The Worst Mommy Award goes to me. Yesterday I hosted a baby shower at my house (separate post on that later) during Caden's nap time. He fell asleep in my arms, so I laid him in his crib, but he woke up from a couple particularly loud-yapping women. So I held him again and he fell back asleep. By then the pregnant mother's little girl was playing in his room, and although she offered to get her out, I didn't want to risk him waking up again by her calling to her daughter and the daughter protesting. So I put him on my bed--mistake #1. (You know where this is going, don't you.) I was going to transfer him to the crib as soon as everyone left--mistake #2. That took a while even though I ended the party a little early, five minutes after putting him down. I ran outside to help the mother leave, went back inside to unlock the door, and heard the scream. I bolted to my room and, sure enough, no baby on the bed. He was on the floor by the wall. He must have woken up and rolled off because I laid him on Justin's side but he fell off my side, and he doesn't roll around that much in his sleep. It was about a two-and-a-half-foot drop. Luckily, I think he landed face first because he was on his tummy and his forehead was red. But otherwise he was fine. No bumps or bruises. After I held him and nursed him he was back to normal. I, however, was not. I felt like one of those parents you hear about on the news whose child gets injured because of their stupidity. It makes me sick to my stomach every time I think of it. But wait, it gets worse.
When I told Justin, he was furious. He got over it and the rest of the day was fine, until night came. Caden was super clingy, probably because of all the craziness that morning, and would not stay asleep in the crib or in Dad's arms. He only wanted me. I didn't mind, but I wasn't ready for bed. Justin was mad at me again for something else and hanging up laundry, so I took out my contacts and brushed my teeth with a sleeping baby in my arms. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself. However, I couldn't go to the bathroom--problem #1. I lay on the couch with Caden to wait for Justin, who stormed off to the bedroom, where my water and tissues were--problem #2. So we slept on the couch. At 2 a.m. I woke up with a runny nose, a parched mouth, and a full bladder. The immediate issue was my nose, so I left Caden on the couch to go to the bathroom. I ran the risk of waking him up from blowing my nose, but I did it anyway. Whether or not I woke him up I do not know, but you know what happened next. Thunk, "Waaaaaaa!" He rolled off the couch, this time only a foot drop onto padded carpet. But still, not a pleasant surprise when you're asleep. Seriously?, I thought. Twice in one day and both could have been avoided. I obviously hadn't learned my lesson. Man, I felt like scum. My poor baby! Again, I nursed him back to sleep and he was fine. I then put him in his crib, which I should have done in the first place, so I could go to the bathroom and get my stuff out of the bedroom. Justin doesn't know about this one, though. I can only handle so much of him being mad at me.
Then this morning as I was typing the first paragraph, Caden fell again! We are in his room. He was sitting and reaching for something and fell forward on his forehead. He cried pretty hard too and wouldn't nurse. Now he's cranky.
On a side note, he's also fallen off his potty chair a few times. Those falls are harmless and funny. One moment he's sitting there reaching for the wipes, and the next thing you know there's two little butt cheeks in the air.
So, after reading this, I hope you don't think I'm a complete idiot and incompetent mother. I know my parents will probably be upset. I'm embarrassed to admit all this, but I feel it's an appropriate punishment for me. Never again will I be so stupid! What's the worst thing that has happened to your kid while in your care (or lack thereof)? Or do I stand alone here (which could be a good thing)?
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Once, I was with Cate in the living room and Lizzie was in the girls' bedroom. Everything was going pretty smoothly but then Lizzie comes running out of the bedroom with blood dripping down her face! Scariest thing ever! After we rinsed out her mouth, I investigated her room but could not figure out what she hit her mouth against! Crazy!!
Liz has had her share of falling off the bed times, and Cate fell off two weeks ago. Thankfully kids will not remember it, even if we do!!
oooh, what a bad day. You poor thing, of course you're not alone.
I don't even have my own kids, but I trip over both my cats and my kiddos at work. I normally fall down and the kids do too. Once I closed a door when E.T.'s paw was in the hinges and he LIMPED afterwards!! I cried, I felt so bad. Same thing happened with one of my little girls and her finger, but she was ok afterwards.
I've stepped on Tipsy's tail so hard that he was scared of me for days and Oscar once hit him lightly with a kettlebell. (normally we keep them out of the room when working out - but things happen). Once one of my kids was tantrumming on the couch and I was trying to figure out where to stand to keep him there and he flipped over the couch and landed on his head on the wood floor (3 foot fall, 2 years old).
Also, I work with a lot of kids who will bang their heads on the ground very hard and you can't always get your hand or a pillow down before they do it. Sometimes they will cry because it hurts.
Oscar always throws his little nieces and nephews into the air, once he threw one too high and he banged his head on the ceiling. He cried and didn't want to hang out with Oscar for hours. It wasn't a big bang, just a little one, but traumatic all the same.
Saying all this, part of me feels like anyone would be crazy to let me near their kids. Another tells me that no individual is perfect and all of these were accidents that we both will learn from. The fact that Caden's incidents happened so close to each other is probably good in that you will be much more vigilant from now on.
And I have even more stories from my own childhood. Kids get hurt, mommies are not perfect. He will get older and more durable and you will get wiser.
Don't feel too bad! Little kids are more durable than they look. It's when people get older that they have to be more careful. I think Heavenly Father knew there was a learning curve there and designed our bodies to bounce back better when we are young. We got a crib tent for Lily when she started being able to pull herself up to protect her from falling out - we planned to leave her in there as long as possible. I felt SO bad the time she fell out and thudded to the floor with a thundering crash when Mike and I were trying to get a few extra winks early one morning. We hadn't been zipping it up because we didn't think she could get the leverage to get out through the opening. I guess her head was just heavy enough to pull her over. She was fine, but I felt awful! You can bet we never left it unzipped after that!
I hope you aren't mad at your self anymore. When Levi was younger he fell off the bed and the couch. I felt terrible but it was an accident and he was just fine. Babies are very durable. And I'm not sure if there isn't a baby out there that hasn't accidentely fallen. I hope your husband isn't mad at you anymore, it really isn't your fault.
First of all, your husband should have been caring, understanding, and comforting, NOT mad about the fall. Everyone makes mistakes. Every mother has had some sort of fall or other fiasco that has made them feel like scum.
I remember Frank burning his little hands on the threshhold of the front door when he was trying to crawl out to me while I was getting groceries out of the car. It was so hot he got second degree burns! Was it my fault? Not really. Did I feel horrible, yes! Ollie fell numerous times and still does. He has gotten staples and stitches in his head more than I would like to admit. Why? Because some kids just have that perfect timing. You think they are safe, you turn around and boom! True story: Ollie had a cut on his forehead today and when I asked him where he got it he couldn't tell me. Your Caden might be one of those perfect timing kiddos. Don't beat yourself up just do your best to be careful and help them learn to brush it off quickly.
Anyone that has kids has done this or something like it I don't care who they are. We live and learn. And you feel bad about it which is a good sign you love your kid :D <3 you mama!
Don't feel bad! It happens to everyone! My girlfriend was putting her 2 week old into the car and hadn't fully strapped her into her carseat before doing so. She fell out and landed on her head in the parking lot. She had to be taken to Children's Hospital and had bleeding on the brain. Thank goodness she was ok, but every baby falls and gets hurt! You're a good Mama :)
I know you wrote this a while ago, but I just wanted to stop and tell you that I did the exact same thing when Gabby was younger. I knew she could move around, but I left her on my bed when she fell asleep once only to find her crying on the floor when I came back. At the time, I felt like I was such a horrible mother! And for some strange reason, I let it happen again like a day after. I learned my lesson, but I felt so terrible and I actually am SOOOOO relieved to read this post from you that I feel like crying. You're an amazing mother and everyone has these moments. Like everyone has said, babies are durable...I think there's a reason they're made that way :)
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