More than 48 hours ago (as I write this), on Friday at around 8:20am, I was catching up on sleep from nursing throughout the night. In the kitchen area — at our dining table, our babysitter was with our 2.5 year old and our 4.5 month old.
Our 4.5 month old daughter was on a play mat that was on our dining table (we had been keeping her off the floor since we have two 55 lb dogs), as our babysitter and 2.5 year old read / ate breakfast right next to her. Suddenly, my 4.5 month old rolled off the dining table, dropping approximately 3 feet and hitting the hard wooden floor.
Like most mornings, I woke up as soon as I heard my daughter’s cry. This morning, like every other morning, my immediate response was to grab my daughter from the sitter to nurse her. This morning, however, was different.
It took me a few minutes to realize that my daughter did not want to nurse because she had hurt her head. As soon as I realized that she had fallen off the table, I took her to the pediatrician and we ended up in the pediatric emergency room. My daughter was soon admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit, where we stayed for the next 36 hours.
My baby girl had an “impressive” dent in her skull, the pediatrician said. As it turned out, she fractured her skull and had a small amount of internal bleeding.
Needless to say, my husband and I have been emotionally traumatized by the experience. I continue to be humbled by it. I’m so deeply grateful that it wasn’t worse and that she is expected to be just fine.
As a friend said to me, this is a wake up call because we naturally become increasingly more bold with our babies. But, we shouldn’t. They suddenly reach new milestones at very unpredictable moments.
What I wish I knew sooner is something that I indeed did hear before: never take your eyes off your young children. It takes just one second for something life-altering to happen. At her current age and stage of development, I now know that no one should ever take a hand off of her unless she’s on the floor (and safe from our dogs).
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I have 6 children and I will never forget when I had my 1st son, my pediatrician said to me “don’t walk away from him for a second unattended”…I was 23 then. I am 39 and still remember those words. I am so happy that your baby is safe and healthy. Things always happen for a reason. Maybe your baby needs you now more than ever! Xoxo