DD keeps falling over and hitting her head

[sweetnitanitro]

I know this is probably normal behaviour for a 9 mo and I am being PFB but I just want to check that she's OK. My DD is 9 mo and has just started cruising about on the sofa, coffee table etc. In the last couple of days she has fallen over and smacked her face on the coffee table which left a couple of grazes and then yesterday she slipped while she was crawling and headbutted my mum's brick fireplace which has left a bruise on her forehead.

Now my question is- how far should I go to prevent this happening? I don't want to raise her in a plastic bubble or wrap her up in cotton wool but I don't want her to really injure herself. What would be reasonable steps to take that would still leave her the freedom to learn to walk? She's a very independent baby and would hate being cooped up in a play pen but this is happening a lot. And I don't want people to think I'm a bad mum because she looks like she's done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson

[purpleturtle]

I remember that stage: I wanted a recorded message to save me saying 'Mind your head' a million times a day. Honestly, it's totally normal.

It may be worth moving the coffee table to the side of a room, rather than the middle, for example, but really, kids get bruises.

[sweetnitanitro]

It's already at the side but she always makes a beeline for it. My mum suggested getting those foam things to put on the corners but she'll probably just pull them off and chew them. DD I mean, not my mum.

Glad to hear it's normal though hopefully it won't be too long before she's a bit steadier on her feet.

[fairylights]

much sympathy - my ds was literally covered in bruises, especially on his face, til he really got the hang of walking which was well past 18 months! I always thought that people would think we were beating him or something and ocassionally i got paranoid that others mums were looking at his bruises and then looking at me quizically but think it was probably all my imagination!
And there was one time when he fell over at a surestart group and i had to fill in an "incident" form..!
We did actually end up putting our coffee table in the loft though as it became such a source of accidents..
he did eventually grow out of it but is still an incredibly clumsy 2.9 year old, he falls over his own feet all the time.
Dc2 is due next week and i am sure he will end up injuring it entirely by accident
Anyway, don't despair and yes, i think allowing freedom probably helps them have more sense in the long run

[pofacedandproud]

my dd has just come through this stage, now 14 months and now walking without falling over every two secs. I honestly wanted her to wear a crash helmet for the last few months, we have wooden floors combined with her falling over not a good combination. It will pass, promise! Maybe try the table corners though, i think they are quite hard to pull of aren't they? [though my dd likes to chew everything as well]

[sweetnitanitro]

Thanks everyone. I think I'll give those corner things a go then, I doubt our coffee table would fit through our tiny loft hatch and I can definitely see DD headbutting again in the near future (probably when she wakes from her nap!). If that fails I shall just get her to wear DH's ice hockey helmet