A Mom Says Her Baby Nearly Hung Himself Because Of The Way She Arranged His Crib

“We have done so much to childproof. It's just not something I would have seen as a hazard."

This is Alison and Johnny Johnson, a couple from Phoenix.

The couple are proud parents of three young kids, 18-month-old twins Caleb and Libby, and 7-week-old Winnie.

Alison Johnson, like many moms who have kids close in age, decided to bunk her twins together in the same room. She said she did so because it made sense with the space they had, but also to ensure her twins could be close to each other.

"It was a bonding thing that was most important," she told BuzzFeed News.

Johnson set the room up in a way she had seen "all the time," with two cribs touching each other. She said she never thought that the way she arranged her cribs could be dangerous, and had never seen a warning about arranging them this way.

"We have done so much to childproof," she said. "It's just not something I would have seen as a hazard. It never crossed my mind."

She added that the cribs were as close together as they could be, with about a 6-inch gap in between them.

But on April 4, Johnson heard Caleb crying after she put him down for a nap. When she went in to check on him, she saw a horrifying scene. Her son was trapped in between the two cribs, holding himself up by his little arms.

"You could just see it in his face, he was just using all his energy to hold himself up," she said.

Johnson said she is haunted by what could have happened if she hadn't checked on her son.

"What's even more scary is that like many moms, I generally use nap time as an opportunity to shower," she wrote on Facebook. "Had I done that today and checked on him after five minutes, he would have literally hung himself."

Johnson felt like she had to share her close call with other moms, since she knew so many people arrange their cribs in this way. She posted about it on Facebook, and it has since been shared more than 50,000 times.

facebook.com

She said she has been contacted by hundreds of moms about the post, and even child-safety companies who told her they wanted to share her message.

"They've asked to share this because their job is [to keep kids safe]," she said.

Johnson said she is confident that her post has "saved a life," and she feels proud to share her message with other moms.

"I'm glad it's raising so much awareness," she said.

Johnson feels as if many moms don't speak out when things happen to them for fear of being shamed or mocked by others.

"I think it's rare for a mom to share a story like this because of the backlash they may get," she said.

A few people have written her rude comments, but Johnson said she feels like she has made a difference.

"If I've saved a life and people say mean comments about me, whatever," she said.

Skip to footer