Ok, 2 things today…
Last week I got a total “Mama Fails” award. The event I had been fearing and dreading finally happened. Lana fell off the changing dresser. Ugh!
I knew this was going to happen since she is now so squirmy and rolly when you put her up there, so I can’t believe I actually thought I was going to get away with what I did. I put her on there after she woke up that morning (i think it was tuesday last week. or maybe wednesday) to take her out of her sleep sack and change her diaper. And with “don’t walk away and leave her there alone” ringing in my head, I turned and walked over to the window to open the shades. I slid one side opened, checked to make sure she was still staying put, turned back to open the other side, and that’s when it happened.
Rustle, rustle, THUD!!
Oh my god, I about died. I turned around when I heard the rustling and saw her mid-fall, then landing smack on the hardwood floor. The poor thing sounded like a melon dropping onto the ground, and I almost threw up when it happened. Seeing her little body, still zipped up in her jammie sack heading face-first toward the floor was mortifying. I tried to reach out to stop her, but I was too far away.
I seriously wanted to cry. She rolled off the changing mat from her back, so that’s why she was falling face-first, but she must have been continuing the roll during the fall, because when I got to her she was on her back. But holy shit, that sound when she landed… I think it’s going to haunt me forever. It was this solid thud that reverberated to my core. And hers, obviously.
She started screaming instantly, and unfortunately so did Della, because she was standing right there with us. D said she was so upset because one of her Fruit Loops had gone under the dresser from which Lana had just fallen, which it had, but I know Lana’s fall scared the crap out of her too. These girls love each other to no end, and they get upset when the other does too.
I scooped her right up, not even considering the fact that that may not have been the smartest thing to do, and just held her as close as I could to try and calm her. She bawled for a good 5 minutes, but eventually I got both of them calmed down so we could get on with our morning.
I was terrified that I had given her a concussion or brain damage or something, so of course I looked up signs of a concussion in infants immediately. Thankfully her instant screaming was a good sign – she never lost consciousness, not even for a split second. Also, she had no bleeding out of any orifice, and she had only the tiniest bump on one side of her head that disappeared within the hour. I did speak with a nurse at her pediatrician’s office, and she confirmed that the fact that she cried immediately, had no bleeding or vomiting, had eaten fine since the fall, and was up and playing as usual were all great signs that nothing was wrong. She even said Lana was fine to take her morning nap, since she was getting sleepy by that point.
The nurse said the first 2 hours after an accident are the most critical time to watch out for any signs of trauma, and fortunately Lana exhibited none. I cannot even express how relieved I was. I still felt like the worst mother on Earth for allowing the fall to happen in the first place, but knowing that I hadn’t permanently and severely damaged my baby did help me breathe a little easier for the rest of that day.
So a word of advice – as soon as your baby starts moving, do NOT leave him/her on top of high places. I know that is the most obvious advice ever, but I just kept pushing and pushing my toe over that line figuring I’d never actually let it go so far that she would fall, but obviously I pushed it too far. If you’re worried that they’re going to fall, they probably will. So just keep them safe. I don’t want anyone else to ever have to hear that noise of their child crashing onto the floor from 3 feet up.
But on a happier note, I’m going out for a girls night tonight! Yippee!! I can’t wait. It’s Downtown Dining Week right now here in Milwaukee, so we’re trying out one of the restaurants on that list. It will be so much fun catching up with my girlfriends and having a few delicious cocktails on a nice spring night.
Have a great weekend, everyone! See you next week.