Mum didn't realise baby's leg was broken and it's an easier mistake to make than you'd think

A babies cries can be difficult to interpret, are they hungry, sick, too hot, too cold? 

When your little one's not able to tell you what's wrong yet, it's up to the parents to figure it out. And cause we're only human, we sometimes get it wrong. 

One mum, known only as Ellen, recently posted to Reddit  in order to share how her baby suffered a broken femur, and she didn't realise it for five days. 

The mum-guilt is strong in this one as she talks about her "worst nightmare": 

"On Monday, I was carrying her down the stairs after her nap & slipped on the hardwood in my socks. She never left my arms & settled down immediately when I started nursing her.

I figured everything must be fine. I checked her body thoroughly after it happened as well as periodically during the next couple of days."

But the baby appeared to be fine, showing no signs of distress, apart from a small bruise on her knee.

"Every time she cried that night and the next day, I thought it must have been from her fall and felt pangs of anxiety that I had shattered her view of the world as a safe place.

But my parents, friends, and husband all assured me that I was simply doing the whole "first-time Mom, fret about every little bump" thing." 

Two days later, Ellen noticed that her baby was holding her left leg differently to the right: 

"I noticed that she was holding her left leg slightly differently from the right, and that when we held her over the table she only put weight on her right leg. She was still moving her left leg, mind you." 

Just to be certain, she made a paediatrician appointment for the Friday, four days after the initial fall. 

"My baby flirted with her and cooed adorably as she went through the full range of motion on each joint in her leg.

I believe her exact words were, "Well, she's obviously not in any pain, but let's schedule an X-ray just in case.""

When the x-ray results returned, the paediatrician called them to go to ER immediately. Ellen recalls that despite being extremely upset and sobbing, her baby still appeared to be fine: 

"Our little champion gave me the biggest smile in the back seat. "Chill out, one with the milk! I'm obviously fine!"" 

Other mothers and healthcare professions assured her that it was normal to feel guilty after a baby accident.