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Article Dad Thinks He Did Nothing Wrong After Napping With Baby In His Arms

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A new dad says he can’t understand why his wife went ‘ballistic’ at him after he fell asleep with their baby in his arms.

The 27-year-old admits he’s completely exhausted from juggling their seven-month-old daughter and work.

“Having a child this young is just straight up hell. I have to work longer hours to cover expenses and I also can’t sleep because of her sleep cycles,” he explained on reddit.

“On Sunday morning, my wife went out with her friends for the day and I was watching our daughter. I had no energy and when my daughter fell asleep in my arms while I was on the couch I did too.

“I woke up to my wife yelling at me with my daughter in her arms. She was going absolutely ballistic and telling me how irresponsible I was for sleeping with my daughters in my arms like that. I really think it isn’t an issue but she clearly does.”

His post was met with thousands of comments, explaining why his wife was right with her response.

One responder commented: “I’m a Registered Nurse at a large metropolitan Children’s Hospital. We see horrific cases of babies falling asleep with parents so often.

“When babies fall asleep on their parents chest or in their arms, they can become trapped between the parent and the sofa, chair or bed.”

“Often they are unable to breathe causing death or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). With a TBI the once vivacious baby with an unlimited future ahead ceases to exist. In its place is a baby/child/adult that is bed/wheelchair bound, have to be fed through a tube, unable to walk, talk or toilet by themselves. Ever.

“Original Poster – you are not the a**hole for sleeping when the baby sleeps. In fact, I do recommend it. Just be safe and smart about it. Put the baby in a safe place-crib to blanket on the floor. Remember SAFE sleep. Put baby to sleep on their back, on a firm surface such as a crib mattress, alone and no extra soft toys, pillows or blankets.”

Another person offered these sobering stories: “When I was in hospital after having mine one of the mothers fell asleep feeding her baby. The baby fell out of her arms, bounced off the bed and hit the floor, ending up with fractured skull.

“A friend of mine fell asleep holding her son on the lounge. When she woke up he had suffocated and was dead. Maybe most of the time nothing happens, but you don’t want to be one of the ones who aren’t lucky.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. 

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Comments

  • I understand his feelings because being with a baby is not easy and it’s exhausting! Anyway one should be more careful

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  • I understand the risks, but would have thought he’d be relatively safe with a 7mth old. None of us are perfect and he was clearly exhausted.

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  • Awful hearing these stories. I know my husband and I are guilty of having fallen asleep with bub on our chests.

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  • I’ve always heard the couch is unsafe. Very scary yet informative

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  • She would of been very shocked and scared to see them both asleep, safety first at all times.

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  • I have fallen asleep a couple of times with my child in my arms whist breastfeeding. I know it’s not great and can be dangerous, but sometimes you are just that exhausted and don’t even realise you’ve fallen asleep.

    • Exactly ! Understanding and supporting each other is important, blaming doesn’t help and impacts your relationship

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  • Can definitely be dangerous, but honestly we have all been there. As new parents & so sleep deprived. Not to mention we set the room so “sleep inducing” for the bub. It’s easy to have a micro sleep

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  • I imagine these micro sleeps happen more often than we all think.
    I remember falling asleep one late night / early morning feed and was horrified when I woke up.
    I don’t think yelling at her husband was the answer. It does not sound like it was something he intentionally did. Calmly discussing why it is an issue would be a better approach. But in the heat of the moment it is often hard to control your emotions.

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  • Some scary stories

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  • We can all make mistakes especially when sleep deprived. I don’t think yelling at him was right, she should have just spoken to him. This is a great reminder for everyone to be aware of where you are before you take a nap.

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  • Happens to us all, but definitely something we should be mindful of. Don’t blame the dad for being exhausted.

    • I remember once i was sitting in the chair around 8am in the morning, breastfeeding my son, every now and then taking a sip of my tea. I feel asleep holding the cup of tea breastfeeding my son; my husband was around and said lets take that cup of tea away. He was not blaming me, he was caring

      • That’s a much more helpful way of handling it.

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  • Gosh I think just talking and explaining why would’ve been a better way to mange this!

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  • We’re guilty of doing this. Maybe talking to him and letting him know how she feels about it instead of yelling

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  • Tough one, bub is ok, dad is exhausted, but mum had a break and went out with friends.

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  • Totally understand as parents are exhausted especially if you’re working.
    It is a risky thing but in this case they should just be glad the baby was okay.

    Reply

  • I’m sure many have done the same thing while absolutely exhausted but it is definitely something that is dangerous. Getting the word out there to educate people is important.

    Reply
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