugging you to soothe your guilt. Prayers.”
“We put our 7 month old in seats like this all the time on our countertops,” another person confessed. “THANK YOU for sharing. We will be making a change after hearing your story!”
“As a paramedic and pediatric nurse, please tell your story again and again, because this happens a lot,” a comment reads.
“Watching this while feeding my 9 month old in his up seat on my kitchen island,” another person commented. “Will never put him up there again.”
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