Urgent advice - Baby fell onto tiled floor

[Temphelp]

I don’t know if I’m supposed to ring 111 or my GP or anyone, I’ve just been calming my child down and I’m so scared she’s hurt herself but trying to think straight and thought maybe someone could just direct me here

My 1.5 year old fell onto a tiled floor from a kitchen countertop (I had my back turned for literally a few seconds in which she managed to climb a sofa and onto the kitchen top and slipped, it wasn’t too high but at least 3 feet I think) it is not our house so it’s not exactly baby safe

She fell on one arm and one side of her face, instantly cried, I picked her up and calmed her down and she’s stopped crying. I checked for bumps, bruises, everything but she looks okay but I don’t know what to do now

Should I go get her checked immediately in case she broke her arm or something (praying this is not the case but I’m just so scared and In shock right now I can’t forget the image of her just lying on the floor in front of me)

I feel like a terrible mother for not catching her in time and my heart is stuck in my throat. Please advise me on my next steps what should I do????

When DS was w.r he had been sat on the counter with me there for twenty minutes. I turned away to cough and he fell off. He was bleeding from his ear so I took him straight to A and E. Head X-ray but thankfully all was fine after a couple of days rest. What wasn't so great was a neighbour telling me we all die when I asked the doctor to tell me he was okay and a sonographer casually telling me ds had fractured his skull. He hadn't.

I would go to hospital. accident & emergency after all.

Her child was conscious so awake, breathing, not bleeding, and appeared shock up- understandably, with no obvious signs of injury. In no way would this warrant a 999 call and an ambulance.

People do things when they are shock up, that they would not normally do when calm. But regardless OP sought advice from the NHS website and then here (which we can see advice differs greatly!),so she wasn’t doing ‘nothing’. Obvious the major concern is a head injury, which is not always apparent, and from my personal experience an arm fracture- Ds used his fine without complaining for 24 hours before we found out he had fractured it.
OP I hope sheen ok. Try not to worry!

OP mines is a little younger than yours and has fallen/rolled off things at knee level or slightly higher. Cried and then been absolutely fine. I think we take more hurt from it than they do.

I didnt take mine to be assessed on any instance as she was well in herself, cried briefly after the accidents, then went back to creeping about the house. Ate and drank well with no signs of concussions or breaks. At if any point I had concerns, I would of taken her to get seen.

So i totally get the need for that extra bit of reassurance. You've done everything the right way by seeking advice and coming on here too just for a head wobble/hand hold/ advice whatever. Usually it's a decent place but not this today 😑

I hope you're ok too! It's really frightening. In one of my instances, it was the bang I wont forget for when they fell off the bed. Fingers crossed it wont be long before paramedics get back to you soon.

I understand (to an extent) what PPs are saying about ringing 111 instead of Mumsnet but look at this:

I rang 111. Took me almost 10 minutes to get onto the phone with someone (lines were apparently busy). I then spent 5 minutes giving and confirming personal details. I then had to answer the lady’s questions before she could tell me what to do. I checked - this took me at least 15 minutes. 80% of the questions weren’t relevant (e.g. I told them there was no injury or bleeding but still had to answer about 5 questions related to bleeding) but of course they have to follow their procedure (I think a PP said this, and she was right!).

I was then on hold for approximately 10 minutes while the lady went to “ask for further advice”. I waited.

She then came back and said a paramedic would ring me. It’s been almost 2 hours since she said that and I have not received a phone call.

In the meantime, I’ve spoken to my relative who is a paediatric doctor (he didn’t pick up the phone until now, I did try ringing him before) who has advised to continue monitoring child (who is still behaving normally) and make sure a follow-up is done especially if I don’t hear from the paramedic. He said bring her straight to a&E if she’s even slightly acting abnormally.

It’s difficult to understand the full story from a Mumsnet post, so I appreciate the concern but honestly, we all know our children. It’s just that sometimes finding help means jumping through hoops and Not everyone is sure where to start.

You don't have to explain yourself OP. You did what you thought was right for your DD at the time, that's all any of us can do. Ignore the nasties.

Hope your lo is okay

My daughter fell off the bed at five months and again at one year old. Inearly died the first time, and checked all over her body, if anything is broken they will cry out. She was fine, observed her all day, she was bright and alert, eating fine. Same the second time, poor mite. They bounce, they really do.

I think some people are being a bit weird about the whole “asking the internet for advice” - in days past you’d probably have had a houseful of older family members or close neighbours who had seen the incident & you would have talked to each other about the best course of action - that was certainly the case for my parents when they had me. Nowadays you are more likely to be on your own with a small child so MN can be a quick way of checking if there is something you have overlooked - easy to forget the right thing to do when you’ve had a bit of a panic.

@ vanillaicedtea

Yup, the OP called 111 and received advice........then instead of following the advice given and what to look out for symptom wise, she asks untrained strangers on the internet ! Makes no sense at all :(

@ InsertFunnyUsername

Actually, my post was a generality directed at no-one specific. More of a rhetorical question. :(

@ PickwickThePlockingDodo

See above..............no high horse, simply asking why people either don't trust or recognise their own parental instincts and seem to need the validation of strangers to feel confident in their parenting, particularly after seeking trained medical advice :(

@ U2HasTheEdge

OP HAD contacted 111, but then had to have the validation of untrained strangers to feel secure in her parenting abilities. It's the need for the validation of strangers on the internet after actually doing the right thing that I'm concerned about. What would the OP have done if the advice she received contradicted the advice given by 111 ? Why does the OP not feel she has done what was required ? Why does the OP not feel secure in her abilities as a parent. Clearly she has done everything she should, and yet there are posters giving advice to do more...............why trust strangers and not yourself ?

It is THAT which concerns me. :(

'Why do people turn to strangers on the internet instead of following their own instincts ? If this is the way parents are going to raise their children, dictated by popular opinion and nothing more, then I'm afraid for the kids of the future. :('

Why do people ask their mums for advice? Their friends, their colleagues? Should we all just shut up forever and never ask for help/advice/other people's experiences?

noway

You're just backtracking because you realise how dramatic you've been. And you hadn't realised OP did seek medical help. Talking nonsense about how your problem is the OP doubting herself after doing the right thing. When your first post clearly says is this what people do, calm their child and ask bloody strangers. Then went on a quite frankly weird rant, about being scared for children because parents like to ask other parents their opinion.

I'm just not in to trying to belittle people when they're clearly in a panic and seeking help. It's not nice.

Christ, what an unpleasant cross-section of humanity on here.

Hope LO is OK, OP. I know how awful it feels - my DD fell off the bed when she was 3mo and hit the floor. I'm not sure who was more upset! (Actually I do - me!). Anyway she was fine in herself after a cry and we just kept an eye on her via the advice on NHS website. If she didn't lose consciousness and is happy in herself now I'd just keep an eye on her and make sure you know what to look for.

@ calling 999. No wonder there are such long wait times for ambulances if people are calling them for stuff like this.

@nowayhose

I'd say it's a childs job to make parents doubt themselves on a regular basis. It means we care. Theres no one set way of doing things. But I'm sure you're aware of this as you know everything and don't need advice ever.

It isn`t stupid advice tbf.
They can tell if it needs urgent treatment they are HIGHLY qualified.
Its better than waiting 6 hours in A n E or waiting for her GP to answer a phone.
They are my first port of call and your never far from one.I burnt my hand and they were really helpful.

@nowayhose

How are you still not getting it? She didn't post looking for validation after calling 111? That didn't happen. She hadn't yet received a medical opinion as she was currently waiting on a paramedic call back after calling 111. How could have went against medical advice if she was waiting on it?

Honestly, if you're that unable to read and understand a basic post, you absolutely had no need in commenting, at all.

Another update!

Paramedic just rang me now. After another 10-15 minutes of answering questions (e.g. was child born by c-section or vaginal delivery) they concluded that there is no urgent need to see anyone, we are monitoring her correctly and should continue to do so, but due to her young age, we should BOOK a GP appointment as soon as we can to give her a once over.

If anything worsens, A&E is our port of call from here on.

So thankfully all seems to be fine and I hope it stays like this

Thanks again for kind comments and support. Every little really REALLY does help

@Temphelp

Glad you've got sorted

Actually I wouldn’t. I would’ve had to call an ambulance to get me to the nearest A&E and even then I’m not that close. Not trying to be rude, just saying to help explain why I couldn’t just ring 999 and ask for a drive
@Temphelp. You never mentioned that.But i still stand by with what i said.

"Seems ok" means nothing with little bones. DD broke her leg aged 2 and it was hours before we knew. A friend's son broke his wrist and it went unnoticed for a week. Greenstick fractures are common in toddlers and aren't always obvious. I'd be getting it checked out just in case.

You’re really not supposed to call an ambulance just because it’s a bit awkward or expensive to get a taxi to A and E though. They are for life threatening emergencies.

nowayhose
You are showing yourself up. Chill on the emojis and admit you got it wrong.

Those being critical should reread the thread and then they will realise that actually the OP got advice from parents who has gone through the same thing and given the correct advice in the most part before the op had a proper response from the 111 operator and the paramedic.

Ime the 111 service isn't well run given the amount of time taken to call back and amount of time someone is unnecessarily sent to hospital.

I was told I would get a call back in six hours and I'm still waiting more than ten years later.

I asked for help on here after a bad asthma attack and if a poster hadn't been able to help I am not sure what would have happened. I didn't attempt to ring anyway as I could barely speak until the wonderful poster realised the seriousness of the situation and told me I must.

It’s often really hard to know when to go in or not because of the messages not to use A&E. I’ve almost found it more stressful on borderline injuries/illness where I’ve had to make the call rather than more clear cut, serious things where you can hand decision-making over to a dr.

I think you have done what was best for your lo and absolutely no harm in asking which point of call would be better. My dd fell off the bed when she was 3 months and landed on her head just as we were due to leave for a wedding in my dh's family. We rang 111 and were made an appointment at a&e, we got seen at the appointment and made the latter part of the wedding and dd was fine. I have never been in such utter shock and sheer panic. My ds falls off various things on a regular basis, if he was inconsolable or unusually subdued I would take him to a and e without question. You know your own child. Unless bleeding or worse unresponsive 999 would not be the first response in your situation.

Hope your lo is feeling ok and that you are not blaming yourself x

I’m sure If baby hadn’t calmed down and was vomiting/inconsolable/bleeding etc OP would have sought medical advice prior to consulting mumsnet. But as her baby was easily consoled and seems happy and pain free I think she did absolutely the correct thing.
Asking if she should call Gp or 111.
I probably wouldn’t have done either with a consoled & contented baby, I’m a nurse so used to dealing with these things, and my boys have had their fair share of bumps etc and usually if there is an element of doubt I’d have them seen, otherwise am happy to monitor at home where they are most comfortable and content.

Oh there is always one poster that comes on with their over dramatic reaction and fears for the future!
Hope your little one is ok OP, accidents happen. Just keep an eye on her, as somebody told me, babies are made to bounce 😬