HELP! Baby fell off changing unit and landed on head on the floor - is there a bump developing or my imagination?

[Victoria72]

This afternoon my 7mth old son fell off his changing unit onto the floor and landed on his forehead. He cried but not as though in any severe pain. I called the surgery and they said as everything else was normal (his nap times were fine and eating has been fine, except he has a cold so he is a little off his food), just make sure he isn't drowsy. I've just gone in to check on him and I am sure I can feel a raised bump on his frontal lobe. I am sure there was nothing there this afternoon. It might be just my imagination because of the horrendous guilt and worry about him being okay . DH has just taken him to A&E to have him checked out. I hope I am just a neurotic mother but is there a chance something could be 'forming' or 'growing' or developing due to a bump/blow to the head? I am now so worried about a clot or something I don't know what to think or do. Has anyone had any experience? I am SO worried.

IIRC a bump is a good sign it's when they fall heavily/bang head hard and there isn't a bump you should worry. Also the front of their head is the best place to bump the back can be more concerning. If he's fine in all other respects I wouldn't worry.

I'm sure he will be fine, bumps are good it means any swelling is coming out rather than in iyswim.

Make yourself a cup of tea.

Could you go to A&E too so you know what's going on and can hear what they have to say?

oh you poor thing. Try really hard to calm down.

I am sure that he will be absolutely fine. You are doing everything right - he is in the perfect place right now, the docs will spot any potential problems and tell you what to do.

Personally, I think that if there was a problem, it would have come up straight away rather than hours later, and am sure he will be totally all right, so try not to worry too much.

xx

You poor thing. Of course you are worried. But your DH is getting him checked out and you will worry until he's back so whatever we say probably won't help. Please try not to imagine too many things and wait and see what the docs say.

FWIW my 2 eldest have bumped their heads horribly many times, as have many of their friends and come to no harm. Heads - especially foreheads - are hard for just this reason!

My eldest fell onto a skirting board, had a huge dent which then became a bump, rushed to A&E. Was fine...

Your son will almost certainly be fine too. But you will worry whatever so suggest you try and distract yourself somehow until they come home? Talk shite on another thread on MN? Go for walk? Watch film? Buy chocolate?

My DD fell off my bed when she was about 6 months and I know the feeling...

Don't get stressed out about it - you have done all you can and are keeping an eye on him...

Please don't worry - babies are a lot tougher than we think...

Ok thanks. Sob. I feel like a really crap mother. I can't go to A&E as DS5 is in the land of nod and if I went I would be sure to crash because I can't see through tears. The bump just seems to suddenly have appeared which is what's bothering me. DH seems to think he's ok. He's such a jolly, lovely, beautiful little boy I couldn't bear it if I'd ruined him.

I a sleep deprived haze, I whacked dd's head against the corner of my bedside table when she was a few weeks old. There was a corner-shaped dent in her head for days. She was fine

You are not a crap mother.

Let all those of us who have never dropped a child stand up and say "I am perfect"

see....

everyone is sitting down like this:
You are not a crap mother.
You have not ruined him.

Don't fret. My ds did exactly the same at the same age, and was fine. A lump is a good thing, as it means any bruising is coming out, not going in (IYSWIM).

Stop it, YOU are NOT a crap mother! It was an accident, you have been keeping an eye on him, he is in the best place, he will be fine.

DH has just called from A&E to say there is a 4 hour wait! How can there be a 4 hour wait for a baby?! I'm shocked. God I hope he is ok. Thanks for all your messages, it has made me feel a little easier. 4 hours. God.

At 6m dd fell off a table onto a hard tiled floor.

I still get a stifled-scream-feeling in my throat when i think about it now, 6 yrs later.

She was fine.

That just goes to show it isn't serious, if they thought for a moment it was serious he would have been straight in there.

My sympathies Victoria72. My DS is 14m and he fell off the cot-top changer at 14 weeks and then out of the car the other day...the guilt is by far the longest-lasting efect of these accidents, IME!

He'll no doubt be fine and by this time next week, you'll be able to think about it without your stomach lurching. Don't beat yourself up, the more people you talk to the more people will tell you that exactly the same, or worse, happened to their perfectly healthy offspring.

There is a 4 hour wait for non-emergencies.

If you had broken him, they would see him straight away, no matter what.

see, he's going to be absolutely fine.

A bit crabby for having to wait four hours, but fine.

He will be fine. If they were worried, he'd be at the top of the Q.

Thanks LoveMyGirls - I hadn't thought of it like that. Now I feel bad that I've sent DH and Gabe to sit in A&E for 4 hours with all the pissheads! I suppose every day is an education, even if you're 7 months.

definitely no emergency in their opinion then!
And IME the NHS errs on the side of caution with babies to the extreme
Hope he isn't too grouchy and you are OK

both of mine had fallen off something by 4 months . I couldn't find my first born for what felt like a long time (at the time) when she was about 2 weeks - ie TOTALLY imobile - I went to the loo having left her on a sofa and when I got back I couldnt see her. Quite how she'd got onto the floor I will never know. Wait til they try and walk - they're not more fragile when they're little - you are.

I do have a lot of respect for the NHS so I do trust their judgement. Mostly. But you know when you hear of things going wrong, misjudgements etc. I have an overactive imagination at the best of times. Will try to watch TV and wait for The Call. Thanks again everyone. You have made a difference.

Squonk your post of 21.43 was lovely. (iykwim)

We have all been there, and if there is the odd one of us that hasn't, we have had many near misses. I am short and carry dd2 at the same height as our door handles. The number of times I have nearly bashed her head. Squonk is right, we are all sitting down very firmly.

Thinking of you Victoria, he is in the best place and it looks like he will be fine.

When I took ds in for the same reason, the consultant said "so you dropped your son?" Er no.. He fell off.. "Right, well its all the same, he hit his head and its your fault".

Yes, thanks. I know, that's why I'm weeping, but thanks for your sparklingly sensitive bedside manner (as ds beamed at him).

that's awful! poor you.

He was fine though?

at that bedside manner hoodlum!

Yup, sitting firmly on chair here....

Have a nice cuppa Victoria, hope your DH & ds are having fun in A&E. At least it's not Fri night!

I'm going to invent the Baby Vice which will be a machine that allows you to 'clamp' your baby into position, very gently, with no fear of them falling out/over/onto etc. That might do the trick. Sigh. Bleary eyed and feeling stupid.