Q&A: I dropped him

Sarah writes:

"It happened to me today. My 8-month old was on the change table. I was rummaging for a diaper and so I took my eyes off him for a split second. It all happened so fast. He toppled off and his fall was broken by me as I was bending over, trying to wrestle open the %#$?%@ box with one hand. He then landed on the floor and bumped his forehead. Of course I screamed in horror, scooped him up to make sure he was alright. He cried for a little bit but it seems I was the one who was the most shaken.

I hugged him for the longest while, apologizing and asking that he forgive my lack of vigilance. Yes, I know these things happen. I feel like an idiot, an incompetent mother (rationally I know that's far from true). I could just kick myself, that's how angry and stupid I feel. I know how unproductive that is. I sobbed for a little while as I watched him play next to me. He'd sometimes look up, notice the tears and chuckle at the sight. I'm pretty sure he's ok. I just wish I was.

I just keep replaying that horrible scene in my head. His body just bouncing right off the floor like a rag doll. My GOD!!

I did a quick search on "I dropped my baby" and came up with thousands of forums posts from frantic mothers from all over, worried sick about having dropped their baby and feeling sick and like the worst mother ever.  Yet knowing how common it is doesn't make me feel any less guilty and crappy."

Yes. That frantic hauling the baby into the bathroom to turn the lights on and off to see if the pupils are equal and reactive, and then watching for hours to make sure there's no vomiting and not letting him go to sleep. It's horrible. And you feel so uilty, adn truly, like the worst mother.

Two other things made me feel like a horrible mother:

1. Carrying my baby from room to room and banging his head on the doorframe as I walked past.

2. Handing my child a teething biscuit and turning away to pay the cashier and then realizing my son was choking and not being able to unstrap him because my fingers were fumbling too much to get him out to tip him upside down.

Oh, and a bonus, but this is kind of funny: Wondering where on earth my newly-crawling child had gotten a piece of chocolate and then realizing he'd crawled into the bathroom where the catbox was and That Isn't Chocolate.

Everyone?

Comments

[eee888]

Don't have a good story to share- drawing a blank this morning. But Sarah, I am so sorry for your stress- there really is nothing like mothers' guilt. Glad to hear your son is fine; eventually you will be too :)

[Mogget]

Thank goodness, it seems I have selective amnesia because I know there have been things that I have been sure would haunt me *forever* and I can't remember them to save my life today. Maybe that will provide some comfort to Sarah? In time some of these things have a way of becoming less horrible.

[Slim]

Well, when I let MY kid fall out of bed, he scraped his head on something, so it was not just a bump, but some blood, too.
Also, are there parents who have never bumped a kid's head on a doorframe? Really? I've done that AND, in my babysitting days, I swung one of my charges up and into the ceiling.
Can the sitz bath the hospital sends home with new mothers be turned into a helmet? Had Martha Stewart covered that?

PS So, Moxie, have you ever made catbox cookies?

[Missy]

I have four kids so lots of things like this have happened.

Child 1: Took for a long walk with a friend in the spring. It was really cold out. When we got home, I realized she had lost both socks and her bare feet were freezing.

Child 2: Fell out of the baby swing and landed on his head.

Child 3: Smacked his head on a doorframe. More than once.

Child 4: Is very short and started walking early. We have a refridgerator with freezer on the bottom and he always stands there while I am getting things out of the fridge and I could shut the fridge door over his head (for months!). Until one day it seemed he had a growth spurt and SLAM I crashed the fridge door right into his tiny head. Oops.

Babies are resiliant. And there must be a reason we don't remember our babyhood!

[Jan]

My heart aches for Sarah. I think at some point or another, everyone has at least an "almost instance" like yours. And since we've had two, I hope we took one off of someone else's plate. :) Both instances stuck with us for a good week. That thought will eventually leave you (only to be pulled up when you are truly trying to remember it). It does happen, you feel absolutely horrible, and your child WILL be just fine. Babies are so resilient, that's why all of their bones aren't fused together yet. God knew that these things would happen. It's not easy to forgive ourselves for these instances, but as you watch your child laugh and play and go about their day, you'll realize that they've long gotten over it and you will soon too. Hugs!

[Amy]

I went to St. Thomas for my best friend's wedding, and ended up on the plane with one of her new in-laws on the way home. She was sitting across the aisle from my 9 month old daughter and me. As we were getting off of the plane, I was talking to her about how easy, convenient, and SAFE my baby sling was. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying any attention to what I was doing, and I got the front and back of the sling in my hand as I slid my daughter in, and she fell all the way through and landed on my suitcase. The entire plane gasped. I wanted to die. I was sure that someone was going to call CPS. I had a layover and I had to sit in that airport for hours, and I felt like every single person who walked by was looking at me and saying, "Oh there's that horrible mother who dropped her baby..."

Both of my kids have fallen off the bed, too. My oldest hit her forehead so many times that she has a dimple in the skin. But the airplane was the worst - probably because of all the witnesses!

[Jane]

How many of us have clipped a fingernail too short and drawn blood? I remember the first time I did it, my husband came in the room to see both the baby and I sitting on the floor crying. Nothing makes you feel worse because you feel like you actively harmed them. I know a lot of mothers who actually CHEW their baby's fingernails down just to avoid the clippers.

[Heather/Cobblestone]

My husband has had the biggest drop. He was about the same age as the writer's child. Husband made it *worse* by trying to catch him, and sweeping him at the knees so he wasn't just dropping, but spinning AND dropping ... onto our concrete floor.

ShortStack was fine. Husband still gets pale thinking about it. :)

[Therese]

Sarah, I know it sucks, but you are right, it's way more traumatic for you than your baby. Here's my story. From the time my child was born until about 8 weeks of age, he slept swaddled in his little bouncy seat. This was great at night because he was in his seat right by the bed. I could roll over and grab him to nurse.... well, one night I wake up and hear this muffled baby noise. I look down and there is no baby in the bouncy seat. I assume my husband is holding him. I roll over and see that my husband is 100% asleep with no baby. I hop up and then realize, my tiny baby is laying face down on the floor because I didn't strap him in all the way and he slid out of the seat into the floor. To make matters worse, I did not have on my glasses, the room was pitch dark and as I am cuddling my sweet swaddled baby and apologizing for letting him fall into the floor, I realize that I am talking to his butt! So, not only did he fall in the floor, but when I picked him up I could't see and I was holding him upside down...I can laugh 18 months later but at the time, SUPER TRAUMATIC!

[Heather/Cobblestone]

@ Jane. OH! Husband did the nails the first time, and Short Stack bled. TWENTY SEVEN MONTHS LATER - Husband STILL won't do nails.

[eep]

My husband was changing my oldest boy's diaper on a hotel bed and turned away for a second; boy hit the floor immediately. I was in the lobby with friends and so missed the whole thing, but I did wonder why a simple diaper change was taking so long. Husband made sure boy was not crying and was happy before he brought him back to me, so I missed the incident and the aftermath. As a result, I only felt a little terrible when I let my second born roll off the bed myself. I knew there wouldn't be any lasting damage.

[Heather/Cobblestone]

@ Missy (ok, last one of somebody is going to call DCFS on us).

We see grandma about 10 days a year, Short Stack and grandma and singing and playing and making egg salad. Lalalalala into the fridge (freezer on the bottom), grab the mayo lalala, grandma hip-bumps the fridge door - right into Short Stacks eye! All was well.

Short stack saw my flu shot bandaid yesterday and gave me the "yeah, sucks to be you with a boo boo look" and patted my shoulder.

[Amanda]

I have two kids: my son is almost 3 yrs and my daughter is 8 months. Nothing like this has happened with my daughter YET, but with my son we have had several scares/worries. He once ate some Not Chocolate created by our dog and he also ate another kid's vomit. Oh gosh, I'm about to vomit thinking about that one again. He fell off the couch when I didn't realize he could move yet and when he was a little older, he got into some deodorant while I was showering and rubbed in in his eyes (poison control was called that time). My point isn't that my son is crazy (although I wonder at times), but that stuff happens to all of us. This probably won't be the first time that something will happen to Sarah's baby and she'll feel bad every.single.time. It's all part of babyhood, though...it's a learning process for babies and parents!

[fraulicious]

Our worst was probably when our daughter tumbled down an entire flight of stairs with me watching in horror at the top, my husband near the bottom. Neither of us was able to prevent it. She didn't have a scratch on her. I've also banged her head in doorways. And on my first solo trip with her to Europe, she toppled off the seat and got a bloody nose (which is visible in EVERY photo from that trip) even before the first plane even took off. These things happen.

[Clare]

Let's see...I've cut my babies' fingers/toes instead of nails, watched in horror as my toddler tripped and whacked his face against a table (putting a tiny chip in one of his only teeth), sent my 6 yo downstairs to play with his cousins, only to have him run upstairs half an hour later dripping with blood because he tripped over his feet and ran into a wall (that was a fun trip to the Urgent Care place.)

My husband strapped our oldest into the sit-n-stroll, but forgot to put the seat belt across the sit-n-stroll, washed the toddler's hands without checking the water temperature first.

They've fallen, tripped, and bounced more times than I can count. But that first time leaves you shaking for weeks afterward. Your baby is fine, and you will be too, eventually.

[J]

Dropped my 8 month old in the shower (she had the poop blowout of the century and my husband and I couldn't see how to get it off without a shower, and he was there also helping me hold her but then he walked away for a minute and she reached for him as he walked away and slipped out of my grasp). She had a black eye but was TOTALLY FINE. Is now 3 and smart as a whip. Then when my son was a newborn I had him in a sling and was picking up my daughter from daycare and was so utterly a wreck from sleep-deprivation and she started screaming and crying when she saw me... I bent down to hug her and my newborn son almost fell out of the sling. Near miss.

And just this morning I was getting the 3 year old ready for school in her room, and my 18 month old grabbed a poopy diaper out of his trash and flung it around the room.

When you are dealing with illogical beings who are unable to reason or act responsibly for themselves, but are strong enough to try, and are so messed up from lack of sleep, things will happen. That is why said beings are pretty darned resilient. I know how it feels to think your child has been hurt, and I know how it feels to blame yourself... It sucks! We all do our best and learn more about our kids every day!

[Erin]

@ Amy - this is so wrong,but your story about the airplane made me laugh out loud. And also the eating vomit story, Amanda. And the bouncy seat story! I have failed to attached my baby properly to that seat so. many. times. It's really good that we can laugh at these stories now.

Here are my first time baby parenting FAILS:

1) Left 3 month old unattended on the couch when I went to the bathroom. He slid off FACE FIRST onto the floor, and was lying there, upside vertical when I got back. I was hysterical, sobbing when I called the doctor (from whom I learned the bathroom light trick), called my husband & *made him come home from work* because I was so upset. The baby was fine, barely even a mark once he stopped screaming. I mean seriously, what kind of mother leaves her baby unattended on the COUCH? Forgodsake. Every kind, it turns out.

2) 8 month old fell off the inflatable mattress I was letting him play on. Fell on his face, bled from the nose.

3) 10 month old fell off the bed, even though I was standing right next to him, onto the wood floor.

All the same child, and this doesn't even count the time he fell so hard on the wood floor that he got a black eye (didn't happen on my watch, thank God), cutting him with the scissors traumas, his numerous head contusions, and bloody lip, all before 18 months. And he's totally fine. I realized the other day with #2 that he hasn't been hurt once so far. It seemed amazing!

[k]

Just last weekend I propped my 6mo on the couch so I could spread out his play blanket on the floor. I was 2 feet away and he launched forward and dove head first off the couch. I was able to get one arm under him before he hit but it didn't stop his forhead from bonking the floor. I felt AWFUL - still do. Mostly because my inner voice said "this isn't a good idea" when I set him on the couch and I ignored it.

[Meaghan]

I have two stories on this theme. When my son was 16 months old and I was 7 months pregnant with my daughter, exhausted and stressed out at bedtime, I had him on the changing table. I stuck my arm around the corner to throw a particularly nasty diaper in the pail. Before I could register what was happening, he was flipping off the table. He somehow landed on his face and then whacked the back of his head on the floor so hard it whipped forward. He had a bad rugburn on his nose, which is the only way I know he hit his face first. At the time, he was very resistant to hugs or cuddling of any kind, so after I scooped him up, he was screaming his head off AND trying desperately to get out of my arms. I ended up calling my mom in hysterics because I didn't know what to do. He was fine, other than the fact that I wouldn't let go of him and let him have his space.
When my daughter was about 2.5 weeks old, a longtime friend of my mom's was coming over to see the baby. I got her all dressed up in the cutest little pink outfit she had, and was calmly clipping her nails while Mom & I waited for the friend to arrive. And I clipped her finger. Oh my God, the blood. It was everywhere. All over the precious pink outfit, the blanket, my shirt, my bra, my BOOB (since of course I tried to calm her down by nursing), the PNP changing table. The friend arrived in the middle of this frantic bloodbath and there I was with two grandmas, utterly unable to calm my poor bleeding baby. It didn't stop the whole time she was there. Ever try to put a band-aid on a 2.5 week old finger? That was a year ago and I swear it feels like yesterday.

[lisa]

Took tray off unstrapped-done-eating-in-highchair baby, brought it to the sink and she fell head first onto the floor. What a horrible sound. Previous to the fall we were questioning seizures, AND at the time we were fostering her. Ran her out to the car in my socks and bumped her head AGAIN on the car door frame. Rushed her to urgent care up the street (still in socks). When you foster a child and have an after hours emergency, the sheriff has to be called by the doctor. Baby was okay and smiling, but huge goose bump and bruise. Checked her every half hour until midnight by waking her up and looking at her pupils, and the sweet little clown smiled and goo-gooed every time. DSS was very nice, and totally understanding, and now she is ours forever. Oh and I hate to brag, but I snipped a bloody "V" into her eyelid while cutting her hair with sewing scissors. SHe has recovered and once again loves playing barber shop, but it took a while. The drop to the floor was the worst day of my 39 years, but I couldn't help thinking it was her worst since being deprived of oxygen in utero by a crack pipe. For a few days I felt like mommies sucked.

[sheilainatlanta]

I must be a terrible person because these are making me laugh hysterically.

When my son was less than two WEEKS old, I feel asleep while holding him (I was super sleep-deprived, I had twins) and dropped him on to our concrete/tile floor. Luckily I was sitting on a little ottoman, so it wasn't from too great a height. He bawled his head off and we called the ped, who told us to bring him in - not a scratch on him but the doctor told use about the times he had dropped his OWN babies. Once he rolled out of a hammock and dropped the baby who had been sleeping on his chest, then got tangled in the hammock and fell on top of her! No lasting damage, according to him...

A few months later my daughter (the twin sister) rolled off the bed, on to the same tile floor. I knew she could roll over but I thought I had fallen asleep strategically kitty-korner, trapping her in the corner. I guess I moved during my nap, and so did she. She didn't even cry that much but I could have died, since that time I felt it was really my fault and not due to torture-level of sleep deprivation.

[Pam]

well, my comment will be no comfort to the original poster, because the "bad mommy" moments happen when the kids get older too. I have 2 children and our routine for getting in the car is: I open the door for 3 year old, she climbs in, I close door behind her (keeps her out of the way of traffic). I go around to the other side of the car to buckle the baby into his carseat, then, go back around to 3 year old's side and buckle her in. One time, just ONCE, I forgot to buckle her in. Driving down the road, I come to a stop at a stop sign. She falls out of her seat onto the floor! Pull over, buckle her in, wipe her tears, wipe a few of my own, and sit shaking on the side of the road for a few minutes. Worst part? She totally ratted me out to her dad when he got home from work!

[Jan]

My daughter fell down a full flight of stairs at 18 months. It's funny -- I have a horrible mental picture of her tumbling head-over-heels, but I can't for the life of me remember whether I was a the top or the bottom when it happened.

With my son it was more of a could-have-been-scary. He was probably about the same age. I was outside knitting while he played in our (huge, like an acre huge) yard. I was just learning, so I was really concentrating on what I was doing. I realized I didn't really know what he was doing or where he was. I looked up and he was standing in the kiddie pool. I'd had no idea he was getting in there, and he could so easily have not been standing. :( Scary.

[M]

My daughter rolled off her changing table and fell all the way to the floor on Christmas morning, when she was 3 mos old. She had just learned to roll over, and I had not yet learned that I had to pay closer attention while she was on the changing table. She broke her fall on the sharp edge of a plastic toy she'd just received for a gift. I thought for sure her eye would be gone when I picked her up, but it was not. I immediately nursed so she was fine in seconds, but I still have flashbacks.... she's 5 now.

[Sherry]

I cringe while writing this, but the truth is, I hurt my baby girl ACCIDENTALLY quite often. For instance, it's her Daddy's job to snap the bike helmet under her chin, because I am liable to pinch her poor little neck. Shaky fingers, I guess? And I'm the one who clunks her head on the car door frame.

[hush]

We've also done our best to hurt and maim our little ones, but luckily they are resilient. Our first big scary incident with DS happened at 13 months old, and like everyone else has said, it was one of those totally random things. (But we felt like such assholes for ages after.) DS was walking across the kitchen floor when DH tried picking him up, but DS suddenly squirmed out of his grasp and landed nose first on the hard floor. He bled EVERYWHERE and got 2 black eyes, so we were sure his nose was broken. We saw an ENT dr and got his first xray - miracle of miracles, it was not broken, even though he looked like a little Frankenstein. He's now three and has since had only one more x-ray, after a climbing incident... all things considered I feel super lucky.

DD is only 13 months now, but we have already tried to eff her up, too. At 3 weeks old, she fell out of my bed during a long sleepless night - but didn't get a scratch or bump on her. We already have had a few close calls with her. She is a climber too, and was standing on the playroom table the other day until one of us finally noticed her. Oh, and she recently ate some mushrooms that had sprouted up on our lawn, so we were all sure she was going to be seriously ill from that, too - but Poison Control reassured us and she was fine.

I remember after DS's nose incident a few friends of ours told us their "child accident stories they never share with anyone" - I think everyone has them. Glad to know we're not the only ones!

[Elizabeth]

We have a baby gate that's like 3-4" off the floor so the cat can go under, and there was a running debate about whether or not the baby could slide under it. He can.

With me standing not one foot away, he managed to slide under it completely silently, and then fall down a full flight of stairs onto the hardwood floor at the bottom. Classicly, we took him to the ER and he was fine, and we were more upset than he was.

[Melissa]

I was so uber paranoid when my daughter was born that I made ONLY RIGHT TURNS for the first three months of her life. Drove everybody else in the car nuts and took us forever to get anywhere but I was convinced that I was in some kind of frogger video game and everyone was out to get me.

[Olivia]

My worst, guilt inducing moments in motherhood:

1) Cutting her finger with the nailclippers. I thought it would never stop bleeding.

2) Being too slow about baby-proofing our shared bed and she fell out.

3) THE SCARIEST: trying to get out of a car holding her, while holding the dog on a leash. I tripped on the leash and went down on the concrete driveway. OH MY GOD! I twisted my body in ways I didn't think it could go to keep her head from hitting, but it did anyway. She cried, had a small bump, but was her normal self in a short while. I was visibly shaking and sobbing for over an hour. I called my mother and cried. When my husband came home I cried some more. I was so upset that I didn't even notice my knee swelling and bruising for a couple of hours.

[the milliner]

The worst one for us (me?) was a few days after I arrived home from the hospital with DS. Totally exhausted, I fell down the last few stairs with DS in my arms. Reflexes must have been on hyperdrive as I did some weird contortion moves to ensure DS did not fall out of my arms and did not hit the ground (though it came very close). But man it scared the crap out of me (not to mention giving me huge bruises on my legs, knees and elbows).

More recently, I scratched DS' face right by his eye with my thumbnail. A 2" long bloody scratch - looks like he got in a bad cat fight. Of course, everyone is like 'Oooooh! What happened?' Uh, yeah, me. I scratched him. Accidentally of course.

At least 50% of the time I hit DS' leg/ankle on the door frame when I'm carrying him out after his bath. The sound is awful. Though it doesn't seem to bother him.

And I've smacked his head on the car door frame more times than I care to admit. Thankfully he now likes, and is able, to climb into his car seat himself.

[Andrea]

I have 1)banged the baby's head on the door frame 2) dropped the baby 3) watched as baby fell down the carpeted stairs - - knew that if I tried to catch her it would be worse 4) turned my back and did not get to see her fall down the concrete stairs . . . I'm sure there's more. My BIL fell down the stairs in his walker . . . . My SIL put the baby in the carseat on top of the car and it flipped off - car was stationary. It happens.

[Wendy]

Re-swaddling the infant in the middle of the night after a feeding.......Wrapping his whole head up and leaving his feet exposed......

[albe]

I did the same thing to my baby when she was about 6 months old. She was on an examining table in the doctor's office, and it was counter height. Super tall. The floor was a tile floor. The doctor had finished examining her and left the room. I turned around to grab her shirt and turned back just in time to see her fall head first onto that tile floor.

Ugh! The image is still burned into my brain although I try to not let myself think about it. It was so horrible! The only good side was that we were right there at the doctor's and he could check her out and declare her fine. But I felt SO horrible. She's almost 3 now and seems okay, as far as I can tell. :)

[lisa]

The swaddling story is priceless! I forgot to add that while feeling like the worst piece of sh*t ever after my baby hit her head, I had not yet discovered MOxie. Oh, how much comfort I would have had reading these stories!

[Lynnette]

I have an adventurous 15-month-old girl that started walking around 10 months. Most of her injuries... I can't even remember. Around here we call it the daily head injury. Or lip bleeding injury, since she has had so many teeth even before she could crawl.

The worst one was when she climbed up into a club chair, so we took the cushion out. We thought she would be safe from falling forward. She fell over the side, head over heels about two feet and I saw her little neck bend backwards and I think I will never stop seeing that. Most of the time, I'm pretty okay with the constant injuries, as I grew up with baby brothers, but that one had me sobbing for a while. She was fine, a tiny bump.

[Schwa de Vivre]

Here's one for you: I gave my 11-month old an ornament-wreath-thingie made of colorful jingle bells, then turned my head for a moment (aka got on the internet). When I checked back in with him, he was smiling, surrounded by jingle bells, and eating them.

Two days later I changed a very festive diaper.

(FYI, I originally wrote and posted that back here: http://www.askmoxie.org/2008/12/commiserationsupport/comments/page/3/)

Babies are pretty resilient. I like to think when we were still in trees, they fell out ALL THE TIME.

[BiteSizeTherapy]

Ever since I became a parent, I have been in a low-grade panic. Being a parent is scary.

Glad to hear these mishaps have happy endings...whew...

[Cathy]

I do not know if it's that the kids are older (and have had more chances to fall off stuff) or if it's the quality of my parenting, but I have more of these stories than I care to admit. La has rolled off the bed, crawled off the bed, and walked off the bed. Each time they gain a new method of locomotion they need to relearn things from that perspective [I saw this on a documentary, but I can't find a supporting link]. There was also the time that she would not hold my hand on the stairs (and the railing was too high) and she fell down the marble stairs on the cruise ship. We visited the ship's doctor for that one. (She was 3 1/2 then. She's almost 8 now and still independent.)

I am thankful that so much of what happens with kids can be fixed with ice and tylenol.

The other one? She's a climber. And she does not know she is little. Bunk beds. We had to establish the rule that she needed to call for help when she was ready to get down from the top bunk. Also that she needed to have two empty hands to climb up the ladder. She's just now (at almost age 3) big enough and coordinated enough to learn to climb down the ladder. She is also the one more likely to run into traffic. She's also the one with the scary birth story.

[Susan]

Almost every time my son has busted his lip or cut something -- okay, anything where blood has been involved, I have been the on-duty parent.

This is going to sound terrible, but one time, my son fell off the bed on my husband's watch (and wasn't hurt, just scared) I was kind of glad that he "screwed up" for once -- not me.

But, there's no way to predict these things, so, rationally, I know I shouldn't feel at fault. Geez, the mommy guilt. It's something serious.

[Tina]

I thought the cushions around the bed would be sufficient, but one day I got up for a split second and she leaned over and... fell on her nose. She sobbed for about 5 minutes and I walked around in a daze all day. I didn't even cry, I was so stunned--and that made me feel even more guilty.

Her poor carpet burn left a big, red scab for a few days and people would ask what happened and I told hem the truth--I guess as a way to ask for forgiveness. That's when people shared their baby-falling stories. Seems every baby has to fall some time.

[Chris]

Isn't so nice to know we are all in the same boat? We are human and flawed and there is not much we can do about it. My daughter fell down a half flight of stairs (nothing I could've done about it, but it took a year off my life for sure. Her little brother has not been as lucky. I used to fall asleep after nursing him in the middle of the night and more than once woke up to him falling off my shoulder, head hitting the rocking chair arm. :( He also had his head hit a few door frames thanks to me and I hit him with the car door more than once. He would stand too close and it looked like it would clear his head, but um, didn't.

[Niki]

My husband was changing our 10 month old daughter's diaper, and when he was done he playfully lifted her up in the air....directly into the path of the ceiling fan that was on in her room. Small cut and bump on her head....he felt horrible.

I of course am not immune to this...I was doing dishes and DD was crawling beneath my feet on the floor, and we became tangled and I dropped the FOOD PROCESSOR BLADE!!!! I was washing and it knicked her head. By some miracle it was only a small scratch and bled just a little, and she only cried a couple of minutes, but I was a wreck for hours visualizing what could have happened (what if it had hit her eye!). Ugh...still makes me nauseated thinking about it...

Thanks all for sharing your stories!

[Judy B]

Oh yes, after he learned to sit up on his own, he did a somersault off the recliner onto the floor. This was our first big accident and my adrenaline was pumping hard. I almost didn't tell hubby, I was so ashamed and scared.

But I'm getting better, he's fallen off a bed (he was in play-rolling mode and didn't stop), and I still bonk his head when I'm putting him into the carseat.

But at least I wasn't the one watching him when he ran into a glass top table and had to get three stitches in his eyebrow (Thanks Grandpa).

Just one of those gauntlets you have to go through as a mom.

[KateW]

@Wendy, that swaddling mixup is HILARIOUS!

My kids are so battered, you'd think they were in boxing training. Both kids (noww ages 3.5 and 18 mo) have one grey tooth in front due to falls; at least they match! The good thing is that, for me, the mom guilt and anxiety about falls etc totally eased off after the first year or so. I save my fear for the big things like drowning (the knitting/kiddie pool story is scary, totally me) and middle school.

My wonderful mother-in-law and mother of four boys assures me, "Bumps make brains."

[regiemino]

If you do not have one of these stories, you are a liar. (or really good at blocking things out!)
When my son was a few weeks old, he was sitting in his unbuckled infant car seat. I went to lift the seat, but the handle was not locked into position. Handle went up, seat flipped forward, defenseless baby onto wood floor forehead first. It still gives me a ripple of panic to think about it.

[Meaghan]

I just thought of one more, and a question I've wondered about ever since it happened.

When my daughter was about a month old, I was trying to get her and my 18-month-old son out the door to the doctor. I always walked down the stairs in front of my son in case he fell, but I had to turn back to grab the binkie from the kitchen table since she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Anyway, son fell down about 5 stairs and bumped his head several times on the way. I FLEW down those steps, threw the baby in her infant seat & hooked one strap, and gathered him up. He was fine, and I realized, as the adrenaline rush died down, the baby had gone utterly silent.

I still think it was a survival instinct - she sensed my fear and went quiet so the theoretical "predator" wouldn't hear her. I wonder if that's what happened, or if she was just confused about the flying leap.

[andifoo]

When my Foo was a few months old I had been congratulating myself on finally getting into the swing of this whole new baby thing (HA). Enjoying a picture perfect bed time of fresh bathed baby, snuggly pj's, rocking chair, soothing music... And that's when the lid of my travel mug leaked hot tea all over my infant daughter's legs. Thankfully the blanket and pj's got the worst of it, but it still made her scream and turned her tender baby skin bright red. Of course my heart stopped and didn't start again until I determined we wouldn't need a trip to the ER. Oh, the guilt!

[Christine]

How about kneeing your baby in the face because she happened to lurch forward just as you were bringing your leg up. Ouch.

My husband swung our son up hard into the low ceiling, and later accidentally bit his finger.

[Elle]

Our 7 month old scooted off our bed (we were out of the room) and landed on her forehead, on our hardwood floor. Oh the guilt! Especially because her daycare provider had commented about her scooting ability earlier that week, but we were so desperate for any sleep time that we didn't wake her when we got out of bed that morning... At age 3 she was unattended in the baby jogger (I was finding my shoes), stood up in it, tipped it over backwards WITH HER HEAD STUCK under the handlebar, and crashed headfirst onto our concrete floor, pinned under the jogger. That cry of pain is horrible and distressing to hear. We've all been there.

[Jennifer]

Ugh. Moldy sippy cup inducing two days of vomiting and fever before I realized the culprit.

Oh, and turns out that if you bring a 7-mo baby to the beach, and EVEN if she's in the shade the WHOLE TIME, if she doesn't have sunscreen on, and the sun reflects off of the sand into her face? ... Well, she'll get a second-degree burn that requires multiple doctor visits, burn cream and antibiotics. That was a new one on me.

Both are fine, of course. They amaze me, truly.