Oops
So tonight I feel like a bad mother. Let me explain…
Alex is still not technically crawling, but his army crawl has gotten so fast that he can make it from the living room to the kitchen or down the hall in just a few seconds. James and I have started child-proofing everything. Cords are moved out of the way, outlets covered, magazines and other items picked up from under the coffee table, and I mop and vacuum the floor much more often than I did before. In other words, we felt safe letting Alex crawl around without having to watch him every second.
It isn’t like I leave him alone in a room. I still keep my eye on him, but obviously not enough.
Tonight, a leaf from one of our plants on the window seat in the kitchen must have been dangling down just enough that Alex could reach up and pull on it. Did the leaf snap off? No. Did it slip out of his grasp? No. Instead the whole plant came down off the ledge. Thank goodness it was a small plant in a thin metal pot instead of one of our larger plants in a ceramic pot. Nevertheless, Alex ended up with dirt all over him, screaming, with a knot on his head.
30 seconds after I picked him up, he had already stopped screaming and was smiling again, but my guilt had just begun. The knot began swelling. I applied ice to try to get the swelling to go down. Do you know how hard it is to keep ice on a baby’s head? Alex was feeling fine and just wanted to get down and crawl around again. He didn’t understand why Mommy kept trying to hold something cold against his head.
Anyway, he survived and I learned a lesson about turning my head away from him while he is exploring. I am also going to have to re-examine how “child proofed” my house really is.
Here is a picture of Alex after I iced his knot. It doesn’t show up too clearly in this picture, but it sure stands out in my mind.
Sorry, Baby!
The first of many. He’s an active child. As you say, thank goodness it wasn’t a large pot. He will survive, and maybe has STARTED learning about pulling on things. Don’t fret about it. Just watch out for the next one. 🙂
I agree with your Mom. It is the first of many. I still feel guilty everytime Riley hurts himself which is quite often but I’ve also realized there is no such thing as “baby-proof” You can try but there will always be something they can hurt themselves on even if it is just running straight in to the wall.
Yes, I do know how hard it is to keep ice on a baby’s head and lip… from experience. 🙂 It is awful when your baby gets hurt! Luckily his little head is resilient and he will forget the experience much quicker than you! Try not to be too hard on yourself!
Amanda………..you didn’t mention the guilt you felt after. Please don’t feel guilty, and get used to his bumps and bruises! It probably scared him more than hurt him. This may be his first one, but it certainly won’t be his last.