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Sep
3
I was just walking in from the backyard when I heard JB saying “Oh no, oh god, oh shit” and I saw him running out the open front door and just beyond him I could see the stroller lying on its side and Dylan was screaming, screaming, screaming. I ran and I may have been screaming something myself and Dylan’s legs were kicking from where he was strapped in the stroller’s seat and one wheel was still turning but instead of being on the ground it was turning in the air and JB was pulling the stroller up and getting Dylan out and his little face was bleeding and Riley was still bent over the stroller trying to help and Riley was scared and I was sobbing and I knew for certain our baby had a shattered arm or worse.
I hugged him against my body and I stood inside the house crying all over his soft hair while he buried his face in my chest and I held him out for a second and his eyes were frightened and hurt and his cheek had a bright red droplet of blood and the right side of his face was scraped and turning red and a dark shadow of a bruise was already starting to appear.
We checked him over and he wound down to a sorrowful snuffle and nothing appeared to be broken. JB put some Neosporin on him and we fed him bananas and yogurt with a little blackberry jam and oatmeal and he devoured it all and grinned at us. I put him on the floor to play for a while then I rocked him and gave him a bottle and kissed him a lot and put him to bed as usual and his sleepy little banged-up face tore a hole in my heart.
It was my fault. We were getting ready to go for a walk and I left the stroller on the top step of our front porch, unlocked, while I went back in to feed the dog. Riley walked out the front and went to innocently (and probably clumsily) push the stroller towards the driveway and it toppled off the step and fell over and Dylan’s face connected directly with our exposed aggregate walkway.
I don’t know how he didn’t get hurt more than he did.
There is a word for how I feel about the whole accident, but I’m not sure what it is. Terrible doesn’t quite cover it. Guilty seems too mild. I suppose I learned a valuable lesson — always, always lock the fucking stroller — but oh, god. Who actually fails the “keep baby from falling headfirst onto hard surfaces” parenting directive? It’s right up there in the top no-shitter, easy-do responsibilities: FEED BABY, OCCASIONALLY REMOVE FILTH FROM BABY, DO NOT ALLOW BABY TO SMASH INTO CONCRETE.
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160 Responses to “Battered”
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Oh no! I’m glad he’s okay. And whether we want to admit it or not, I think we all probably have a similar story.
Oh honey– it is okay. You do know with 2 active boys they are going to break something one day, right? It doesn’t make you a bad parent. Heavens, my 4 cousins made more trips to the ER than someone with a bad heart by they time each of them was 6 that it was scary. They all lived. (Probably not helping here, am I?)
Awww, poor sweetie. I meant you. My sis had a similar moment when her kids were about the same ages. She left them alone in their bedroom and the older one piled all of their clothes on top of the face of the younger, sleeping child. She had a heart attack when she thought he’s been smothered, but he was fine. I mean what would you tell the older one? You used to have a brother, but you killed him!
Oh, poor Sundry! Poor Dylan.
I saw your twitter and have been anxiously hoping all was well. I can imagine how scary that was, having done some equally stupid things myself which resulted in close calls with my son’s well-being. I’m newer to this motherhood thing than you are, but I guess we all realize at some point that many lessons we learn are hard-learned. I’m glad Dylan is ok, and don’t beat yourself up over not locking the brake. We’ve all been there. At least, if it’s consoling in any way, even as it bothers you to look at Dylan’s scraped up face, you can know that he won’t remember it.
oh man, I can just imagine how you must feel…but please, PLEASE don’t beat yourself up too much – it was an accident, and thank God he’s just fine and dandy. My mom slammed my hand in the kitchen door TWICE (she was mad at my brother and I snuck up behind her and put my hand by the hinges…it bounced the first time, so she tried to slam it again and then saw me standing there whimpering) and had to take me to the ER…she STILL cries about it to this day even though I was totally fine.
Man, the mother’s guilt is something else isn’t it? I’m so sorry that happened to you – I’m sure every mom totally gets how you feel.
Don’t know what to say other than ‘It Happens’.
My mom always said ‘No broken bones? No massive contusion? No problem’.
Then again she also said ‘So go kill yourself, I’ve got six more like you and I know how to make more.’
We were a close family. ;-)
Oh no! Oh no! I know there are no words to make you feel better. Just know that everyone who has a child has done something similar. Everyone who has a kid has gone through the same heart ache at some point. You are not alone. We still love you.
Oh no. Don’t blame yourself too much (although I know it’s hard not to). But of course these things happen… they just HAPPEN. And we learn from them and move on to the next thing.
I feel your horror. I felt like crying reading about what happened. I’m so sorry this happened to all of you but am so glad he’s allright. I don’t have children but remember accidents when I was caring for my younger siblings and those memories still bother me. I hope you give yourself a break and don’t be hard on yourself. Accidents happen to everyone and kids inevitably get bumps and bruises. Give Dylan a hug from me.
Oh, thank you for this! THANK YOU! I felt horrible and guilty because something similar happened to me: My 2-month old was in his stroller. When I went to go lift the car seat out of the stroller, he somehow, flipped out, and landed on the asphalt….It was horrible. I know that feeling. You feel like the worst, most incompetent mother…EVER. And like noone else is as stupid and careless as you. But it’s not true! We all make mistakes. Really. I’ve had so many people tell me there own mistakes and blunders, that now I don’t feel as….guilty (you’re right; that word doesn’t cover it). But, really, it was a MISTAKE. An accident. Really. I promise you.
Poor family!!!!! Sounds like you guys had a hard evening!!! I’m glad everything is okay! I left the side of a crib down one time as I ran to fetch a toy and the baby, who had never even tried to get out before, fell out. I sobbed all night. The baby was totally fine.
You know what I did? I left the unlocked stroller with my weeks-old son in it on the grass while I unlocked the car. I turn around and the stroller is merrily rolling down our slanty driveway and into the street, blissfully unaware baby strapped inside. Fortunately, it was summer and no one drove down our street at that moment. if school had been in session, I’m sure my boy would have been hit. I picked him up and cried and cried and cried, and now I always lock the stroller.
I totally feel you. I’m sorry. It sucked when it happened to me.
I am sitting here crying like it was me…I know it doesn’t help, but I’ve been there. I have two boys, 2 1/2 yrs apart and I’ve had similar situations. The guilt is unbelievable……..but they don’t seem to remember or hold it against you. Just love him and take pictures…it will make a great story when he’s older! Hugs coming your way.
Brings back memories of the time I strapped my 4 week old baby and my 23 month old baby into our shiny new twin jogging stroller right inside my (open, gulp…) front door.
While I was turned around to get something to take with us on our very first walk in the new stroller, it somehow skipped over the threshold, went out onto the front porch and bounced down the three brick steps. To this day I have no idea how it happened. All I know is that I turned around and my babies were gone.
I ran out the front door and there they were on their backs in the tipped-over stroller, legs kicking in the air, just starting that awful silent wind-up before the big cry. The stroller had flipped backward instead of forward and I had no idea if either of their little heads hit the brick walkway through the thin fabric of the jogging stroller.
It was all fixed with much cuddling, and a cookie for the older one, and we actually carried on with our walk, me shaking and teary. They were fine.
It’s been 15 years and it’s like it happened yesterday. Some things you just never forget.
Glad to hear little Dylan is fine and so sorry you had to go through it.
Oh, I’m so sorry. We’ve all done something like that. Please don’t beat yourself up over it.
Kids are tough. And hell – we are not perfect parents – any of us. I know how you feel…I do. I think all of us that are parents do. Stuff like this happens and wow…hindsight is a pure bitch. This stuff – happens to all of us. Every single one of us. Even the people who don’t admit it are victim to this same stuff.
When my daughter was really little (am bad parent – cannot remember how old she was) she was laying all cute on the changing table – so I turned to grab the camera (OK – I went to the other room, right outside her room) and when I turned around (OK – when I came right back in the room) she had fallen off of the changing table…her first time rolling over ever. I could not have felt worse. It was totally my fault and I couldn’t understand how I could have done such an irresponsible thing. But it had not been a risk prior to that moment, and I had not even considered it happening. And…well, I really wanted a way back machine so that I could have a do-over.
Anyway – point is…you are not alone. Don’t be too hard on yourself. We don’t get trained to be parents. We make this shit up as we go.
But, in all he is fine. Don’t beat yourself up over a mistake.
About 2 or 3 years ago in Australia, there is a B-level celebrity – a former model, I forgot what her name is. Anyway she was walking her baby in a pram. Leo was the babies name, and it was in a reserve in Melbourne. Her phone rang, she stopped and answered it. The phone call required her to write down a number, so she pulled a notepad and pen out of her bag, and started scribbling down the number. She finished writing, and looked up and the pram was gone.
She actually thought the baby had been kidnapped. Within minutes, police, news, swarms of people were on the scene. About 200 metres from where she was standing, there was a pond, with a small incline leading to it. The police searched it, and poor dead baby Leo, still strapped in his pram, were pulled out of the pond.
See, when she had her back turned, the pram, which didn’t have the brakes on, had rolled down the incline and into the pond. Soundlessly.
It was a horrible accident, and touched the hearts of many Australians. The news reports shows the mother, devastated, screaming and crying for her baby. Plenty of tabloids picked up her story and she repeats that she can’t believe it happened as she only had her back turned for a second. I believe she has recently had another child.
So Linda, please don’t feel bad. Accidents happen that are far worse than yours, just cherish your family and be glad that was all it was. We’re all human, and accidents do happen.
Can’t tell you guys how much these stories are helping me. Well, maybe not the one about the pond (OHMYGOD), but seriously, it’s good to know I’m not the only one who’s had something crappy happen on my watch.
So glad he’s okay. We all do stupid shit. I certainly have.
Answer to the question in your last paragraph: Pretty much everybody. My moment in the mothering sun came when my son was maybe two months old — certainly not beginning to think about rolling, anyway — and I was walking into my bedroom when the washing machine in the next room started to go all crazylike because there was something off-balance in the spin cycle. So, because this was, you know, a total and absolute disaster, I set the baby down on the bed and dashed into the laundry room. EXcept that I set him on a slight slope because there was laundry on the bed, and he rolled off and hit the hardwood floor with his skull. He cried a lot but he was fine. He just started algebra today and he seems to be getting it OK, so apparently no real lasting damage was done.
Seriously, if stuff like this damaged babies as much as we would think it would none of us would have lived to reproduce. Not that tragic and horrible stuff doesn’t sometimes happen, but that’s the exception. The rule, as I’ve found, is that we look at their just-bruised sleeping little selves and thank — whoever or whatever we thank — that it wasn’t worse.
So glad Dylan seems to have shrugged it off – how’s Riley? Sounds like he got quite a scare too the poor guy.
Oh Linda, we have all had similar moments as parents where we just feel crushed that we caused pain when we spend our every waking moments trying to beat pain back from the door of their lives. You are human. Shit happens. And it will happen again and you’ll feel this way all over again.
Give him lots of love for a couple of days, till you get over it. Part of the amazing wonderfulness of children is their ability to forgive and forget. You are an awesome mom!
Oh, sweetheart, how goddamn awful. Fwiw I’ve been there done that — not that exact injury, but still something that happened when I wasn’t paying QUITE enough attention. And more than once, too.
Completely understand that you’re feeling like crap, but don’t feel *alone*, OK?
The important thing is that he’s going to be OK, is OK, and that you are going to survive, too. How many of our parents went down the stairs in those wheeled bouncy chair things? I don’t comment much because you seem to have enough people doing that, but you needed to hear this: you are a wonderful and awesome Mom. We all fuck up from time to time-these stories prove that. I know the fear and pain and guilt! I wish I could take it all back for you, so that you’d never have to feel like an asshole. But I think underneath it all, that’s what mommies are all about- feeling like assholes and knowing we are not the perfect people we thought our parents were. Your boys will grow up loved and laughed with. They are lucky to have you and JB. It’s OK. And I cried with you, knowing how hard it is to know you could have known better; to have prevented this. We all have those potential do-overs. It’s that “to err” part of being human. And the reason our little ones get those extra treats. Breathe deep; tomorrow you can give extra kisses and realize that all the people who read your blogs daily, we have all done something like this. Your honesty and tears and fear are ours. I hope you guys all feel better as soon as possible!
Okay I know everybody has said it already but maybe one more time will help -these accidents happen to every parent. And the truth is that we tend to judge ourselves harder and be much less forgiving of ourselves than we are of other parents. I berated myself for years over the fact that my own daughter took a header down a flight of basement stairs when she only 13 months old. But then my best friend’s 8 month got her foot caught in a car door; it completely pissed me off that strangers were constantly questioning her about why her “poor baby” had a cast on her foot. Each time somebody asked, my friend would get so choked up with mommy guilt she could barely speak to answer so I started answering for her, and being bit of a wise-ass, I told everybody that the baby had been in a skydiving accident. We got some weird looks but it made my friend laugh and made me realize that we parents need to try to forgive ourselves just as we would our friends. Glad that Dylan is okay and hope that you will feel better in the morning.
I am so sorry. The guilt is horrible and painful. Ugh. So, so sorry. Back in July my son was just turning 13 months old. He was following me while I vacuumed which he loves to do. I stopped, took the attachment off the vacuum so I could suck up the dog hair from the stairs and in a SPLIT SECOND my little guy pushed the vacuum over and grabbed the beater-bar. Needless to say the vacuum had been running for at least ten minutes and was hot. He screamed, I pulled his hand out. Looked okay. Seconds later the skin peeled off of his palm and finger. Called the dr, had me come in asap. Ending up sending us to the ER. I was devasted. It was my fault. I never thought he would tip the vacuum and stick his hand up into it. So my one year old had a bandaged “paw” for several weeks. After many trips to the hand specialist/plastic surgeon (gasp), the hand heeled well and there is no scarring. Everything works the way it should. To this day I tear up when I think about how I let that happen. Stab me right in the heart.
And… of course he still loves the vacuum. GAH.
Hang in there and feel better. Accidents happen and it sucks. You are a great mom and Dylan knows you love him.
[...] Those of us who have been writing about motherhood all know the powerful effect of writing an entry like this one. You vent your most horrible (in your opinion) parental mistakes and then the most amazing thing happens. Other parents speak up in your comments with their most horrible mistakes. And suddenly? Everyone realizes that none of us are perfect, we all screw up, and that makes us feel SO MUCH BETTER. [...]
At least you didn’t bust his lip . . . When I was little I was in the grocery store with my mom and older brother.
Mom told my brother to go get a basket. I ran after him yelling that I wanted to get the basket. Mom stormed over to us and went to do I don’t know what and wound up hitting me in the mouth and busting my lip!
She said she was so embarrased she left the store without buying groceries!!
As for me, in my son’s one year old pictures he has this swollen red nose because he rolled off of my bed the morning we took the pictures!
When my aunt was a teenager, she was babysitting me and my siblings. I tripped and fell, and cracked my face on the brick fireplace. Cut open my gums.
When I was a teenager, my aunt brought her new baby by, and I set her on a car and turned around for two seconds. Just enough time for her to take a header on to the floor.
Babies get hurt, but they survive. And you will too.
I remember Bel’s story about that pond…that was horrible…
Sometimes I feel really freaked out about life, ’cause these things happen to ALL OF US, those moments where you do something…not even stupid, just human, and the results instantaneously make you sick to your stomach or could change the rest of your life. Sorry, I know that’s not very helpful or positive, but I guess I just mean that I understand and I hope you’re all feeling a bit better about it now. I’m glad that nothing really horrible happened, like that story Bel told. I think you’re a great Mum :)
I’m glad all these stories are coming out to help you. I remember when my husband went upstairs before a dinner party and all I had to do was keep our toddler (who was trying to learn to run) from killing himself for TWO MINUTES. Unfortunately, in that time, he tried running and tripped and fell face first into the lovely hardwood stairs. Screams, a huge lump on his forehead within seconds, and that sinking feeling in me of horror/guilt/fear/what if. Luckily, nothing permanently damaged! Although there was a huge black eye to remind me of it for weeks.
Apparently as a 3 or 4-year-old, my mother accidently shut my hand in both a refrigerator door and a car door when I had put them there and she didn’t notice. She still cringes to this day, but I don’t remember it at all. I’m sure it will be the same for Dylan.
Oh, and here’s another lesson I can pass on: do not place a sit and spin near those lovely old fin-radiators. A toddler MIGHT decide it would be fun to walk on, find himself spinning backwards and fall into the radiator. The back of his head MIGHT have a laceration serious enough to require staples. Five minutes before you were supposed to be leaving town for the holidays, you MIGHT find yourself instead turning towards the children’s hospital.
Dylan will be fine and the only reminder will be in your mind.
When my daughter was born we lived in a really old house that had wide doorways. When she was 6 weeks old we moved to another house that had slightly narrower than usual doorways. I kept bashing her head as we went through them. The first time I was devastated, the next few times I was cross. Then I started wearing her in a sling so that I couldn’t bump her. She doesn’t seem to have any ill effects!
As an aside, Bels story isn’t quite right. It was in Adelaide, it was the River Torrens. And then a few months later a similar thing happened to another child.
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/04/kerry_lucas_spe.html
Glad he wasn’t badly hurt. And if your three year old is anything like my three year old, locking the stroller won’t help. Owen almost went trundling down the driveway straight into the street because Mia helpfully unlocked the stroller and started pushing while I ran back into the house for less than a minute.
Don’t feel guilty – it happen to all of us. Jst last week, I let a door go before my daughter was though it and it hit her in the face. And there are many more things like that. And years ago, my SIL had to take her son to the ER 3 times in 2 weeks because of things like that. She was sure they would be calling CYS.
I had to stop reading the comments after the pond story, but it did make me feel slightly better about the time I propped our baby up in the passenger seat of the car at a rest stop, with the door opened. I turn my back, he pitches out head first onto the asphalt. God. I’m sorry about Dylan. Thank God he’s all right.
I think the word you were looking for was “parent.”
When something similar happened in our household, the feeling I had was of queasy relief at having escaped potential natural consequences, as well as the queasy aftereffects of getting such a vivid glimpse of how else things could have gone. I really think tranquilizers should be standard issue for times like this.
Oh, I am sorry that happened to Dylan, poor kid, and I’m also sorry the rest of you were traumatized!
One Christmas we had given our dog a big bone and I was turned around fucking with my camera and my then 1.5 year old toddled over to where the dog was and the dog snapped at him. He was fine but someway or another her tooth got him right by his eye. I almost threw up and I felt so horrible because I know not to leave a toddler alone with a dog who is guarding their bone, but it happened. We are all OK now, but it still happened.
Bel, baby Leonardo drowned in Adelaide in the River Torrens, not Melbourne. His Mum’s name is Kerry Lucas.
I’m so sorry, Linda, I hope you feel better soon.
Mama…please stop with the self-battery. It wasn’t like you had pushed the stroller down the stairs or, I don’t know…let him fall over a toy onto a concrete floor, breaking his leg and then not knowing it was broken for 2 days like this one lady-okay, it was ME-did. It never bruised and he walked on it, just howled like hell when I held him a certain way (he was 7 months old). Children’s Hospital ER said they were amazed he was walking on it and acting like nothing was wrong and felt terrible when they had to hold his leg in position and CAST him from hip to toe. Needless to say, every time I looked at that red cast (and we do still have it), I cried and cried.
He’s almost 4. Has no recollection of said cast and runs just fine. In fact, we’re thinking of signing him up for soccer.
Be gentle with you.
OHmygosh, I was panicked for you. I could feel myself inside of this scenario, because already I have taken shortcuts so similar to this one.
So glad that he’s just fine. Give him extra hugs and be gentle with yourself. These things happen.
Hugs to you all!
I’m so glad Dylan is ok! And don’t beat yourself up over it… no matter how careful you are boys are going to get themselves into scrapes. It’s just the way life is.
My mom once pushed down on the trunk of our car (while it was up in the air) to close it, and it connected solidly with the top of my head. But all I remember from that day was that she felt so guilty she went and bought me McDonalds and Life (the board game? remember that? with the little peg people?). Anyway, long story short, I’m sure in Dylan’s little baby memories, all he still remembers now is the cuddling and the snack after. Hugs!
Don’t worry, that stuff happens to everybody! My son fell down the stairs head over feet, I can still picture it perfectly. His grandma also accidently dislocated his elbow when he was jumping on the bed holding onto her hands. I could name many, many other things too.
Glad Dylan is fine, and don’t beat yourself up. We have all been in that boat.
When my daughter was nine months old, I was packing for a trip and managing some last minute work stuff while she napped on my bed, safely surrounded by pillows. Except that I guess it wasn’t so safe, because from the other room I heard the horrible thud, followed, as I rushed in, knowing exactly what had happened, by a pause and then a heartbreaking cry. She had a egg on her head for the entire trip and I couldn’t believe I had been so irresponsible. Then, to top it off, a few days later, while working on her new-found walking skills, she fell flat on her face and got a bloody nose.
This stuff happens to everyone, Dylan is fine, and we just learn to be more careful the next time. Don’t beat yourself up.
oh, linda, i am sitting here crying reading your story. i understand that the guilt you feel is searing. my baby fell off the bed a few times (even after i said “how can people let babies fall of beds???”) and while he’s fine, it doesn’t stop you from feeling like the worst parent in the entire god damn world.
please try to take it easy on yourself. i know it’s hard.
Oh my heart just stopped for the entire time it took me to read this. The image that you can’t get out of your head is the worst, isn’t it? The stories do help. They help ME get over what I did.
On a walk in our neighborhood, where “uneven” doesn’t even BEGIN to describe the upheavals of pavement, I hit a big bump and the next thing I knew I was lying on top of the stroller, on top of my daughter who was face down on the pavement. (You gotta watch out for those Bugaboos, they are VERY top heavy and prone to this if you are walking/jogging fast and have the handlebar up high). The sight of her blood stained face (SHE WAS FINE, TOTALLY FINE, just a few scrapes), it still haunts me and makes me cry to think of it.
My most “wonderful” parenting moment was when I closed my then two year old’s finger in the door and cut the top off. Following a day in the ER, surgery, and a cast up to his shoulder, I won the “Best Mom EVER” award. He’s seven now and he can’t even tell which finger it was, I can because that moment is burned into my brain, but the point is he’s fine. The parent takes the worst of it, really they do!
Oh, poor baby. And poor mama! These things happen, they really just do, and it was not your fault. We’ve all been there and done that, and it doesn’t make you less of a parent. My son pitched forward off of my lap when he was just shy of a year old, and his face connected with our coffee table. I don’t know who cried more, him or me, but in the end we were both fine.
Glad Dylan is okay, babies are almost always far more resilient than their parents.
God, it’s always so horrible when something like that happens. The guilt is horrendous, and you’re right, that word doesn’t cover it. But it’s true. It happens. And Dylan is fine, no major damage done.
You’re still a great mom!
When Gabe was around 1 1/2 or so, I was gating him in his room and smashed his fingers between the gate and the door frame. It took me a second to realize what had happened, and he started screaming in pain and looking at me like, “What the hell is WRONG with you, woman?” I thought for sure I had broken his hand, it was all swollen and purple. But, he was fine. Pretty miffed with me, be he forgave me pretty quick. Took a while for me to forgive myself, though. God, I felt like such a shit.
You remembered to strap him into the stroller and that, my dear, counts for something!
I have three young boys and two of them have both had broken bones (we’re convinced the third one will be our stich child). Each time a bone was broken we didn’t “diagnose” it right away…I mean it’s not like they fell off the swing set or anything! I was that crying mama in the ER racked with guilt when the Dr. told me that yes, there was a break and a cast would be required. One time, the bone had actually started to already heal (in my defense…if you saw little man using that wrist to do all things little manish, you would have never guessed either!).
I have learned that as a mom to boys, shit happens. And while I still take in one of those deep cringing inhales as I see them trying to swing from tree to tree, I remind myself that such is life. But always know where the closest ER is!
A friend of mine was feeding her 6 month old daughter, who was strapped into her bouncy seat which was sitting on top of the counter. (I’m sure you can see where this is going.) She unstrapped just one leg to get Gracie out of her seat, then turned to put the messy dishes in the sink and when she turned around, she watched her daughter tumble out of the seat and onto the counter, then over the counter edge to the floor. It happened so fast that she only just got her hands out to catch the girl as she was falling and just missed her. The baby broke her leg.
I’ll tell you the same thing I told my friend. It is impossible for us parents to watch our kids every single second of every single day, and that doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent or that you love your children any less. We try to watch them closely, but we are fallible and human, and you wouldn’t have turned your back if you didn’t think Dylan was safe and sound in his stroller. It was an accident. They happen. In fact, I think a childhood without minor accidents is a detriment to the kid. Through accidents that result in bumps and bruises and maybe a little scrape and a little blood, they learn how to handle themselves when bad things happen.
That’s also not to say that I haven’t cried when something bad happens to my kids. My (now 4 year old) son was ten months old when he bit a tiny piece off of a foam football and then promptly sucked it into his throat. I saw him chewing on something but I wasn’t fast enough to get it out before he started to choke. He wasn’t breathing. All I could do was scream his name. My sister in law grabbed him and swiped her finger into his mouth, pulling out the foam with her fingernail. She reacted. I stood there helpless. Thank God she was there. Thank God. I was a total mess for the rest of the day. The worst part is that I saw it all happen. So sometimes even when you’re watching, bad things can happen. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re doing your best and you love them. That’s what matters.
Try not to beat yourself up too much. Though I know how you feel. My husband and I were out to dinner with friends one night with our infant son. The restaurant used one of those standard wooden highchairs turned upside down for us to place the car seat on. The adults had split into husbands at one end of the table and wives at the other end. I was at the opposite end from my baby, but he was right next to my husband and he had his hand on the highchair. As the server started bringing food out, my husband momentarily took his had off to arrange his plates. In that split second the server bumped the upturned and highly unstable highchair sending our tiny sleeping baby face first onto the floor. My husband acted quickly, scooping him up, even pushing the horrified server out of the way, while I stood frozen at the other end of the table with hands clamped over my mouth and eyes wide. Our baby cried and cried, and had a small bump on his noggin. After a few seconds I ran over and cradled him to my chest. Didn’t let go of him the rest of the night. But actually, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened in a better way. It was a graceful fall, and his blanket acted as a cushion, protecting him from the sharp foot of the table. Still. It STILL breaks my heart thinking of his little helpless body face down on the floor. The restaurant at least comped all our meals and drinks and pledged to stop using upturned highchairs in which to place infant car seats.
This is where my parents would’ve deployed the “Silent Cry” scale – the longer the silent cry, the worse the booboo. If we started up with the howling right away, we were mostly scared, not so much with the hurt. If there was a long, terrible, silent cry before any noise came out, we were definitely leaning toward the hurt side.
I think they developed this to sort of mitigate that parental guilt, and gauge the injury without that rush of “ohmygodohmygodhe’sdeadordyingIamtheworstparentever!” I think overall it helped.
I’m so glad he’s OK.
One time I took my 3-month-old daughter to the grocery store. She was in her infant carseat and I put her in the cart, you know, the way you do, but these carts were funky and the latch didn’t lock in to the back of the seat like it was supposed to. No biggie, I thought, I’ll just be extra super careful. She was sleeping peacefully the whole time.
On the way back to the car, I pushed the stroller over one of those drainage gates in the middle of the parking lot, and BAM, the carseat flipped backwards and landed upside down in the back of the cart.
My daughter was fine, and actually barely stirred, but I was shaking so badly I had to sit in the car and collect myself for a bit before I could drive.
So while there was no blood or scrapes, I know that feeling of OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY CHILD and it is pretty much the worst feeling ever.
I’m so sorry! The only thing I can tell you is that every mom I know has at least one story of something like this where a brief lapse in judgement led to a minor injury. It seems like it serves a purpose…to keep us on our toes before something really serious happens. Live and learn, but don’t beat yourself up about it too much. We’ve all been there.
It’s brave of you to share this story and will probably serve as a reminder to all mother’s who might innocently do the same thing. I don’t think you’re a terrible mother, things happen that we regret, however those accidents don’t make us terrible. I’m glad Dylan is ok and perhaps Riley learned a good lesson too, although I’m not trying to place blame on Riley either, certainly not so please don’t take it that way. Brave brave girl to share….and you might save someone else the same accident because of your bravery.
I had a few close calls with my son when he was a toddler, he’s about to turn 16. We live, we learn and life keeps moving on….
Oh no! I hope all scrapes – both physical and existential – mend soon.
Um, I once landed my brother in the emergency room by pushing him into the heater. My punishment was to watch the doctors put stitches in his forehead. There. I said it.
Oh man. I have about nine hundred “I let the baby fall off the bed” stories and then the “I let the baby get stung by a bee and didn’t realize what had happened and told him to STOP WHINING”, all of which about killed me at the time. There is just no feeling worse than the instant you realize that your baby is hurt. Those moments when it happens occur in a freeze frame of horribleness unlike anything else in the world. I am so sorry.
Honestly though what KILLED me was Riley bent over the stroller trying to help. Just…there are no words. He’s a good kid, your son. Hugs to you all.
Oh God, when my son had his first little injury, my fault of course, it was so traumatic; I remember sobbing uncontrolably, probably more tears from me than him, and feeling like the worst mom in the world. What parent hasn’t had a similar experience? It’s a wonder any of us survive childhood.
I just saw your tweet (really, tweet? is that what we’re supposed to call it?) on Regina Spektor’s beautiful, heartbreaking song Us. I put that one on repeat a lot, too. Top 10 desert island songs, for sure.
Lord, this stories are giving me the heaving vapors. I have a baby about Dylan’s age and so far there have been no major accidents. But my husband and I have a bit of gallows humor about it because we know these things happen and no one wants to be the first to break the baby.
I am so sorry you, JB and Riley had a scare. And poor Dylan. But it sounds like everyone is fine.
This summer my one year old daughter was riding in our stroller, with me pushing. I didn’t know she had stood up and I severly swerved the stroller through a crowded building and she FLEW OUT and hit the concrete floor, head first. I can still hear her head hitting the floor, then bouncing. We got ice, tried to calm her down, and decided to take her to the first aid station (we were at the county fair) and they called an ambulance. THIS IS A SMALL TOWN, so the people that didn’t see me launch her out of her stroller DID see us climbing into the back of an ambulance.
I think the word I used was SICKENED. I KNOW accidents happen and that I surely didn’t intent to hurt my child (but I could have buckled her in…). BUT just the thought of even being involved in an accident that involved her getting a serious injury. SICKENED.
At the hospital they did xrays and glued her ear where it ripped, and she was pronounced fine.
I can still hear the sound of her head hitting the concrete.
I am so, so sorry. But I know from experience (stairs, baby, fall, concrete floor) that someday, this will be one of those family jokes that get repeated at every holiday. “Remember that time Mommy dropped you down the steps?”
Just wanted to say what everyone else has said…it was an innocent accident and we all have these things happen. Trust me. My little 6 month old has already fallen off the bed and off a chair…and left me feeling like a goddamn fool and horrible mother. I try to let these accidents jolt me into being a little more careful with her (she’s my second kidlet and I’ve seemed to get a little lax!) You are a wonderful mother. Don’t beat yourself up. Dylan has already forgotten ;-)xoxoxoxox
The mom guilt is the worst feeling in the world. It is part of our nature to protect our children and when they get hurt there is nothing more horrible. My daughter fell off of our bed when she was several months old. When our son came along I swore he would never fall off the bed because I was so upset from the first time. He has now fallen off of beds FOUR times. The last time was the worst. My husband and I were in the middle of moving and putting some last minute boxes in the garage late at night. The kids had fallen asleep in the car so we carried them in and put them on the beds (the crib was not yet put together) and went outside to move after putting up tons of pillows to barricade. Awhile later I thought I heard a cry and went inside and there was my son screaming on the floor by the front door. He had fallen off of our very high bed and then dragged himself (he couldn’t yet crawl) all the way through the dark house for who knows how long. I cried, held him, and felt like the crappiest parent ever. He had ALREADY fallen off the bed and I left him on it again? It seemed like grounds for the government to take him away from me or something.
Man that sucks. Really though, you left your stroller on a level surface like you’ve probably done a thousand times before and nothing happened. I’m glad Dylan was ok, that must have been the scariest few seconds of your life.
If it makes you feel any better, we missed a horrible ear infection last week and were pissed off at my poor toddler for being screamy-tantrum-ahole boy all week when it was all due to the ear infection.
You are an awesome mom period. Shit happens. You have 2 boys, more shit is gonna happen and you will still be an awesome mom.
Now for a bad mom story. I work in a hospital and was on our post-partum floor when a woman and 2 young boys came up to the nurse’s station asking for some ice. It would seem that smallest boy slammed bigger boys hand in the car door down in the parking lot. We looked at the hand and it was already swollen and bruising and told mom that she should go downstairs to the ER and have this checked. She didn’t want to take the time because she was there to visit someone who’d just had a baby and that was more important than this little boy with the smashed hand. She just wanted some ice thanks. What a bitch. 8 nurses were telling her to go to the ER pronto and she had better things to do.
IT’S OKAY! Parents mess up, shit happens, your babies know you love them.
I don’t have any stories to tell to make you feel better (because I don’t have kids), but I’m glad that Dylan is okay and I hope you don’t beat yourself up too badly. Like everyone else said, it was an accident and he’ll never remember it.
This is why babies are still mostly cartilage (thank GOD). It’s actually parents that can be the fragile ones!
Glad everything’s ok.
Don’t beat yourself up – I fell out of the sink during my bath when I was a baby and landed head first on the floor. I’m still alive today. Oh, and if your husband even looks at you or comments to you in any other way but empathetic and supportive, you can slam HIS head into the pavement (LOL!)
I once fell asleep on the couch nursing my 2 month old. She must have also fallen asleep because she rolled off my lap and fell onto the floor. I didn’t wake up until she hit the floor. The only person I ever told was my husband. She was fine, just scared but I still feel like a huge piece of shit whenever I think of it. So glad to hear Dylan’s ok.
There was supposed to be Riley and… in that sentence up there.
Oh sweet heart, we’ve all been there. In one form or another. I’ve done so many stupid things. Acidently locked my first boy in the car outside my parents house on a too warm fall day. I let him crawl off my grandmothers really high bed onto the hard wood floor because I wanted something from the other room and went I left him he was playing with a toy not crawling. When my youngest was about your sons age he was sitting strapped in in a little red wagon with seats with his brother, we were going down a big hill infront of our house and a car was coming so I was trying to get them out of the road, somehow managed to turn the wagon too quickly and it flipped over and drug his face on the black top. Oh yeah, and then there was the time my youngest ran with a glass and fell, breaking it and cutting his hand. I know the guilt, we all make mistakes and they’ll be 1000’s of them before they are grown. Good thing kids are resiliant.
oh sweetie! I am so very sorry this happened, but don’t beat yourself up TOO much. Live and learn. I could tell you a few stories about thoughtless mistakes I have made that resulted in my children getting minor injuries…just like every other mom. Hang in there, and as we say in our house, no permanent damage.
Been there, done that, burned the blood-soaked t-shirt *sigh* Linda, I hear ya, I feel ya, I’m with ya. Good thing kids come pretty well-built :) *HUGS*
Oh my. When my son was 2 weeks old and I was holding him in my arms, he kicked the coffee cup out of my hand. While I did not drop the cup or the baby, some lukewarm coffee spilled on his little chest. Of all the stories I had read, the “never hold a warm beverage over a baby” seemed to escape me. My son was fine, just cried a bit over the incident and of course I felt like the worse mother ever. Also, later that day, I pinched his little skin with those horrible clips when I was strapping him in the Baby Papasan swing. (We have the same swing and my son was addicted to it until he could no longer fit in it).
As you can tell, that was not a good day….the sleep deprivation still is fresh in my memory….even 2 years later :)
Aww, sorry to hear about it. Seriously, though, every parent ever has failed the “keep baby from falling headfirst onto hard surfaces” parenting directive. I distinctly remember one of my sisters getting dropped off the deck steps, and my mom once let one of our friends hold my other sister (probably about a year or so) in the water while we were at the beach. That friend proceeded to drop my sister on her head, in the water, onto the rocks below. My mom still gets panicky when she talks about either of those incidents (and she still talks about them, 20-some years later). And yet, most of us grow up all in one piece and with minimal brain damage nonetheless. :)
I’m so sorry that happened. I’m glad these stories are helping you and I hope you can get over the guilt. So here’s my story.
My now 20 month old son fell down the basement stairs when he was about Dylan’s age. My husband (it was his fault) was carrying bags of salt downstairs to the water softener and left the basement door wide open. The baby scooted over to check it out and rolled right down the stairs. And I watched it happened. If I would have gotten there a second sooner I could have grabbed him. He was fine except for a black eye. Luckily the stairs and basement floor are carpeted or it may have been worse.
I still feel terrible about it. But these stories are also helping me and reminding me that it happens to everyone.
I am so glad he’s ok. That is awfully scary and I am sure even moreso to you. Stuff like that happens to every one of us. Try not to be too hard on yourself.
Heh heh, don’t sweat it Sundry, the baby is all good. That’s why nature designed them squishy, so they would bounce well. Look, when my baby brother was three our family was moving from Philly to North Carolina. We were in the middle of loading all our shit up in this U-Haul to drive it all down here and there were a ton of people milling about, and everyone was very busy. Well Paul ended up falling out of the back of the moving truck, which is like four feet, face first onto asphalt. His forehead was all fucked up and bashed and bloody, and he probably got a little concussed because I remember him passing out for a while, but he was fine after a little attention and some treats.
I mean now he’s a drug dealer and a womanizer but I am pretty sure that’s because weed and pussy are awesome and has nothing to do with that particular head injury. Just wait till those little suckers get skateboards, or even better, motorcycles! Now there’s some dangerous shit! Anyway, long story short just don’t shit a brick over it. If that’s the farthest that kid falls before he can walk you’ll be a lucky ass mom. Kids are fuckin’ invincible man.
I so know how you feel! It’s the WORST feeling in the world, but we’ve all been there.
And, simply by telling this story, you’re helping us all to remember how fast things like that can happen. I know I’ll think about it next time I take my 2 y/o and 4 m/o on a walk since I’ve done exactly what you just described many times!
ps – I’m delurking to say I just love your blog. You are hilarious and keep motherhood light and in perspective for me when it becomes so f’ing overwhelming! :)
I haven’t read all the comments yet, but enough to know that several people have similar stories, as do I. My husband and I were out for a walk with our one week old son in our stroller and we had to lift the stroller up and over a low fence made out of a length of chain between posts. We lifted it over and when I stepped over the fence my foot got caught on the chain and I crashed to the ground, but I was hanging on to the stroller and ended up pulling it over. Our so, our precious little ONE WEEK OLD son, hit the ground and hoo-boy did I feel like the world’s worst parent. I cried for a hour and felt like vomiting. One week old and I had already failed at protecting him from harm! That was 2.5 years ago and it feels like yesterday.
So I feel your pain. But Kieran doesn’t remember it happening and Dylan won’t either. Kids are extremely resilient. All that being said, it doesn’t help with the guilty feelings. But please don’t beat yourself up too much. As you said, lesson learned: you’ll now use the lock on the stroller. And I don’t hang on to the stroller when I leap over fences anymore. :)
oh honey! my heart breaks with you! when my son was only about 4 months old i dropped him on his head because i tripped on the curb and he FLEW out of the backpack type carrier i had him in because he was too small, but i didn’t think it mattered THAT much…and i wasn’t sure if i caught him in time because i had gravel imbedded in my hands and i couldn’t feel if i caught him, and i ran back inside crying and crying, terrified i’d smashed his little head in. his dad washed him up, and there was only 1 little scratch, and the rest of it was just dirt and blood from my cut hands, but good GOD! I DROPPED THE BABY!! what mother DROPS THEIR BABY!! add to that the fact that i was only 18 and terrified of being a mother anyway. i know exactly how you’re feeling. and it’s OKAY. there isn’t a mom out there who hasn’t done something accidentally and then felt horrible about it. you are an EXCELLENT mother. i am jealous of you. you have happy, healthy kids. these things happen.
*many hugs*
Oh, sweetie, poor Dylan! Poor you! I promise, you’re not the only one who fails that particular directive — when my son was about eight months old I managed to drop him from our counter, where he was sitting in his carrier seat while I put away groceries, directly onto our tile floor. Horrible, massive, consuming self-loathing followed that incident (after I took care of him, of course), but… you know, accidents do happen. Nobody’s perfect all the time. Besides, you handled the aftermath perfectly, which I think counts for more than never making a single mistake. Knowing how to take care of an injured, upset kid is more important than keeping him in a bubble.
Okay, she wasn’t a baby anymore, probably three or four … But my niece once hit the cement when my brother was pushing her around the driveway on a ROLLING DESK CHAIR. She was fine, so, HEE, BROTHER. But at the time, he freaked out, of course. I would have lost it, too.
You can add that one to the chorus of “You are far from the first (good) parent to fail the DO NOT ALLOW BABY TO SMASH INTO CONCRETE test.”
We all have similar stories. I won’t share mine as there are plenty here already. Just know that I *knew* better and I was still careless; I cried and cried along with my little guy afterwards. We’re human, we make mistakes. Luckily babies have super-hard heads. :o(
It’s OK!
The first blood is always the hardest, I know! He’ll be OK and you’ll be OK and you’ll remember to lock the stroller and it will be as simple as that. Until the next thing happens, which it ultimately will and that will be OK too! We’re all in the same boat here, rowing our guilt around and hoping to do better next time. :)
Just saw your Twitter about the daycare, and I have to say I’d be shocked if they reacted with anything other than understanding and sympathy. They work with lots of kids and so they know, just like your commenters, that accidents happen and the important thing is that everyone is OK.
I’m so sorry that happened Linda.
I feel relieved reading all these accounts of bloodied tiny bodies, but I am disturbed that it is only a matter of time that it will come to my house. To add to these stories, Pete’s sister dumped an entire container of baby powder on his face when he was a few months old while he slept in his crib, not sure how much he aspirated there but they ended up in the ER. And my grandma slammed the car door on my mom’s 3 year old hand to where the door had to be opened to get it out and subsequently broke 2 of her fingers. I have a few more, I think 2 stories is plenty.
When I was younger than Dylan my mom put me in the middle of her bed and was putting away laundry. She happened to look up into the mirrored closet door in time to see me roll off the bed directly onto my head.
My brother stood up in his high chair and fell on his head.
My dad got in a bike accident and my un-helmeted brother (ah, 1980s), strapped into his seat on the back, fell onto his head in the street.
We’re both fine. Well, relatively speaking, I guess. Every parent I know has some crazy story where they thought they had killed their kid, and I’m sure I’ll have my share as well.
Go hug Dylan for me.
My heart was in my throat the whole time I was reading this. Oh God. So scary. Just one more person saying that we ALL mess up and accidents are going to happen. As my brother in law says, “kids bounce” – but still. I know it’s hard.
I’m sure the daycare folks will be totally understanding and quite sure they’ve seen worse! He will get some extra special lovin’ for sure.
Something like that happens to ALL of us at some point. I’m so glad Dylan is okay!!
When my son was a wobbly 6 or 8 month old, I had him sitting in the front passenger seat of my (parked in the garage, not running) car while I put his car seat in the back. Once I got it secured, I opened the door behind which he was sitting, and he sort of slow-mo, rolled sideways out of door. I reached for him, but he hit the concrete before I could get him. I slowed the fall, but there was a sickening thud as his forehead hit the concrete. UGH!!! I STILL feel horrible for that, and can see it like it was yesterday. He’s almost 8 years old now. He got a gnarly bruise and goose egg, but healed up rather quickly.
When my first born was about 9 months old my husband used to hold her up in the air with one hand under her bottom and balance her that way (much to my dismay). They both thought the game was great fun until one day (in the grocery store) he lost control of her and she plummeted head-first to the floor. I grabbed her and immediately rushed her to the hospital (conveniently located adjacent to the grocery store) for fear that he had busted her scull…thankfully she was just fine.
My second born was 4 years old when I shut (and locked) the car door on her little hand. When I saw what I had done and heard her scream I panicked (and for the life of me) and could not get the door opened fast enough. I felt so, so bad and like an awful mommy afterward. Thankfully little ones bones are not as brittle as ours and her little hand was just fine albeit a bit bruised.
The moral to my story is this: both of my children are teenagers now and have absolutely no recollection of either of these events and laugh when we tell them these stories. So, not to worry, Linda. Someday you will relay this story to Dylan and he and Riley will laugh about it.
My dad actually did something very similar to me. My parents were on a walk and I was in a stroller and my dad did not have me strapped in cause as he said “where is he gonna go?” So he went down over a curb and out of the stroller I feel face first onto the street!
but if it helps at all…..I turned out just fine!! HAHA
Two things–a bad parent is one who quit smoking pot once he crossed the state line on his way to visit his 29 day old son, drops the 29 day old child while handing him to the child’s mama to nurse around midnight thereby banging the child’s head on the crib and the hardwood floors, and then leaves the child’s mother to deal with the child by herself all night. Thankfully, my nephew was not harmed by the skull fracture and brain bleed one bit and we were able to ensure that his visits with his male sperm donor are predicated on clean drug tests and are supervised.
My mom (who is not a bad parent at all) slammed my hand in the car door, ignored my cries all the way to our friends’ house and only discovered the error of her ways when we arrived. I’m fine. She’s still not (30 years later).
Glad everyone at your house is fine!
My dad’s friend fell off a table DIRECTLY ONTO HIS HEAD–and at the doctor’s, no less. (Obviously when he was a baby, otherwise this wouldn’t really be pertinent). Also, I came out of the bathroom a few months ago just in time to see my 5-month old pull the wrought iron fireplaces tools down on top of himself. Another friend bashed his son into the wall while winding up to throw him on the bed. We ALL do it. You’re a great mother, and Dylan is fine.
Falls and spills happen. My nephew spent an entire summer with a HUGE scrape from forehead, down the nose, all the way to the chin from taking a header down the slide. My daughter knocked out a dresser drawer full of clothes last night on the top of her foot and almost broke it. (that was her fault though. she’s 10 years old, 5′2″, and KNOWS not to dance to the Jonas Brothers on top of her bedroom furniture) Anywhoo… I was playing catch up with your entries today and honestly, the Fabulousness of Riley LICKING his cake (and your awesome parenting allowing him to do so) far, far outweigh poor little Dylan’s injury. Trust, Dylan won’t remember that, but Riley will totally brag to friends about that cake photo forevah!
Don’t be so hard on yourself. When my oldest (Ben) was a baby I turned my back for a few seconds while the front door was open. Remember those dangerous walkers? Ben went right out the door, head-over-heels, down the front steps. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that horrible. He was fine. I was not. My neighbors comforted me by assuring me that things like this happen to the best of parents. They were right. Trust me.
SOOOOO sorry that this happened, those moments are the worst. My lil’ guy got a toddler’s fracture on his tibia when he was 10 months old after he tried to bail from his high chair at daycare. I literally lost it when the x-ray tech put the film up and you could obviously see the fracture. I didn’t fully calm down until the next morning. (Not to mention the fact that my husband was out of town and I couldn’t get him on the phone.) There was speculation by my doctor regarding the treatment of my daycare provider, who was also almost out of her mind with worry about the situation. She loves my baby, I knew nothing was wrong. There was a small investigation and a final determination that it was an accident. Three weeks in a cast and he was walking again two days after. But still, that initial fear that your baby can be hurt is just the worst feeling in the world.
Oh, and here’s another one that I almost forgot about. When my youngest was just 2 years old she ran out of the house before me and jumped on her (little tykes) rolling horsey and promptly hit a bump in the sidewalk and went over the handle bars face-first into the concrete. She broke both of her tiny little front teeth almost completely out and there was blood everywhere. Talk about feeling like a rotten mommy…
Interestingly enough the dentist was able to bond both teeth so that you couldn’t tell that anything had happened.
My girls are 19 and 14 now. So, as you can see over time you to will forget about some of the bumps and bruise.
I am a loon but from the first few words of your entry I was crying and crying, I couldn’t read it fast enough. I know it must have been awful but I am so, so glad that it wasn’t anything worse. It is TERRIBLE what can happen in so short a time. My 3 year old is crazy and has a crazy high pain threshold so he is always bashing the hell out of himself. My baby girl has already gone off the couch, BONK went her big head, on and on. I myself fell out of a car that my parents were driving when I was three or four and they didn’t even realize it for a while! Life is crazy, shit happens and I am really hoping that you will be easy on yourself about this. Soon it will be a good story about how tough Dylan is and you may as well get there now.
No worries. In time, Dylan will just use the story to torment you.
As a toddler with very long hair, my mother sucked up my hair with our vacuum as I played on the floor. Mind you, it wasn’t any ordinary vacuum. It was a Kirby- the “Suck The Chrome Off A Trailer Hitch” model. I screamed. She screamed. By the time she got the monster shut off and it powered down, I’d lost a circle of hair about the size of a baseball from the side of my head. Thank jebus Mom had the Kirby carpet shampooer to clean the blood off the rug :) Just kidding. For the next few weeks, she endured the questions about my “scalping” and felt like the world’s worst Mom each time she explained.
Now, some 30+ years later, I enjoy throwing that one back at her occasionally and blame her for my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to vacuuming the house. Just be sure Dylan gets the same joy in teasing you about his ordeal when he’s my age. Granted, he won’t even remember it happened, but I have a feeling he’ll be able to “run with it”.
You’re an awesome Mom, don’t sweat it one bit!
Linda, I hope you don’t mind me recounting some of this stuff as I remember it but here is another one that might help you to realize that as your kids get older they WILL have other accidents as well.
When my older daughter was 10 years old and was at after school care (on school grounds)she decided to walk out on to the monkey bars (to show off) and promptly fell and broke her elbow completely off of her arm. I got the call when I was at work that she might have “sprained” her arm. When I got there and saw how severe it was I rushed her to the ER. After x-rays etc. it was determined that she was going to need surgery (pins etc.) to “maybe” fix it. I nearly fainted wne I heard “maybe”. They said that they had never seen such a break before. Thankfully, they were able to reattach her elbow and her arm is completely fine.
It’s all ggod – no harm no foul.
PS – I LOVE Pete’s comment. Your Mom rocks.
Every parent has had at least one of these moments. If they say that they haven’t, they are LYING. I almost tend to think they’re even somewhat necessary, to keep us from getting complacent.
My most horrifying was when my son was about 4 months, I was unloading him and all the baby paraphernalia from the car, and he managed to flip backwards (I was only holding him with one arm). I managed to grab one of his ankles before he hit the concrete, but not before he smacked his head on the car.
My mother of the year story happened last February with my 16 year old son. On Valentines Day he told us his chest hurt and his arm was numb. I asked him which arm and he said right so I figured he pulled a muscle playing basketball. I poked him in the chest and when that didn’t hurt I told him he was fine, it was probably gas. The next day he was in more pain and having trouble breathing so my husband took him to the doctor. My son went to the hospital in an ambulance and ended up spending 19 days in the hospital with a collapsed lung. So yeah, mother of the year paperwork has been submited…
Oh my, I had forgotten all the terrible things I have accidentally done to my kids until I read these comments: pinched baby flesh in seat belt, check; let baby fall off bed, check; let baby flip over out of crib onto head, check; tripped over low gate and fell, holding baby, check; not caught an ear infection or a broken bone until much later, check. (Before someone calls child protective services, I have three kids so I didn’t do all these things to one poor baby.
I’m so glad people have come out of the woodwork to share their guilty stories – it happens to us all, so no more beating yourself up.
Oh Linda! I am so sorry that Dylan got hurt, but please do not beat yourself up about it! When I was holding my now 17 year old son at a few months old I turned a corner in the hallway and whacked his head directly into the corner of the wall. He had a huge bump that made him look like a unicorn for a week! But, I can assure you that he only knows of the story because I told him about it. He has no memory of it and it has not affected him with his learning or such =) And then there was the time he barrelled down the hill on his scooter at 7 and smashed in to the fence. He complained of his chest hurting for 2 weeks before I took him to the doctor (there was no obvious cut or bruising) to find out he had brusied ribs. You can not visibly see those, but he had been complaining! Anyway, ((Hugs)) and know that we have all been where you are – feeling terrible and guilty. Oh, the joys of parenting!
Oh Linda! I cried through the whole entry! I’m so sorry this happened to you. I know how horrible it feels. I layed my daughter, who was about 4 or 5 months old at the time, down for a nap on one of my mom’s beds, during a visit. I always put pillows all around her “just in case”. She wasn’t even crawling yet, but she must have pulled herself over those pillows, or under them somehow and crept over to the edge of the bed, cause before I knew it, I heard the most blood curdling scream I have ever heard! It hit me instantly what had happened and I ran into the room, screaming under my breathe, OhshitohshitohnonoNO! I grabbed her up off the TILE floor she had just landed face first on as fast as I could and just held her to me so tight. Her poor little face! The right side was so red and her mouth and little lips were swelling fast and bleeding under the skin. Oh my GOD! I must have rocked her for hours, trying to put ice on her mouth to get the swelling down. She didn’t have any major injuries, but I felt SO bad, as if I had punched her in the face, BAD! There’s no words to describe the guilt, but thankfully she was ok. It’s been months now, but I still cry every time I think about it. I’m glad Dylan is ok. ***HUGS***
Glad to hear he’s ok. Don’t be too hard on yourself… he comes from strong stock.
Here’s a story for you: My mom, dad, and I were at the Hoover Dam, way back before they had fancy railings and fences up in the far parking lot. (My mom thinks our little incident is to credit for them being there now, haha.) Anyway… Mom and Dad had a miscommunication about who was going to go have a sip of water, and who was going to the restroom, and before you know it, there I was, in my little baby wheelie thing, tumbling over rocks on my way into the dam. As my mom tells it, she and my dad rounded their respective corners at just about the same time, seeing my head disappear over the horizon… my dad, being closer, lunged himself over the edge and snatched me out of my vessel of doom, just as it went rolling down into rocks and shattered into bits. I was a bit banged up (having gotten a good tumble or two in before my rescue), and my dad had some cuts and bruises too, I’m told. I’m pretty sure my folks never let me out of their sight after that. ;o) But I’m fine, wouldn’t have remembered it, and it made for some fun times in my teenage years when I’d mouth off and my mom would fire back with, “Maybe we should make another trip to the dam soon?” Hahaha… ;o)
Aw, honey– I know I’m one of a chorus of voices, but BEEN THERE. I left my very active one-year-old on the changing table unattended, w/o buckling her on there, and she fell and bashed her face. I heard the thud and the screams from the living room, where I was sifting through the clean laundry pile for something for her to wear.(Another source of guilt– the constant presence of a clean laundry pile on the couch….) She’d dropped her bear, and dove to get it. I beat myself HARD with the guilt bat.
Sundry, don’t be so hard on yourself. Accidents happen. Dylan is fine. Just a tiny boo boo that will heal really soon. Since everyone else told some parental accident stories I feel compelled to share 2.
1) When my cousin Claude was ten, my aunt accidently rolled up the electric car window on cousin’s finger…an his finger broke. They drove at warp speed to the E.R. and my aunt still to this day feels like total crap about it.
2) My cousin Noelani fell off a horse when she was 8. Her 2 parents, who are BOTH DOCTORS, picked her up, brushed her off, and told her to get back on the horse which she did, even though she said her arm hurt. Well, the trio spent the rest of the day horseback riding. They came home, she took a bath and went to school the next day. When she came home from school, her arm was swollen like a giant salami and Noelani said it only didn’t hurt when she kept the arm immoblie. Of course a trip to the E.R. was in order and lo and behold…she had a broken arm. Needless to say, the feelings of crappitude of behalf of her parents were immense. It is a family joke that it is not an advantage to have parents who are doctors.
When I first started reading this post, I was thinking this is going to turn out to be a joke, it was some dream you had or something. But then when I realized it really happened I felt my heart break. I’m so sorry Linda.
It’s OK though, it really could have been much worse I’m sure. It’s happened to the best of us.
Give little Dylan a hug from all your bloggy friends. :)
My son fell off the bed head first when he was 10 months old and to this day I can still hear the crack of his little skull on the hardwood floor. It happens. They call it an accident because that’s what it was. An accident.
Linda I’m so sorry. For you and little Dylan. But mostly for you because you’ll remember and he surely won’t :(
I’m not a mother yet but I’m storing away tips from these comments. So far I’ve got “LOCK THE STROLLER” and “Babies are actually quite resilient”
I’ve got one story of someone else’s to add to the list: A childhood friend of mine, Matt, about 2, was up on his dad’s shoulders at Disneyland. We were all in line waiting to buy Mint Juleps when we started hearing this crazy thwacking sound. About 10 thwacks later we realized the sound was Matt’s head . . .being repeatedly hit by an industrial ceiling fan.
Hey there, take a deep breathe. HE’S OKAY. That’s the important thing. We all have our moments of stupidity, some moments more spectacular or embarrassing or forgettable or terrible than others, but we. all. have them. Now you know to lock the stroller, and again, HE’S OKAY. These are the important things in life, not the guilt you’re feeling!
When I was three or four, my mom took me to the playground near our house. I insisted I was big enough to go up on the BIG TALL SLIDE all by myself, thank you very much. So she let me. And I proceeded to get all the way to the top before somehow falling back down the stairs and hitting my head on every single step. Somehow, surprisingly, I was fine.
She was horrified for a while, but now laughs her ass off at the story. So, maybe in time (like say 18th birthday) this will be a funny story.
I was canning when Nathan was three weeks old and had plopped him in an infant seat on the table. I have no idea how it happened, but I heard a crash and he had fallen TO THE FLOOR.
No concrete involved, but just as scary. I’m STILL traumatized by it.
You’re not alone.
Also. They are called “accidents” for a reason. We would never harm our babies on purpose.
I’m glad he’s OK.
When I was a baby, my mother had me in a walker (Remember those? Gasp!). My grandmother was leaving the house and warned my mother to lock the screen door behind her so I wouldn’t roll into it and topple out onto the cement patio. My mom said, “The baby is fine, quit worrying!” Guess what happened less than five minutes later? I was fine, if a little busted-up looking. It happens to everyone. And my mom is a kick ass mom! You are a kick ass mom! Hugs to Dylan and Riley.
Simon was joking with an acquaintance a few weeks ago and he said, “How hard is it REALLY to take care of a kid? I mean, all you have to do is follow the rule Don’t Let Kid Die and you’re fine, right?” And then the worst happened: The woman said, “Actually, my son died when he was three…”
And then Simon died.
Luckily, the woman was as apologetic as he was and said her feelings weren’t hurt and she understood what he was trying to say and that he shouldn’t beat himself up over it, etc. etc., but still…Yeesh.
I don’t know how that’s related to Dylan falling on his face, but the story just came to mind. Glad your little man is okay. Good thing he has cushiony cheeks.
First-time commenter… I had the exact same thing happen when my oldest son was 7 months old. My husband was coming home from the store with the stroller, had it on the top step of the porch, turned to unlock the door and the weight of the groceries pulled it forward and it flipped end-over-end down the five steps. He said he turned around and couldn’t stop it and watched it happen and it was the single worst thing he had ever witnessed.
Jack had a bump on the side of his head and we called the pediatrician, who said if he was acting OK, he was probably OK. But my mommy intuition said to take him to the ER and he ended up having a CT scan that revealed a skull fracture. My husband felt awful and we had to stay overnight with him and it was fine in the end, but very scary at the time.
I can tell you I never, ever leave the stroller unlocked anymore.
Sorry this happened, but it happens to the best of us. Glad everyone seems to be OK.
I say this with all heart felt sincerity and support….
Welcome to parenthood.
I fell out of the running of “Father of the Universe” when my oldest, at the time barely 1 – stuck her hand in a bowl of macaroni noodles fresh out of the microwave. I wasn’t watching, turned my head for a MILLI-SECOND only to turn around and see her falling into the bowl. I’ll never forget – NEVER FORGET – the look of shock on her face, and incomprehension as to what was going on, and what she should be doing instead, or as a result.
Trip to the emergency room as she SCREAMED bloody-murder the entire trip. Long story short – 2nd, possibly 3rd degree burns on her hand, lots of treatment and bandages and physical therapy. I myself contemplated mental therapy as I struggled to deal with it.
Today, totally fine – you would never know it even happened. And I fear and yet know that there are worse episodes and many more trips to the emergency room that lay ahead of us.
Take inventory – all is well, and while you wish to be all seeing and all protecting – you just can’t. The odds are stacked too great against you. I suppose you could run out and purchase little straight-jackets and put them on the boys and hang them from a nail on the wall to keep them from even possibly approaching a situation where something might happen……
Upon returning home from the hospital, with me carrying essentially everything I could possibly purchase for my girl in the gift shop – she sifted through all of it, climbed up on my lap, and put her head on my shoulder like she always did.
And to think I was expecting my 12+ month old to hold a grudge.
Welcome to the “I f’ed up, and my kid got hurt as a result” parent club. There are MILLIONS of us members. We’ve got jackets.
Ok, here’s another one for ya.
First daughter was 3 1/2 and we were at a birthday party in the park. Daughter became excited when she saw a balloon floating out toward the street and started to run after it. I began to chase her but she was a few steps ahead of me and I couldn’t catch her. As she took the next to the last step before hitting the (traffic filled) street I swung my purse at her and knocked her down so I could to scoop her up before she was hit by a car. I felt awful for knocking her off her feet with my purse but DAMN!
I hope you feel better and never, ever have to knock them off their feet to keep them from getting REALLY hurt.
Firstly don’t sweat it, you’re a great mom. All moms are. My mom once left me on the dining table for a sec to reach out for the telephone. Irresistibly drawn to the solid marble floor, I tipped over and landed skull first. I’m doing fine thank you and love my mom more than anyone in this world. My mom still beats herself over the incident though(I wonder why……. kidding!). You should take comfort in the fact that Dylan loves you and will always feel the same.
you just put a little crack in my heart.
you are awesome, and you know that — god, i hope you know that — and you have to know these things happen, that it has nothing to do with you. still, i know how much it hurt, how terrifying it is. so glad everything is ok. DEEP BREATHS, mama. xo
Phew, reading all that it’s a wonder any kid survives to puberty! My older son was just one year old when I left him in his Daddy’s sole care for the day (first time) and he managed to trip over while toddling shakily outside and smack out a front tooth on a flower pot! The emergency doctor pushed it back in, and it survived, albeit discoloured, until his big teeth came in. Same boy also managed to get a black eye when he was about Riley’s age, by falling onto a coffee table. The worst part was the concerned (and, to my ears, slightly accusatory) questions from little old ladies in the supermarket: “oh poor thing, how did he do that?”. After a few of these I was ready to reply “I forgot to take my rings off before I hit him”. Never got to use that though =/
If my younger son hurt himself, he would silently cry until all his breath was gone, then go horribly grey and floppy. Several (endless) seconds later he would take in a huge gasp of air and return to his normal pink. Added that extra layer of panic to every childhood incident!
The only alternative to childhood accidents (both parent-instigated and self-inflicted) is the scenario a Chinese friend of mine described, from a visit she made to relatives ‘back home’ – a small boy, just toddling, was followed around AT ALL TIMES by the nanny, crouched behind him, with her hands out and ready to catch him if he fell. Maybe if we all did that we could keep our children from ever getting the tiniest scratch on them? Personally I find it hard enough to keep myself from bangs, scratches, burns and bruises – so it’s a small miracle that my sons grew up relatively unscathed.
Holy crap…glad Dylan is okay. My daughter fell as we were taking a walk with my son – who was in the stroller and was only about six weeks at the time. My daughter falls and is screaming. My husband and I both dive in to help her and I let go of my newborn’s stroller. Yep – it started rolling onto the street. I realized what I did quickly and luckily it was not a busy street but shit. Too close…anyway, you are not alone as you know but it’s very hard to be a parent. You and JB are doing a great job.
You are so brave and honest! Gosh I’ve done several things like that and never had the cajones to tell another soul for fear they’d turn me in! Though I feel for you and how scary that was, I am glad and relieved to know I’m not the only one out there that has failed a few basic safety rules! Thank you for your honesty.
We ALL do it, one way or another.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. I remember when my son was learning to walk, I asked the pediatrician when I should worry about him banging his head into things and he said, “When he knocks himself out.”
Kids bounce. You’re a good mom. xoxo
One of the best things about having girlfriends, in life or online, who are Moms is that when one of you finally decides to open up and admit something like this happened, you get to find out that this kind of thing happens to EVERY Mom, and is just one of the many terrible heartbreaks we have to endure along with all the pride of parenthood. I’m glad he’s okay now, and hope you’re starting to feel better too!
My three-week-old rolled off my sleeping chest and toppled whatever is the distance between mattress and carpet. Haunts me five years later.
Oh Linda, I am sorry. Take care.
I know it’s already been said by everybody much better than me, but these things just happen sometimes. You are only human. You expect your boys to make mistakes and learn and the same is true for you. I’m glad everybody is healthy and recovering–go be nice to yourself for a while!
I read a book once that made the point that the awfulness that we feel over some things serves the purpose of increasing our capacity for empathy. Maybe an obvious thought, but I find it comforting in moments of true awfulness. Hugs from this corner of the internet.
A few months ago I stood on the deck and reached down to hand my year-old son a blackberry. Of course I was too far away so he leaned forward and promptly fell and whacked his eye on the corner of the deck. There were about 10 people there since it was a garden party and the looks on their faces had me frozen with fear that when I picked up my son he would be missing an eyeball in front of everyone…..but no (although there was a huge rusty nail sticking out about .0001 mm from where he fell) He had a big cut by his eye, a huge shiner and this awesome scratch pattern that looked like a firework exploding (now I am wishing I had taken a picture, at the time I was too filled with shame and guilt.) When I took him to the Ped office to get it all checked out the shiner was HUGE and the doctor and staff started saying “Yo Adrienne!” and their laughter made me feel better…but I fear the next fall and the next and the next….
And, just to continually prove you’re not special :) in the last month I have: caused my daughter to have an egg the size of her nose on her forehead by telling her to bend over in the bath tub so I could wash her and her smacking her face on the protruding tile soap dish and letting my son sit with a wasp in his pants. The wasp stung him on the leg and he ran. And was crying. I said, okay sit down I’ll be right over to help you. I asked, “is there a bee in your pants?” He says, “No I didn’t pee my pants mommy!” and he’s hysterical. I’m sure there’s still a wasp, so I ask again and he replies “NO there’s no PEE in my pants.” I finally reach him and see no signs of a wasp. I also explain I was asking BEE not PEE. We go inside for cream, as we’re pulling off his shorts a wasp stings him again and then goes flying away. Now I’m screaming for my husband to kill the wasp, my son has been stung again and my daughter is wailing for good measure.
Squeeze both those babies. Do plan on Riley asking you for the next few weeks about, “remember when you left the stroller on the porch and Dylan got hurt?” Just today my son asked me if I remembered when I crashed the car. I do. It was Monday when someone gave my rear-bumper a love tap. Not a crash and not my fault, but that’s not his story.
Oh god, last week I let my two year old run around my (unoccupied) classroom while I got ready for the beginning of school. Then I let her take off her shoes and play with the big heavy magnets, just because I needed her to not bug me for a few minutes. Then I started yelling at her to clean up, and she dropped the magnet on her tiny little toe. It landed right on the nail and she screamed and blood started to run EVERYWHERE. In that moment I felt the worse emotions I have ever felt in my life. I was so sure her entire toe was going to fall off. I got a bunch of tissue to soak up the blood and we were both sobbing. I was screaming at myself inside “Why didn’t you watch her? Why don’t you protect her liker you’re supposed to?”
After a few minutes the bleeding and crying stopped, and everything was alright. She has a black & blue toe now, but she didn’t even lose the nail. Even so, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way I feel when I saw that blood well up. I understand now how people get to be so overprotective of their kids.
Don’t feel bad. It happens to all of us.
My 5 year old daughter tried to climb her very heavy armoire with a tv and dvd player on top and it FELL ON HER. The tv is so, so heavy and it missed her head by inches. Luckily, the doors flew open and hit the floor first and made a little space so she didn’t get crushed.
The worst part? My mother warned me over and over to secure furniture to the walls so it wouldn’t fall on the kids and I bought the hardware but didn’t put it up. (We secured all our furniture to the walls that very day.)
I get tears in my eyes thinking about it.
I’m so glad Dylan is okay.
Along with everyone else I just have to say you are not the only one! Every parent has those moments. Accidents happen to the best of parents and the rest of us too. I am so glad everything is ok. How is Riley feeling about it? I can’t imagine that was fun for him either. Hugs all round hey? Be gentle with yourself.
I still remember how I let slip a book and it fell on the forehead of my sleeping two-weeks-old- just a little scratch, but I was devastated.
And my mom once tried to catch me to give me a lecture about not to wake my sleeping little brother. I ran away, tripped and fell and broke my left arm. She took me to the ER, where I told the nurse, that mommy had tried to hit me but I escaped and fell. Talk about mother’s guilt.
My arm’s fine, but my mom still cringes, 40 yrs later.
:-) Lily
Ah, your first bad spill, eh?
It’s the worst one. It’s the one before you realize that kids are actually pretty durable.
My wife and I joke that the CSI crew would have a field day in our house with the amount of blood that’s been shed (I have 3 boys and 1 girl, all under 9). Not to mention all the other spills and tumbles.
They do get easier. To a degree. But the ones you feel responsible for are always hard (like the time I hurt my son’s arm playing “airplane” or the time my wife left my daughter alone for 2 seconds and she fell down a flight of stairs).
I’m still waiting for the first trip to the emergency room. I know it’s pretty inevitable, but I’m still not looking forward to it.
I, too, saw your tweet and was worried. Thanks for posting an update. I feel your pain.
When my oldest daughter was almost two months old, I was carrying her down the stairs in her car seat — the only place she would sleep. She was swaddled and not strapped in. My foot slipped on a step in the middle and I fell down the five remaining steps. Somehow I kept the seat upright and she stayed in, but the fear of what COULD have happened was way worse than the pain of my sprained ankle and bruised tailbone. To this day, when walking down stairs (with or without the girls) I’m afraid I’m going to fall.
So glad to hear your little one is ok!
Faithful lurker Mary Helen
Dude–someone’s parents almost let her fall into the HOOVER DAM. You’re totally fine Linda.
(sorry jen–not making fun. Your post just totally made my day!)
Oh gosh! EVERY parent has some sort of experience like this! I was on vacation in Arizona with my 2 yr old. We were coming out of the grocery store and he was standing in the basket of the grocery cart. I hit a bump in the pavement and he tumbled out and BASHED his head on the parking lot. I think I screamed and was sure I was going to have to take him to the ER for stitches.
There was no blood but he had a knot on his forehead easily the size of a large egg and it was dark purple.
I felt like the worst mother in the world.
The only other experience that even comes close to that is when we went to stay at Hood Canal for Labor Day weekend 2003. My then almost 2 yr old daughter was out on the rocky, oyster-shell covered beach looking at things. She tripped and sliced her knee open so bad that it required 9 stitches to repair it and she sports a 6-inch long, 1-inch wide scar to this day. The screaming and having to hold her down so the dr. could sew her up was horrific.
Yes, I definitely have earned my mother of the year badge a couple of time!
Your post— and the comments it encouraged— has been a balm to my guilty soul. Last week I was out shopping (and not the milk and bread kind of shopping) while Daddy and the four-year-old worked on a “construction project.” When Ethan wanted to hold the drill, Hubs put it in the locked position and carefully handed it over. “Do you have it Ethan? It’s heavy. You sure you have it?” He didn’t have it. Drill bit through his shoe, in one side of his big toe and out the other. OHMYGOD doesn’t even cover it. But E was a champ, Daddy kept his head (and pulled out the drill…yikes) and Mommy made the trip to the doctor’s office. It didn’t hit anything important, and he was running around like a banshee hours later. It’s still healing, but the whole situation has worked out to his advantage. He has pre-school street cred, and his Daddy felt so guilty he bought him a clearance fountain from Lowe’s. (Daddy made a hole in my foot, so I got a fountain!) And his one-year-old sister had his back, walloping Dad with a door and giving him a black eye.
Since I never comment, I’m going to throw everything out there. Your kids are flipping cute, cuter than any other kids I’ve seen behind the ones I’m related to. (That’s mom/aunt law.) Your writing is affecting, hilarious and downright exceptional. I’m a writer too (boring business and marketing stuff) and I’m constantly inspired. Yours is the first blog I hit. You seem like a great mother and a cool chick. (We can’t hang out though, as you have lost all your baby weight, you bitch.) Keep it coming.
I did the same thing. Except I was walking with her. I didn’t have my jogger(was visiting home didn’t want to mess with it in the airport) I took my oldest for a walk and the little wheels caught a big crack and my speed crossed with the crack sent her flying heels over head. She got a pretty nasty scrap across her nose. Luckily, there was a five point harness and I think that broke some of the fall.
It must be contagious. My daughter also did a face plant in the concrete yesterday also due to my neglect. I can’t believe how fast she recovered yet how bad she looks now!
My little girl was only about a month old when we had our first trip to the ER. Hubby and I were going for a walk around the neighborhood – going to try out the new stroller. I carried JB out the door cradled in my arms – my eyes on the stroller. Hubby called something out to me and I sort of sidestepped to turn so I could hear him and I tripped over our planter. The planter that has been there for 7 friggin years. Both of my legs went out behind me and I tried so hard to hold onto her. I can still see the slow motion view of her floating up out of my arms, just beyond my fingers – and her little head smashing into the concrete floor of our porch. THUD.
She was fine Thank.God. I will forever be the mom who actually dropped her brand freakin new baby on the concrete.
I’m glad he’s fine. Just think, when he is a dad, and is worried about something small – you can always tell him about the time you left the stroller unlocked.
We were at an amusement park which had an old western theme, log gates, log everything. My brother was at an entryway for a ride with his 3 year old son, lifted him up on his shoulders and, in doing so, smashed his head into a pointy log overhang. Poor kid bled like crazy.
My son was injured in a football game, the trainer said he was OK to return to play and he did for the rest of the season…and the basketball season…and started the track season. He was still limping and complaining and we kept telling him to “play through the pain” because, hey, the trainer said he was fine. Finally, in April, we took him to the doctor and found out he had a badly torn ACL. To this day, he reminds us of the “play through the pain” comments.
I’m so sorry, this must have been terrifying for all of you. Hugs
Oh, Linda. I just got back from vacation and am catching up. I can top all of this: I dropped my son on his head the second day home from the hospital. I was nursing him in bed, fell asleep and dropped him off the bed and he landed on his head. That thwack sound is the worst. He had his first cat scan when he was less than a week old. He was fine, I was devastated. Since he’s the youngest of four, I have to tell you that I’ve also let them fall off beds, couches, into the concrete, and I even shut my younger daughter’s arm in the van door. She’s only four but still sometimes says “Remember when you shut my arm in the car door? Do you pwomise not to huwt me again?” I die every time she says it. Don’t worry, they’re resilient, and he’s fine and cute as ever. And what a superhero big brother, trying to help. That rocks.
When I was a kid, my mom left my 3 year old sister in the car with my infant brother in the car seat. I had to go to the bathroom so she took me back in the house.
My sister climbed into the front seat and put the car into neutral. (Either my mom left it running or the keys were in that “in between” position where you could do something like that.) The car drifted into a neighbor’s yard and came to rest against a picnic table.
I’m sure you can imagine my mom’s reaction when the car (and her kids!!!!) wasn’t where she left it. My sister is the best driver in the family and we joke now that it’s because she started so young.
Oh honey, we’ve all had accidents. When my youngest son was 5 months old he was splashing happily in his baby bath when I stood up to get a towel from underneath the sink. When I stood up I looked in the mirror and noticed something in my teeth. I opened the drawer for the floss and looked over my shoulder to see my baby under the water. It all happened so fast – less than 30 seconds from the time I stood to get the towel. It still shakes me to the core.
Poor Dylan, poor you!
At least he can’t rat you out…Once when my son was about 2, he wanted me to push him on the big kid swing instead of the bucket swing. So I put him up on the swing, pulled the swing back…and dumped him face first into the dirt. His lip was all bloody, etc. Cut to the next time we go to the park. He wants to go on the swing again, so I say “Sure!” thinking how great it is that he wasn’t traumatized by our last attempt. As I’m picking him up to put him on the swing, he says, loudly and quite earnestly, “Only this time, mom, try not to drop me on my face!”
When my son was 2 he decided to step off the back porch and not use the step to help him down. He landed on his face on the concrete sidewalk. I was standing right next to him and could not grab him in time. He still has a scar from his battles. I still feel guilty even though I know falling and cuts and bruises are part of being a little kid.
(oh and uh, hi! I lurk here often.)
You fell? You’d better be careful next time. =) My friend had an injured knee due to a fall while playing baseball. Now we lost a player :(