Three days after welcoming her bundle of joy, a delightful mom was on her way back home with the newborn, his father, and his grandmother. Halfway through the ride, the family made a stop, and it was then that the woman realized something was wrong.
Parenthood is an incredible journey that changes people most unexpectedly. The mere sight of their kids’ innocent faces and adorable cackles can brighten up a parent’s world profoundly.
That’s one reason parents can go to any lengths to ensure their children’s safety, and they never hesitate to shower their little angels with tender love and care.
Children share a unique heart-to-heart connection with their parents, which only gets stronger with time. Today’s story centers around something similar, and we hope our valuable readers will enjoy reading it.
THE STRINGERS
Muriel and Cecil Stringer lived in Newfoundland, Canada. The couple shared their journey of becoming parents and surviving an unusual incident several years ago.
Nearly sixty years ago, Muriel gave birth to a son at the Come By Chance hospital. She and her husband were delighted to welcome their sweet boy and named him Kent. After spending three days in the hospital, the couple booked a cab to take their newborn home.
SHE NOTICED SOMETHING
It was a long ride home, about 40 kilometers on dusty roads, from the Walwyn Cottage Hospital in Come By Chance to Hodge’s Cove, located on the east coast of Trinity Bay. Muriel’s mom also accompanied the couple.
Halfway through the journey, the family decided to stop at a restaurant. Muriel and her mom stayed in the car while Cecil went inside to fetch some eatables. Suddenly, the new mother looked at the baby and noticed something.
Surprisingly, Kent and Adams weren’t the only babies swapped at Come By Chance.
SOMETHING WASN’T RIGHT
Muriel stated that her husband had still not returned from the restaurant when she was baffled after seeing the baby in her lap. Then, she recalled the conversation with her mother:
“Me and Mom were there talking and looking at the baby and I said, ‘Mom, he don’t look like my baby (sic).'”
The Newfoundland resident remembered that her baby had a mop of dark hair and a nose like hers, but the infant she was holding in the cab seemed unfamiliar. Still, she said her mom told her not to worry and stay calm. Muriel added:
“And my mother said, ‘Oh, that’s probably because of the bonnet and the clothes on him.'”
AN ENORMOUS ERROR
The family finally reached home, and it wasn’t until Muriel’s mom, Lilian Peddle undressed the baby that she realized something was actually not right. Muriel recollected:
“When she took the sweater off, she said, ‘Oh my, it’s not your baby.’ There was a band on his arm and it was written, ‘Baby Boy Adams.'”
It turned out that the baby the Stringers had reportedly brought home was only a day old, while the infant Muriel gave birth to on August 8, 1962, was three days old. Muriel’s mom only realized the swap after seeing the baby’s armband.
A MOM’S FEARS
Shortly afterward, Cecil said he went to the Hodge’s Cove Post Office and called the hospital. “How come you didn’t know your own baby?” said Cecil while revisiting what the nurse told him. Then, he said she checked the hospital and told him his baby was there.
The Newfoundland man revealed he booked another taxi and left with Muriel’s mom to bring their son, Kent, home. Meanwhile, Muriel said she worried for her baby boy and couldn’t wait to hold him. She expressed:
“Oh, I was frightened to death. I was thinking, ‘What if he didn’t have his band on his arm?’ It scared me.”
BRINGING HER BABY HOME
Muriel also described that when Cecil went to the hospital, the other baby’s mom was waiting on the steps. She recounted how the other mom was terrified for her newborn son. A nurse at the hospital told the couple that someone had put the baby in the wrong crib, which led to the switch.
The Stringers confessed they weren’t mad about the incident and the hospital staff treated them nicely. They also went on to have five more children, four of whom were born at the same hospital. Surprisingly, Kent wasn’t the only baby swapped at Come By Chance.
OTHER BABIES SWAPPED AT COME BY CHANCE
In December 1962, Craig Avery and Clarence Hynes were switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Unlike the Stringer family’s story, which had a happy ending, Avery and Hynes didn’t find out about the mix-up until they took DNA tests in 2019.
BEING CAREFUL
Mistakes can happen anywhere, anytime, so a family should take necessary measures to ensure their baby’s safety. If a baby needs to leave the room to be checked, it should be accompanied by a family member.
Parents should ask the medical staff to match their little one’s band to avoid confusion. If a baby is being taken to the nursery, parents should accompany them. Babies should be placed in distinctive outfits, caps, or swaddle for ease of recognition.
What are your thoughts after reading this story? Have you ever come across a similar incident? How would you handle things if you were in the Stringer couple’s place? Please don’t forget to share this story with your loved ones.