Oh my gosh, feel like an awful mum!

[susiesuelou]

I'm quite possibly the most anxious mother in the world, so please don't judge me.

My 20 month old is obsessed with climbing up onto the dining chairs and wanting to sit "at the big table". I try to monitor this very closely every time she does it as I'm scared of her falling or trying to climb on the table etc. Anyway I was literally sitting at the chair beside her putting some colouring things out for her, I turned for 5 seconds to put something in the bin and when I turned back she was falling backwards. I didn't manage to grab her before I heard her head hit the wooden floor 😭 She SCREAMED. I'm cuddling her now and she's stopped crying but j feel absolutely dreadful and I'm scared she's badly injured. Do I need her to be checked over? Or am I overreacting? as I know toddlers do have bumps etc. it was just the sound her head made on the floor, I felt sick and still do 😓

Thanks for any advice. Please don't judge me I'm so annoyed at myself as it is.

Most of us have a similar tale of a baby rolling off a bed or something. No judgement from me. My son fell forwards out of his high chair on his 1st birthday because I hadn’t strapped him in properly.
Monitor your baby and call 111 if you’re worried. Xx

Again, as the poster above said most parents have a story of a child falling. Mine fell off the bed onto an open bedside drawer. I felt so guilty but it was just an accident. Please be kind to yourself. Its done now and if they have calmed down they are hopefully OK. Keep an eye on them and see if they are eating/drinking ok and not sick.

Thank you for your reply. The noise of it honestly made me feel sick. It wouldn't be so bad if we had carpets but it's a wooden floor and she went backwards so couldn't put her hands out to break her fall 😭

Just do a basic concussion check on the eyes, and watch for dizziness, it'll show up fairly quickly. Ice a bump. Lots of hugs and quiet time. You're a good parent because you're actually worried about it x

It's fine! Babies are hardy - it wasn't concrete. As long as you are keeping an eye out for signs.for concussion, you are good.

You’ll know if you need to take her anywhere it will be obvious!

It will happen again, if you’re a shit Mum so are we all!

Giver her a cuddle, keep an eye on her and stop being so unnecessarily hard on yourself x

No one should judge you, it happens to the best of us. Concussion becomes clear fairly rapidly at least within a few hours, just keep an eye on her and take her to A&E if you are worried. My daughter was bouncing on the bed as a toddler and landed teeth first on the wooden bed frame, horrible.

She'll more than likely be absolutely fine, evolution gave them big heads and thick skulls for good reason.

Watch out for things like her being unusually sleepy, sickness, personality changes, balance issues, and absolutely seek medical advice if you become concerned about any changes.

It's a bit of a parenting rite of passage. If it's any consolation I literally dropped my baby on their face once (by accident).

Thanks everyone. She's fairly happy and chilled at the moment, just cuddling into me in front of the tv. I'll keep a close eye for any of those signs, fingers crossed she will be fine. Thanks again (also thank you for not judging me!)

I’m sorry but I disagree with the above. Mine did this - rolled off caravan sofa and hit back of his head on the play mat on a hard floor. We went to French A&E - Dr made it clear we did the right thing. They can check her properly. Get her there now. It will probably be fine but there is no way I would risk it.

Bump to the front of the head is less bad - skull is much thicker there. It’s the fact that it’s the back of the head that is making me say to take her to emergency. Our older son ran into an iron gate at 3 and the Dr said that bumps to the back of the head are more of a worry and should always be looked at. That’s why we took DS 2 to A&E in France. And the the Dr there said the same thing.

PS - not judging at all. I also had one roll off the bed at 6 months but fortunately on to a pile of woollies I was sorting out so a very soft landing in that case.

My 23 month old is exactly the same and it's driving me mad, it doesn't help that nobody else stops him doing it.
I'd get them checked over, because we have hard wood floors too

And when they checked your child over what did they find/do? Which part do you disagree with? I’m not suggesting the OP ignore concussion but it will be apparent.

Toddlers bounce rather than break. Keep and eye on her but I'm sure she'll be fine.

You are not a parent to a toddler unless your kid falls off a bed/into a coffee table/off a chair/out of a door/own some steps at least once before it goes to school. Chill out, she will be ok.

Keep an eye out for dizziness, changes in any behaviour, tiredness, sleeping when she wouldn't ussually, any kind of difference in her then take her in.

But a bump doesn't need to go to A&E, they'll check her eyes and ask you about changes in behaviour and tell you to come back if anything changes.

DS thinks he's a stuntman, if I took him to A&E every time he had a bump they'd know us by name!

It's happened to every owner of a toddler and anyone who says not is not telling the truth!

I'd say to call 111 and not let her go to sleep. Along with comforting, of course.

My DS fell down the stairs aged about 3, literally went down a full flight like a ragdoll. I absolutely shit myself and all he had was a small bruise on his toe. You are 100% not a bad mum, accidents happen.

Toddlers are a complete danger to themselves and they all have bad falls, usually with no real injury. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

You poor thing, try not to beat yourself up. I had a similar thing happen when DD was a baby. I had both children on my lap and she arched her back throwing a wobbly and as other DC was on my other arm I couldn't catch her. Fell off a high chair, head first onto a wooden floor.

I panicked, straight round to best mates house who is a paramedic. She said 'don't take her to hosp, they'll just monitor her which you can do yourself and go in if anything comes up (signs of concussion etc)'
I didn't listen, off I went to A&E and just that happened. Except I was told to monitor her, in the kids A&E waiting area, by myself, for 4 hours 🤣 I should have listened.

As PP's say, monitor, act if required.

You're not a bad Mum, at all.

Yes it's horrible

My dd fell off the bed and it was so upsetting

A nurse once told my sister that if a baby hits their head and they pass out instantly (even for a few seconds) or is sick then worry. Otherwise just monitor.

OP does not need to go to A&E, there are NHS oages with advice about bumps/knocks to the head and even they state you only need to go to A&E if there are signs of concussion.

www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/injuries/head-and-neck-injuries/minor-head-injury

A&E will leave OP waiting for several hours because its not an emergency, then they'll say DC needs to be observed for a few hours so she'll be left in the waiting room to do just that before being discharged home with an advice card of concussion warning signs. OP could do the exact same thing at home without the several hours of sitting around and exposure to various germs a few days before Christmas.

Thanks everyone.
So far DD seems ok, nothing out of the ordinary. She seems tired but it's her usual bedtime so I'm not too worried. DP is about to take her to bed now. I'll check on her during the night too.

Ah bless you, scary isn't it

Screaming is a really good sign. Hope she's alright and you're ok. Children are sent to test our nerves, aren't they?!