first neurotic posting about new baby..

[ruty]

Baby 5 days old. My 3 year old ds was lying beside her on the bed and unintentionally gave her a whack on her head with the back of his hand. She didn't cry but looked a bit shocked. Worried it was on her fontanelle. Trying to figure out if a call to the doc is warranted, really don't want to have to take her to out of hours surgery. Am I being totally precious or should I be concerned? Help please!

I am sure I remember reading that the fontanelle is actually quite sturdy - this was in the context of an article about newborns with siblings with whacky hands just like your ds!

Congratulations by the way!

How is the baby now?

Babies are a lot stronger than one thinks but if you are worried phone NHS Direct for advice -

0845 46 47

You aren't being precious but she'll most likely be fine, the fontanelle is very tough, as long as it wasn't a huge proper WHACK I wouldn't worry- if she didn't even cry I doubt it was very very hard. Did you see it happen? how hard was it?

I'm sure she'll be fine. Although babies look quite delicate, they really are pretty tough. It takes a fair force or a sharp object to cause any damage through the fontanelle.

Just keep an eye on her tonight and seek help if there's any odd behaviour.

i saw it happen, it was just his hand thrown back and happened to land on her head. Can't tell how hard it was, but medium strength i'd say. Poor boy is worried he hurt her. i'll probably give it till morning and then ring the midwife. I thought they'd come for a few days but she came to today and said she'd come in a week. She's just so little. I'm hoping the fact that she didn't cry is a good sign.

she's a bit tetchy now though...

Ring NHS Direct for reassurance if you want to ruty, but I would honestly have thought that an accidental (as opposed to deliberate and forceful) and openhanded (as opposed to jabbing with fingers) blow, by a small child, was very unlikely to have hurt your dd.
Either way, you're not being precious

i'm sure she'll be fine! but if you have any concerns at all then phone the out of hours or the midwife in the morning.

remember as well that their heads are designed to be squised out of the birth canal - which was probably more traumatic than than ds's hand

(my dd2 (9mo) is just recovering from a broken arm - her big sister fell on her - and she's only in plaster for 10 days)

thanks Marina. I'm not sure NHS Direct can judge the situation and they'd probable err on the side of caution. Aaargh. first of many accidental whacks I'm sure but she 's just so small!

there you go Weegirls - the fate of being a younger sibling...

it's amazing how resiliant babies are

hope she's ok.

What's your out of hours service like? Ours is so much better than our actual practice people have been known to wait until 6.31pm and then dial...
NHS Direct can sometimes surprise you, I had a fantastic woman last weekend when ringing for a similar "worrywart" reason - but I agree you are much more likely to get a litigation-obsessed Stalinist.

I have known newborns survive:

being allowed to slip out of arms onto a glass lampshade (soft "clunk")

a full bodyslam from an infatuated two year old

being lovingly fed a full box of raisins at 6 weeks old

One of these only in our house...

LOL Marina, especially about the raisins..She's fallen asleep after her bath, actually the out of hours service is varied, can be great, but I am such a worrier [they sent for the paed after i was worried when the midwife's stethoscope fell on her head in hospital shortly after birth]so i thought best to try here first for a bit of perspective. I may call them though.

When my boy was about 3 or 4 days old I was curled up on the sofa breastfeeding him with my laptop balanced on my lap too somehow, and suddenly realised I'd had one "foot" of the laptop resting on his head as I happily blammed forcefully away on my keyboard. He was blissfully unaware so it can't have hurt but he had a HUUUUUGE incredibly deep indented mark on his new squidgy perfect head, and the hv was due in 20 min. I cried lol- almost hyperventilated and was too embarassed to tell my postnatal thread that I'd already broke my baby. lol

The mark faded in about 19 1/2 min, luckily. (phew)

Ruty- it's hard to have perspective when they're so tiny and precious and beautiful! Hell, mine's 9 months now and I still called NHSdirect last week in a flap cos he woke up with a black lip (he'd bit it with a new tooth I didn't realise he had) they must be well used to panicky mothers calling. If it puts your mind at ease, call them.

i'm waiting to hear from out of hours doc now, convinced he's going to think we've hit the baby and are blaming our 3 year old, oh gawd.

They won't think that! Don't worry.

They won't think that ruty. I still remember a genial NHS Direct doctor laughing at me when I rang up wibbling about ds consuming a fistfull of the completely harmless Sudocrem. Why I thought a nappy cream would be on the Poisons Register I am still not sure
LOL at the laptop mark JamesandtheGiantBanana - sort of a Mumsnet Badge of Honour

yes the laptop mark is quite an achievement!
I did drop a 3 month old ds last time whilst breastfeeding on the couch.
Just cancelled the call, we're all going to bed and no one had rung so i thought we needed sleep more. feel a bit calmer now! thanks everyone.

and how is dd today ruty, all is well I hope?

she's fine thanks Marina, feeding and sleeping lots [ds seemed not to sleep for first six months so I'm feeling rather rested!] Dh thought I was [as usual] bonkers for worrying about it, but very grateful for reassurance here.

I sat on my dd when she was 3 days old just forgot she was there ,then two days later I plonked a washing basket on top of her.

After taht I stopped putting her on the sofa

congratulations

LOL, glad she is ok!