Baby fell onto bed

[AliveAndSleeping]

I was holding my 5 month old baby upright against my shoulder while sitting on the bed to burp him. Suddenly he fell (maybe headfirst) next to me on the bed. I must have dozed off so not exactly sure what happened. I think I didn't fully let go of him either. He may have just tilted sideways slowly. Anyway at some point some part of his other upper body, probably his head hit the bed. I picked him up immediately. It would have been less than half a metre between his head and the bed while I was holding him. He seems ok and is sleeping now. I don't even remember if he cried. Should I be worried? I don't think he could have fractured anything because he fell from a rather low height onto a very soft surface. I'm worried though about shaken baby syndrome. Is that a possibility? Should I take him to a n e? 111? Dh thinks there is no way he could have injured himself but I am worried.

Ugggh....I can't believe I fell asleep

So he fell from your arms onto the mattress?

He's fine OP. It wasn't a big distance and it was a soft bed. My ds rolled off a bed headfirst onto the wood floor when he was a baby...he bounced and cried for a sec, absolutely fine though

Try not to worry. Just keep your eyes peeled for any distress but it's pretty impossible for him to be hurt in that circumstance.

Ensure you also get some decent rest

@Mrsmch123

So he fell from your arms onto the mattress?

Yes. Sorry that explains it much better. I'm just super tired

Doubt he will have done any damage falling onto the mattress.

@Valhalla17

He's fine OP. It wasn't a big distance and it was a soft bed. My ds rolled off a bed headfirst onto the wood floor when he was a baby...he bounced and cried for a sec, absolutely fine though

Try not to worry. Just keep your eyes peeled for any distress but it's pretty impossible for him to be hurt in that circumstance.

Ensure you also get some decent rest

Thank you so much and also for being so kind. Means a lot!!

He will be fine. Don't be so hard on yourself! My baby is just a little older at 6.5 months and launches himself out my arms all the time. x

I wouldn't worry about it. One of my babies fell off the kitchen table, bounced off a chair and landed on the floor. Baby was absolutely fine. Whereas I was in pieces and cried for a week.

Oh OP- a tiny tumble onto a mattress?! At low speed? - he’ll absolutely be fine.

YOU however clearly need some sleep. Can your DH do any more wake ups tonight?

Urgh I feel awful writing this but my 5m old rolled off our mattress (mattress is on the floor) and fell face down onto the carpet. He cried for a minute but is absolutely fine.

I'm guessing it feels worse because you didn't see what actually happened which leaves room to speculate. But your baby is probably fine, especially if he didn't cry.

My husband unclipped my daughter from her high chair at 6 months, removed the tray (not realising the bit between her legs came with it) and she fell forward flat onto the wooden floor. Now I'm not recommend anyone tries to repeat that, but she was and still is (at 4yo) totally fine. They do tend to bounce (thank god!). I'm sure your baby will be fine xx

Thanks everyone for being so nice!!

Ironically I'm wide awake now and can't sleep.

I kept wondering what if it was a quick and sudden Fall after all? What if it was higher? Would that make a difference? He had his head on my shoulder and I think he fell on the pillow (on the mattress) next to me.

Baby will be absolutely fine toppling out of arms onto a mattress.
In the nicest possible way you need to get some sleep and a refreshed perspective. Are you usually this worried about things? If this is an ongoing thing you need to seek some help from the HV or GP, but sleep deprivation can make you feel overwhelmed too.
Get yourself some rest and enlist DP to do the night wake ups if possible. You’ll not feel so bad about this come the morning

@SingingWaffleDoggy

Baby will be absolutely fine toppling out of arms onto a mattress. In the nicest possible way you need to get some sleep and a refreshed perspective. Are you usually this worried about things? If this is an ongoing thing you need to seek some help from the HV or GP, but sleep deprivation can make you feel overwhelmed too. Get yourself some rest and enlist DP to do the night wake ups if possible. You’ll not feel so bad about this come the morning

Yes I'm a worrier but with ds I'm usually quite relaxed so if I'm catastrophizing it might be because of tiredness or just general stress. I just get this nagging doubt once in a while, as in: "yes, this should be fine but what if it isn't?"

Of course it's fine.

I think that “this should be fine but what if it isn't” worry is completely normal as a parent. But then you need to take stock and ask yourself do you genuinely have a gut feeling something is wrong, or are you worrying just because this vulnerable little thing is so precious to you that you’re turning everything into a ‘what if’.
My little one has asthma and I’m still trying to fine tune my “we need medical help” response from my “I’m worried but have everything under control” response, and I deal with these decisions on a day to day basis at work. Being a parent will turn you into a nervous wreck if you let it! Next time the panic sets in, imagine your friend is calling you with the same question. What would your response be?

@SingingWaffleDoggy

I think that “this should be fine but what if it isn't” worry is completely normal as a parent. But then you need to take stock and ask yourself do you genuinely have a gut feeling something is wrong, or are you worrying just because this vulnerable little thing is so precious to you that you’re turning everything into a ‘what if’. My little one has asthma and I’m still trying to fine tune my “we need medical help” response from my “I’m worried but have everything under control” response, and I deal with these decisions on a day to day basis at work. Being a parent will turn you into a nervous wreck if you let it! Next time the panic sets in, imagine your friend is calling you with the same question. What would your response be?

So in this case my gut feeling is that he's perfectly fine and it is just that little nagging what if.

"or are you worrying just because this vulnerable little thing is so precious to you that you’re turning everything into a ‘what if’"

This puts it really well. It's exactly how I feel I think. It's like a risk / impact assessment. In mostt cases the risk (of serious injury having happened) is very low but in the unlikely event if something does go wrong the impact is very high so everything looks potentially worryingly. Thanks for the advice!!

You've not joined the club properly yet, baby must roll or fall from a higher surface onto a harder surface, then you're a real parent . It happens to us all (mostly) and we as parents feel a lot worse than the babies ever do.

Try harder OP!!

Hope you got some sleep