I use this space of the internet to laugh about all the things I do to screw up my kid or fail at this parenting gig. Like my knack for forgetting to pack bibs and burp cloths, thus prompting me to dig out half used napkins out of the pocket of the front seat, or eating an Oreo when she rolled over for the first time, or turning on cartoons in the morning because the sight of her dancing to the music is what keeps me going throughout the workday.
But sometimes. I really screw up.
It was just about time for dinner Sunday night. Craig was at practice and I headed to the kitchen to make a sandwich so I could eat while I fed the wee one. C was playing at my heels. I could hear the tap tap tap as she crawled along the tile floor. I pulled out a roll and wondered if the tap tap tap sound was moving further away.
Just as I wondered what she was doing, I heard the splat and I knew.
As I heard her cry out, I knew she had found the steps again. And this time, without someone watching her she had fallen.
Down the steps.
Onto the tile.
I dropped the loaf of bread and sprinted the seven steps that separated me from the the foot of the steps.
There was my baby girl, in a heap, face down.
I scooped her up with a prayer that I wouldn’t see blood and that nothing was broken.
It wasn’t.
A few “ssshhh”s and “it’s okay”s and she was fine. No new bumps or bruises. Since the sound was a splat and not the crack of a forehead making contact with the tile, I’m guessing she caught herself on her hands and that she was scared and not hurt.
But here’s the thing. I. DON’T. KNOW.
Because I wasn’t watching. I took my eyes off of her. Only for a few seconds, but still. If I had been watching, I would have kept her from falling. I would have kept her from being hurt.
At some point this may be one of my funny parenting stories, but today this one still hurts.
PS. I haven’t asked (begged) in a while, but…If it’s not too much to ask, would you please take a second and spare two clicks for me on Top Baby Blogs. XOXO!
July 19th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
That’s definitely upsetting, but don’t beat yourself up. If it makes you feel any better, both my sons have fallen down the stairs & the first even chipped his tooth doing it at 16 mos. Every time, I was standing right there when it happened. It’s just part of growing up, I’m afraid. Kids are resilient. And after it happens a few times, you will be too.
[Reply]
July 19th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
I’m sorry mama! I hope as time moves forward the sounds and memories of her fall fade. Hugs!!
[Reply]
July 19th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Girl, that is rough. But I can do you one better! A couple of days ago as I was gliding down the interstate, Ellie was screaming in her carseat because she had droppped her toy. I handed her a variety of things from my purse, including my Rx bottle (which she loves to shake and rattle). A few minutes later I looked back at her and realized that the LID WAS OFF the bottle!!! I had to pull over on the side of the interstate and dig around the carseat until I had counted all 28 pills…
[Reply]
July 19th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
ha ha..it has happened to all of us! i love how everyone is trying to beat your story..
i know it hurts and you feel bad..and believe me..you will laugh later…
a few seconds…a child can do anything in a few seconds…but you can NOT keep your eyes on her every second of the day! Just thank God she wasn’t really hurt!
It was a sunny day…felt amazing outsid..I had my windows open ..the ceiling fans going..lovely! My child was playing in our room..she loves our room..and I ran to grab my camera to catch a picture of her doing something cute…came back…and she was outside my window screaming wanting in..
seriously…thank God our window is only a foot off the ground..
she pushed the screen out ..that i put child safe locks on..and jumped out the window.
She only had a scratch across her chest from the bricks…and it was no where near funny when it happened..but now I laugh so hard about it!
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 5:37 am
I think every mom has a least one, or a dozen of those moments. My son is still fairly immobile, but I’m paralyzed by the thought of what could happen when he starts crawling and walking!!
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 7:56 am
You can’t watch her every second of every day. This is NOT a Mommy Fail. This is just reality. She will wonder away from you and fall down or hurt herself in some other way. And she will be just fine by the end of it. Try not to beat yourself up over it.
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Girl, I know that sick feeling all too well. My DD has fallen down the stairs, off furniture. When she was an infant, she rolled off our bed, hit her head and lost consciousness. She was OK, but it was easily the scariest moment of my life! These things happen to us all. And we can’t stop them from happening, no matter how hard we try. So give yourself a break. You’re a great mom!
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
My mom used to accidentally smack my youngest brother’s head on the car door all the time when he was a baby and needed to be loaded into the car seat. He had a very large head.
Despite the repeated injuries, he’s just fine today.
Bumps, bruises, falls — they’re all part of the package. Of course you feel awful, but don’t let it eat you up. Kids are so resilient, I’m sure she is perfectly fine. And probably has some great survival instincts if she caught herself with her hands!
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I know it’s so hard to hear but….kids fall down! You’re just going through a growing pain that everyone goes through. You’re doing great and right on track.
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
we had an incident at my parents house a couple of weekends ago where something very similar happened. their stairs are split in the middle, with one leading to the front door, the other leading to the kitchen. so, it was only 7 or so stairs for us too. took my eye off cayden for a split second, turned, and saw him take a “step” off the first step & continue to tumble down the rest. i screamed (and can still hear exactly what i said in my head – which i don’t like to think about) and rushed after him. & of course, i couldn’t grab him fast enough. i scooped him up as my husband came from one direction and my mom came from the other. cayden was definitely scared and thankfully not hurt. i cried longer than him. & as many things as my husband and mom could say, nothing could console the idiocy i felt for letting that happen.
so suffice it to say, i feel ya mama. not trying to one-up here. but just letting you know that i know. & outside of the family that was there for the incident, i haven’t told anyone about this. well, except for your entire blog audience now…
[Reply]
July 20th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
My heart skipped a beat when I read this! I had a similar experience recently! I had Eddie on my bed while I changed the other day and he is usually pretty good about staying in the middle. Well he stood up and I asked him to “sit please”. He got a little excited and went to sit, but missed the bed!!! Oh my word! I “sat” right off the edge and onto the ground! Everything went slow motion and I lunged across the bed to grab his ankle. I missed (which is probably good because otherwise he would have landed on his head) and he fell right onto his butt. He CRIED!! and I cried and we sat right there and just rocked on the floor. Biggest mom fail ever!
My hugs are with you. No matter how much people tell me it happens to everyone (which it does) it still hurts when it happens to YOU. So hugs to you, GREAT momma!
[Reply]
July 21st, 2010 at 3:41 pm
The same thing happened to me not too long ago. I cried louder and longer than my baby did, because I felt so awful for not being able to prevent it. I have since been assured that it’s completely normal. So you, too, are normal.
[Reply]
July 26th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Thanks for coming by my blog today!
I think most of us have been in one color of these shoes or another. I tripped and fell with my first kid and he got a skull fracture. There will always be places where we can be hard on ourselves, or just realize that it can be a moment for us to have renewed appreciation for the gifts we have in our children. Hang in there (BTW..I have always thought you had the BEST header in mommyblogland!)
[Reply]