Baby fell back from sitting onto hard floor

[Jamontoast1]

My 7 month old was sat on her soft mat and just fell backwards from sitting onto the 2 inch space between the mat and a rug where there is hard floor! Lesson learned to put pillows in that gap in future but please tell me this has happened to others and they’re ok?

She seems fine now, cried immediately and I was only a few metres away making her breakfast.

I called 111 because she was sleepy when I was giving her a bottle (but then maybe she’d have been sleepy anyway… hard to know if I’m overthinking) and they’re getting a clinician to call me back so just looking for a hand hold whilst I wait.

Feel so guilty.

My son did this so many times, more so as he started pulling himself up to standing and fell back and hit his head on the floor many times. It's just part and parcel of a baby learning to become more mobile. I'm actually so surprised the 111 doctor has said take them in to get checked out, it's probably just to cover themselves. It never even crossed my mind to call a doctor or 111 the multiple times this happened to my son. I would have only thought to worry if they fell from a height, not from sitting or standing.

I agree it happens to everyone. It happened to my dd2 when she managed to fall back off cushions and her head landed on a spiky bit of piano leg (in someone else’s house). It gave us all a fright but she was fine.

Don't worry!! Agree with the others they all do this. And they will fall off a bed/sofa at least once. And once they learn to crawl/walk they bump their heads constantly on everything. They seem to go through a phase of not even noticing it! I call it the rubber head stage. It is horrible when they have a shock as they fall and they are upset by it.

I had this a lot with DS1 that every time he bumped his head he always seemed to do it just before naptime/bedtime, so I wouldn't be sure whether it was just "normal" sleepiness or the sleepiness that is a sign of concussion, and it made me really anxious until someone pointed out that babies/toddlers get less coordinated when they are tired. Oh. DUH!!! It sounds so obvious but it hadn't occurred to me at all. The same person reassured me that as long as they are rousable e.g. they go to sleep but they stir when you touch them, that's fine. It's only if they go into a deep, unconscious type sleep that you need to take them to hospital ASAP.

Very normal. They only fall from their height and with their weight. I'm sure most kids have done it multiple times - both mine did. It's not harmed them as far as I can tell - in fact my older daughter is extremely clever and she fell much more than her sister. We have no carpet downstairs. It's not like them falling off something (like a highchair) onto their head - that is a worry.

The advice I find most reassuring is generally not to worry about a fall that's their own height or less, or fewer than two stairs. I'm sure they're absolutely right as rain but good to get them checked regardless.

My 8 month old has started crawling, getting into/out of the sitting position and pulling to stand in the last month or so. Yesterday he also stood unassisted for half a second. He's had so many bumps recently!! I try to keep him on the rug but he's too mobile and doesn't want to stay there. He wants to pull up on everything now and is stil a bit wobbly so accidents do happen. I catch him often but sometimes I'm not quick enough. It's a hard stage for parents and babies alike, I think! As others have said, it's normal. My eldest went through the same stage, as all babies do. While it would be great to wrap them in cotton wool, in the grand scheme of things, this wouldn't be beneficial.

Well you're just a bag of joy aren't you?

I would imagine every baby has done this at some point in their development and probably more than once and she will certainly fall even more when she starts walking, climbing etc.
I can understand why you are worried but no need to feel guilty and I'm sure she wil be fine. Babies are much more robust than you imagine.