I locked my baby in the car!

[ktgrok]

I am still shaken. I am positive I lost years off my life. (we are all fine now, other than my nerves). 

 

My puppy is full of energy and hasn't gotten enough exercise, leading to him getting into trouble. But I was too tired to take him for a long walk, so drove up with him and the baby to the pet store to get him something new to chew on. I got out, went around to the passenger side door of the van, and started getting the baby out when a guy walked up and wanted to get into his car, which was next to mine.

 

He was parked too close to the line, and couldn't fit by me. I moved to let him by, and then realized the dog could possibly jump out, so shut the van door. Unfortunately, I'd already locked the door!  

 

My keys were in the diaper bag, in the van, with my phone. I freaked. A woman was nearby and I asked to use her phone, and called DH who started looking for the spare keys. At the same time another person, with the woman whose phone I used, ran into the pet store and asked for help. One of the workers, who I have met many times before, came out and managed to pop open the little tiny vent type window in the back of the van and then squirm his way in! Had he not been a very thin guy he never would have made it. And thank goodness he did, as my DH couldn't find the spare keys (more will be made tomorrow). 

 

It was all over in a matter of minutes, but having your not quite 2 week old crying in the car, with your dog, when you can't get to them was beyond horrid. I may never put her down again. 

 

I will, however think of something nice to do for the worker who helped us. 

[eternalsummer]

My dad used to keep a spare car key attached with wire underneath the license plate (I think that is where he had it).  Doesn't come in handy often, but boy is it handy when it does!

[mamaofgirls]

Dont worry - I liked mine in the car, while it was running, with my phone and we do not have any close neighbors... Oh, and it was summer!

[ktgrok]

I'm good news it was dusk and not hot. But still... it was awful.

[Arcadia]

:grouphug: My husband locked the key in before and we had to called a family friend to drive him home for the spare key. After that incident, my husband's spare car key is with my house key on a belt chain keychain as my DS11 would grab and throw my keys everywhere when he was a baby until he was a preschooler. He can't throw far since the key is on the metal chain hooked to my jeans belt loop.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Arcadia

[Janeway]

OMG! I am so sorry this happened!!! Did the guy who had you move out of the way even stop? I would be a mess too. So sorry!

[Lawyer&Mom]

I once drove home with the newborn unstrapped in her car seat. Post-partum is just a hard time!

[Twigs]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Minerva]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

That must have been awful! 

 

I once locked my baby son in the car, in the mountains, alone, with no cell reception. I had to break the window to get him out (not as easy as it sounds). He spoke his second word that day, "Scary." 

 

It was horrible when it happened, but now it's just a distant memory and a funny childhood story that my ds loves. 

 

I keep a spare key hidden on the car now. 

 

 

[Anne in CA]

I locked (well, ds locked) my youngest in the car at the Portland Zoo on a 100 degree day. It wasn't my finest hour, I can tell you what. 

[poppy]

I did that once.  Hugs. In retrospect not a big deal, but in the moment it was so scary. 

[Word Nerd]

I'm sorry. How scary! I'm glad you had help and it was resolved quickly.

[Chelli]

I've done that twice (within a span of a month) and locked my kid in the house without me once as well. All my oldest child.

 

I was a basket case each time and have no excuse other than thinking about too many things and habits I'd ingrained about locking up before having kids.

[debinindy]

YIKES!  So glad you got to her quickly!  How terrifying.

[ealp2009]

Oh no! Firefighters will come and pop open a car door if you need and the ones that rescued me were super nice and relaxed about it. They do it regularly apparently.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[maize]

I locked my oldest in the house (locked myself out) accidentally when she was a newborn. Ran down the street sobbing to the neighbors who called the police to break in for me.

[ktgrok]

Oh no! Firefighters will come and pop open a car door if you need and the ones that rescued me were super nice and relaxed about it. They do it regularly apparently.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was going to be my next call as the station was right down the street.

[gingersmom]

I locked my son when he was 2 in the minivan, in the middle of the summer. I called 911 who told me they had no idea where I was!!!! 😧 Several panicked calls to 911 later and the police arrived. Then they couldn't break into my minivan. I'm still traumatized 15 years later :)

[planner]

So glad it worked out ok.

 

My two year old locked me out of the house one day while I was shoveling snow. I was barefoot (don't ask) and it was so cold. Luckily my friend was on her way over anyway and she was able to meet dh halfway between the house and his office to get the house keys. My poor girl was in the house just bawling. She knew she had locked the door but couldn't unlock it. It was the worst 45 minutes ever! I was freezing and watching my terrified daughter through the sidelights hoping it wouldn't traumatize her forever.

[Anne in CA]

My experience was how I discovered that why Subaru s are almost never stolen.  Four firefighters, each with a jimmy, took 22 minutes to break into my car. All the while dd (then 18 months) was sweating profusely. She was fine, my locks were ruined. I didn't kill ds. We all lived for another day. 

[mamakelly]

I locked my 3 month old nephew in the car once. I had to call 911, and they used a wedge to jimmy the car door open enough to use a slim Jim. I never told my sister, eeek.

[zoobie]

:grouphug: Nothing can be easy, can it?

[umsami]

DH locked DS1 in the car when he was maybe 18 months old? He was strapped in his car seat and couldn't undo it himself.  It was so traumatizing for me, but DS1 seemed fine.   A guy at the gas station popped the lock (old Toyota) and he was out in 10 minutes.  Still it seemed like 10 hours.

 

:grouphug:

 

 

[Guest]

I've never locked anyone in the car but once I was locked out of the house with a two year old and newborn inside. I've been fastidious with my keys ever since - it was horrific and terrifying! No cell phone either, so I had to start knocking on random doors until someone was home and let me use their phone to call my husband.

[goldberry]

I did that when dd was a toddler. I called 911 and the police came and were able to jimmy the lock. She came out fine and I sobbed hysterically.

[Barb_]

I did this when #2 was a baby. I got out and shut my door and then my husband without thinking got out of his side, locked the doors, and shut his before I got the back door open. This was Florida and summer, so luckily the car was still running and I had already popped the trunk. I crawled in the trunk, pushed down the pass-through in the back seat, and stuck a stick through the pass through to push the window button. It took almost 20 minutes to come up with this brilliant plan and in the meantime I was crying and sweating bullets. To this day I still have a rule to lock the doors with the remote--never the door locks, lol

[MomtoCandJ]

That's so scary, glad everything ended well. I love that my new car has a key pad on the driver door I can use if I lock anything in my car and don't have the keys.

Edited April 1, 2017 by MomtoCandJ

[IfIOnly]

I'm so glad you got back in quickly!  Hugs!

[Ellie]

I am still shaken. I am positive I lost years off my life. (we are all fine now, other than my nerves). 

 

My puppy is full of energy and hasn't gotten enough exercise, leading to him getting into trouble. But I was too tired to take him for a long walk, so drove up with him and the baby to the pet store to get him something new to chew on. I got out, went around to the passenger side door of the van, and started getting the baby out when a guy walked up and wanted to get into his car, which was next to mine.

 

He was parked too close to the line, and couldn't fit by me. I moved to let him by, and then realized the dog could possibly jump out, so shut the van door. Unfortunately, I'd already locked the door!  

 

My keys were in the diaper bag, in the van, with my phone. I freaked. A woman was nearby and I asked to use her phone, and called DH who started looking for the spare keys. At the same time another person, with the woman whose phone I used, ran into the pet store and asked for help. One of the workers, who I have met many times before, came out and managed to pop open the little tiny vent type window in the back of the van and then squirm his way in! Had he not been a very thin guy he never would have made it. And thank goodness he did, as my DH couldn't find the spare keys (more will be made tomorrow). 

 

It was all over in a matter of minutes, but having your not quite 2 week old crying in the car, with your dog, when you can't get to them was beyond horrid. I may never put her down again. 

 

I will, however think of something nice to do for the worker who helped us. 

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

 

[Guest]

Ohmygoodness, how nerve-rattling!!! As if life isn't hard enough, then this had to happen too! I'm so glad everyone is okay!

[Pippen]

I locked my third in the car when I arrived at church. She couldn't have been more than a few months. My husband was there within a few minutes with a spare key. I started walking out the door with one key in my hand and one in my pocket after that. I still carry a spare on me whenever I step out of the car if I'm traveling alone out of town. 

[J-rap]

Oh my, I know how awful you feel!  I did that with my #1 on a very cold day in the winter (below 0).  I parked, walked to the other side of the car to get out ds, and realized I had left the keys in the car.  I was in an absolute panic.  I ran into the closest store (this was in an inner-city business neighborhood, and before cell phones), and frantically told them I need their phone to call 911.  Within minutes, I heard sirens and both a firetruck and a police car came rushing to the parking lot where our car was.  They quickly had the car unlocked.  Believe me, that never happened again!

[displace]

(Hugs). I would be shaken too!

[El...]

That happened to me, once!  I was struggling to get the stroller set up, the keys were on the car floor at DD's feet, and the door, which was already in the "locked" position, fell closed.  It was incredibly scary.  The firemen got in with a SlimJim.  I kept telling them, "Just break in!"  Thankfully, it was early in the day and not hot at that time. 

 

I now wear my keys on a D-ring, the kind you might see on a climber's rope, and I clip it on the pocket of my jeans or on my belt loop.  That way, the clip of keys is attached to me, and hands-free.  I pat it with my hand before I close the car door. 

 

So scary.

[scoutingmom]

I did that one with a 2yo and small baby in the car in a -40 day. The car was running so they were warm at least. I had driven a small way with my windows not totally clear, then pulled to the side before getting to a larger road to do more scraping. No phone. Went to the closest house, and they called the AMA (and used their account!) to get the doors unlocked. Of course, on a day like that it takes a long time even to get through to them.... They are often quoting 2 or 3 your wait times.... The mom in the house sold outside by the car for a bit so I could earn up, while the husband was waiting to get through on the phone. Of course, we got bumped to the top of the list and they had it unlocked in no time.

 

I feel bad because it would be one of the neighbors somewhere on the street, and I can not remember which house or anything!

 

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[Forget-Me-Not]

I've done it twice. Once was a cool fall evening. Some guy called the fire dept for me and EIGHT firemen showed up in two engines to jimmy my car door open. It must have been a slow night at the station. I baked cookies and took them to the station the next day.

 

The other time was on a cool overcast day outside a doctors office in a quiet medical park. The receptionist had a tow-truck driver friend who showed up in 5 minutes jimmied the door for me.

 

I've never had it happen on a hot day and luckily my kids are all old enough to open the door now, but I wouldn't have hesitated to break a window if necessary.

[SKL]

I'm glad they were able to help you get the door open quickly.  :grouphug:

[Cinder]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I did that once, locked both my babies in the car while getting gas.  That was before I had a cell phone, so I had to leave them to go into the gas station to ask for a phone.  I don't remember who I called, but it was a locksmith who came.  He got them out in no time, and didn't even charge me.  He said he never charges when children are involved.  It wasn't terribly hot or cold, and they never even cried.  It was all fine, but I'll never forget that feeling of having to walk away from them when they were locked in the car.  

 

[Liz CA]

Put a slim jim in the back of your jeans. :)

 

Deep breath, chocolate and some red wine unless you are nursing then all you get is the chocolate...;)

 

[Guest]

I've locked my keys in the car three times in my life.

 

At Jiffy Lube. Two miles from home.

At a car wash, two weeks later, 50 miles from home.

At a protest march, 25 years later, 90 miles from home.

 

It's so darned embarrassing!!

 

But I really feel for you with the baby in the car. (((K)))

[ashfern]

:grouphug:  I'm trying to imagine how that guy squeezed in through the window. Dang he must be super skinny!

[maize]

I've heard that if you have to break a window to get in the windshield is the cheapest and easiest to replace.

[Another Lynn]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Just Kate]

How scary!! I am very thankful that it all worked out and as someone else said, will likely become a funny childhood story for your little one.

 

On a positive note, based on this thread it looks like you're not alone!!!

[ktgrok]

 

I now wear my keys on a D-ring, the kind you might see on a climber's rope, and I clip it on the pocket of my jeans or on my belt loop.  That way, the clip of keys is attached to me, and hands-free.  I pat it with my hand before I close the car door. 

 

So scary.

 

Yup....I normally shove the key in my pocket, but did' have pockets in those pants. Sigh. 

 

I'm usually SO paranoid about this. I mean, whenI put in the big kids on one side of the car, or the groceries, I won't close that door until I get my door open, even if I'm sure it's unlocked. It was just that I was so flustered trying to let that other guy by...I won't do that again. 

 

Honestly, I was there first. And had a crying baby. He should have waited for me! But that ingrained female "be polite, let the other person go first" thing is so strong I guess I just habitually moved for him. 

 

Today I'm getting a magnetic thing to put with my key in it under the car. 

 

Oh, and in marriage tips, my excellent husband didn't lecture me, and instead hugged me as soon as I got home and asked if I was okay. (although I could tell he WANTEd to lecture.). And I didn't say "this is why I hate locking cars!" even though I wanted to. Before I married my husband I almost never locked my car doors. My father STILL doesn't. Never locked my house door either, lol. I do it now because my husband is super into security, but if you don't lock doors you don't lock kids in the car!

[FaithManor]

(((Hugs))))

[ktgrok]

:grouphug:  I'm trying to imagine how that guy squeezed in through the window. Dang he must be super skinny!

 

 

He was! he had a phone on his belt and that got caught, so someone took it off his belt as he hung halfway in the window. It was crazy. 

 

Thankfully my dog is friendly and had no issue with a guy crawling into the van!

SaveSave

[JFSinIL]

I had this happen at Target, had just gotten Jackie, about 10 months, into car seat and she had grabbed my keys to play with while I buckled her in.  Even as the door clicked shut - LOCKED - I realized she still had my keys.  This was before cell phones were common.  I had to run into Target and throw my AAA card at customer service, asking them to call as I had to get back to the car.  They did (someone brought my card back out to me) but after an hour when no one had come to help one of the Target dudes saw me (shivering, it was March and I was not dressed for standing outside!) and ran to get something to jimmy the car open.   Meanwhile Jackie simply took a nap, clutching my keys, snug in the car out of the wind. I called AAA later to complain and they said they'd yell at the local whoever who was supposed to respond ASAP when a kid is involved (evidently I am not the first parent to have this happen!)

[unsinkable]

Oh, Katie!

 

How scary! I'm glad you were able to get help and everyone is OK!