Found out today that I have an adventurer.

[joannqn]

My 11 year old daughter was upstairs in her room. My 9 year old son was in the dining room on the computer. I was at the dining room table teaching my 4 year old "math" because he wants to do school, too. I thought my 20 month old was playing in the living room (can't see that room from the dining room).

 

Then my 9 year old found the front door open. It does that sometimes. He shut it. A little bit later (5 minutes?), I realized I didn't hear Madelynn so I went to check on her. I checked the house three times. I looked in the back yard and the front year, the neighbor's yards, and ran to the bottom of the cul-de-sac and looked both ways. Then I called 911, who made me check the house again. I sent my daughter to the right at the bottom of the cul-de-sac. Check the pond area first! I sent my son to the left at the bottom of the cul-de-sac. Then the police called back; thankfully, someone had found her.

 

The police gave me the address. She had gone to the bottom of the cul-de-sac, turned left and walked to the next street, turned left again, and walked 3/4 of the way up that block up a steep hill. This is one of our walking routes that we take her on. The lady said a car was honking and she looked out and saw a baby alone so she grabbed her. She didn't know what to do so she called the police. She sounded apologetic for calling the police. I was grateful she did!

 

The two older kids are off school for now. They were very upset by it all. My 4 year old "was not freaked out at all" and waiting for the police to come. Madelynn is sound asleep in my lap.

 

We know now that we'll have to keep the door locked and latched. The door has one of those little hook and eye latches way up by the top...we'll be using it for now on.

 

I still feel pukey from the adrenalin rush.

Edited March 29, 2011 by joannqn

[melissel]

OMW, I feel sick to my stomach just reading your post. Thank goodness everyone is alright :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: And thank goodness that woman was a kind soul and not some judgmental nutjob!

[~Amanda~]

Oh, mama how scary!! We keep all our doors deadbolted, my 2yo would do the same thing in a heartbeat. So glad it worked out ok!

[ChristusG]

Oh my word! I would have had a heart attack!! I'm thankful for that woman and that all turned out okay!

[ondreeuh]

I'm so glad she's OK. Thank goodness for your neighbor!

 

I had a similar experience when my middle child was 3, except the cops found him first. I think that took a few years off my life!

[Chris in VA]

We "lost" our middle son when we were moving into our Texas apartment. The mailcarrier found him and kept him with her for a little while--I SO understand that pukey yet relieved feeling!! :grouphug:

 

Look at it as a story you'll tell the rest of the darling little one's life...:001_smile:

[newlifemom]

Wow! Glad all is well. :grouphug: to you and your kids. How traumatic.

[NanceXToo]

OMG I can only imagine the panic you must have been feeling, and that makes ME feel pukey just thinking about it! I'm so glad she was okay!! I was always so paranoid about my son just walking out the front door when he was little, too, so we put one of those chain locks on our front door, high up where he couldn't reach it, so that it wouldn't happen.

 

How scary!!

[FrogMom5]

My dd, age 4, did this a few weeks ago. She told us she just wanted to go for a walk. It was so scary!

 

I'm glad you found your dd and that she is ok. :grouphug::grouphug:

 

Denise

[Hedgehog]

:eek: :svengo: That's the kind of thing that gives me grey hairs. DD3 wandered off for a minute or two in the grocery store today and I nearly had a panic attack! (She was just round the corner poking the pizza..)

 

I am SOO glad someone sensible and nice found your dd!

[Wendi]

:grouphug:

 

One of my nephews was an adventurer, too. My brother and SIL had to put latches up at the top of the doors.

 

Wendi

[3lilreds in NC]

This is what I would have done: :eek::willy_nilly::svengo:

 

I am SO GLAD she is safe. I think that is one of every parent's nightmares. One night we thought Isaac had wandered outside because we could not find him ANYWHERE. Turns out he'd gone into the attic, which is behind my closet, and shut both the closet door and the attic door so he could not hear us calling. He has walked himself down to our neighbor's house, which I realized when said neighbor called me. :glare: Bless his little heart, that boy may well be the death of me. All that to say - I get it and I am so glad it all turned out well.

[CourtneyChn]

What a horrible feeling that is! When my girls were 3 and 5 and we had just moved to a new house, they woke up really early one morning, packed up their sleeping bags and stuffed animals and dragged them all to the edge of the woods at the end of the cul-de-sac. DH and I woke up to a man (an amazing neighbor) knocking at the front door with both girls at his side. They were planning on exploring the woods and going across the stream to Africa, they told me later. Terrifying. We put a deadbolt on the door that afternoon.

[GnomeyNewt]

Glad she is okay and what a wonderful women to look after her! Our first was not like that, but my second is an adventure too! We started using the chains all day and shutting the gate to our property when home.

 

When my son was about 2 years old, he was staying with my mom who had only a very small 2 bedroom apartment. Basically you can hear everything from anywhere at that place. We are still not sure if my, at the time 5 year old opened the door, but he went out the front door, down 2 flights of stairs and up a steep driveway. When my mom discovered this about 5 minutes later, a man was holding our son and looking around. I always wished my mother got his name, because I would love to thank him in person for his good deed. But I also knew that I could trust my mother, because she actually told me this story. She thought I would not let her watch my kids anymore, but instead it made our trust stronger. I know this can happen to anyone at anytime.

 

This is the second story now that I've heard of a stranger helping out, when unexpected things happen like this! It is great to see good outcomes from scarey situations. Hope you guys get a lot of rest and time to defrag, because it takes a lot time to get over those what ifs. I still think about it today and count my blessings. Give your babies lots of hugs & kisses!

[myfunnybunch]

Oh, scary, especially with a pond nearby. :grouphug:

 

One of my daughters did something similar when she was 3. She saw the little neighbor boy outside and joined him. They made it down our street, down the next and were halfway to the store. I was out looking when we met them coming home with a very nice couple. I was so relieved.

 

Cat

[Melissa in Australia]

One of the grand kids of someone who lived in my street had an adventurer. the grandparents were minding him while their daughter was in hospital having a baby. He wondered off. the grandfather came and asked us if we had seen him, he would have been 2ish. Our court is made up of 5 acre blocks, with farm paddock on one side, and a small strip of native bush before a cliff that drops down straight to the beach. The grandfather said he had found the boy's boots near a dam in one of the blocks. I called the whole neighbourhood out to look for him, he was found out on the road ( 1/2 km away) he was looking for his home. The grandparents didn't seem overly concerned. He wandered off two more times in the week they had him. Once he turned up at my place ( they haded't even noticed he was missing) and once a neighbour found him out on the road again.