How utterly heartbreaking. I can't imagine a mom possessing such a lack of (basic) common sense. I had one of my kids slip from my grasp one evening while lifting him out of the tub. He was a tiny little thing, but all it took was a quick kick and thrust (on his part), and whoosh, he was gone. My heart stopped, yet I was able to react automatically, instinctively, reaching out in vain for whatever part of him I could latch onto. Luck was on my side, as I caught him by one ankle and that kid swung back my way like a pendulum when I did, his fragile little head narrowly missing the edge of the tub. I broke down, and for the longest time after suffered from anxiety whenever bath-time neared.
I remember my mom teaching me to leave the baby's diaper on at bath-time, that way you had something firm to latch onto. I practiced that method for years and years, but as time goes on, you tend to get somewhat cocky. As a mom you do things so repetitively, so automatically... what possibly could go wrong? There's no way a young child would have been able to react with the speed I did that day, nor would a young have had the strength I did.
In all the time I had little babies in the home, no one was allowed to give a bath aside from me.
