I won’t lie, mom friends, every time I read or write one of these stories, my heart drops to my knees. As a mother, it is impossible for me to even THINK of one of my children dying without tears springing to my eyes. But for many parents, like grieving mom Jordan DeRosier, this is a reality. If, like in the case of her 7-month-old son Sloan, the death was preventable, it makes it all the more painful.
Despite her deep grief and guilt, DeRosier took to Facebook to tell other parents how her son died (and sadly, to SQUASH rumors that it was due to vaccines), because she wants to warn other parents NOT to make the same baby sleep safety mistake she did. Her heartbreaking Facebook post included a photo of her with her other son, clutching her deceased baby’s blanket:
Photo: Jordan DeRosier on Facebook
To those who keep commenting and messaging trying to blame vaccines for our sons death- stop. Initially I had not wanted to explain the detailed circumstances of his death because of my guilt and the fear of condemnation from others. But I will not allow anyone to try and place blame where it does not belong.
He was last laid down to bed with this blanket made by his great-great grandmother, and one other blanket, a grey one he had been attached to since birth. They took the grey one he had been found with his head in. He had pulled it through the crib rails somehow and gotten himself stuck in it. You never think it will happen to you. You never think it will be your baby. Please do not put your babies to bed with a blanket. Please. He was 7 months old, I thought because he was crawling, standing on his own, and climbing, that he would be fine with a blanket. This is the face of immense, unfathomable grief, the face of longing, of heartbreak, of self inflicted GUILT. I will NEVER stop feeling responsible. I will relive this for the rest of my life knowing EXACTLY what I could have done differently. Please learn from my world shattering mistake.
