8 MONTH OLD FELL DOWN THE STAIRS!!! TOP TO BOTTOM!!

[whatamess100]

I feel fucking horrendous, 8m ds, just stared crawling, just got a gate and not put it up yet, went to the loo with him,took my eye off the ball for 30 seconds because older ds (8) was sat with him, next min he fell down the stairs, i chased him down but i just wasnt quick enough, he cryed but nothing like i was expecting, ive seen worse when hes fell back on his bum when he trys to pull himself up. he has a lump on the side of his head but its only small. i feel fucking awful, im such a shit mother, im tired and i fucked up. He's alert, chatting,babbling and blowing raspberries.

Do i take him the drs or A and e? Or just monitor.

Im still shaking,please be kind i know im shit.

100% doing the right thing going immediately to A&E. It’s not appropriate for the GP. You’re doing great and seeking help is the important thing. You’ve done nothing wrong.

My nephew fell down the stairs at a similar age (also a full flight of stairs top to bottom) and he's a big 15-year-old now with no ill effects 😊

Some children show no signs of internal trauma. All it takes is a small hematoma under the skull to cause irreversible brain damage or death. It was an emergency.

Really terrible advice.
Your anecdote of the friend was AFTER the child had been seen and assessed by doctors as no injuries and then given safety net advice. By the time a head injury patient shows symptom's its already too late for some people to be seeking help.
Not seeking medical advice in a baby with a head injury falling downstairs would be a huge red flag to SS/any medical professional if discovered at a later date.

Oh bless you..this happened to me when one of mine was little. Similar situation she cried but seemed absolutely fine otherwise. She was a little older (2 i think). Not long after I fell down them myself! Daughter definitely fared better than I did! They must be bouncier when little!

Trust me, if he is laughing smiling and chatting and the initial lump is going down, you will be triaged and you are going to be very far down the list depending on what A and E is like at the moment, so you might be in for a long wait..get your partner to bring food and toys! Kids with serious injury or concussion don't generally act their normal selves if it's any consolation!

It's because they don't tense up when they fall like an adult anticipating injury would. Same reason adults who have drunk heavily sometimes get away with falls from height unscathed it's because the alcohol relaxes and dulls their reaction time!

Just to add a few things,

He wasn't unattended, the bathroom door was open, and i was a split second away from picking him up. It happened very quickly.

He started to crawl a few days ago, and no, i haven't put the gate up yet because I only brought it yesterday.

Also, its not a wind up, i dont have time to sit down on mumsnet making terrible things up. I dont have much support and no one to call other than my partner

To clarify, have had to wait until now to go up to A&E because i had to do the school run, drop my other child off,go home and wait for for my partner to come home from work to get us, its called life! If he was in a terrible way, i would have rang 999, I've monitored him all morning.

I'd like to just say, I hope that those very few posters who have not been very nice have a nice day and i hope you feel better about your selfs now you've stuck the knife in. If only i was as perfect as you.

I was a terrible mistake and i clearly got it wrong. i own that.

@SetinTime surprising what shock can do to even the most level headed person.

Glad you're getting him checked out.

To add to the stories of others, my DM slipped on the stairs and dropped my sister down the stairs, from waist height, and she was absolutely fine. I was walking down the stairs in front of her. She called out to me and I turned round to see my sister barrelling towards me. Helpfully I stepped out of the way to let her go past!

My mum, however, in slipping down two steps, broke her foot!

As adults we brace ourselves for impact, which is what hurts us. Babies don't have that ability so do tend to bounce pretty well.

@whatamess100 people make mistakes, you learn from it.

My child had a horrible fall at around 6 months. She's currently 27 with a PhD so I'm guessing not too much harm was done. However, to this day I can remember the sound and still feel sick when I think about it.

Honestly, the part I underestimated in becoming a parent is the lifelong worry!

Don’t beat yourself up OP, accidents happen. Hope he’s ok

OH my, I so feel for you. I remember it like yesterday when my 8 month old fell down the stairs just when he started to crawl, and I was on the loo. I monitored, no sickness, no funny reaction, just a bump on the forehead, ans she was fine. But oh I remember being a quivering jelly and crying my eyes out, and the sheer guilt. hug- you are no a bad mum at all. Keep us updated.

What a fright for both of you!
Glad you've gone to get him checked out though just to be on the safe side.
My DD is 2.5 now and bumped her head in our new summer house a couple of days ago. After a good scream and cry, she was fine and just points to the summer house from the kitchen and says "boof" (what we call a bang or getting hurt somewhere - so she "boofed" her head) while gesturing getting hit on the head.
She's had plenty of other falls as well (children do!) A fall down the stairs is a big one though - you've done the right thing though by getting her checked out you've got the stair gate, bish bash bosh, done!

Also, you're not a bad mum. You're doing a fab job!

This.

It’s happened to me too, think most people have a horror story like this.

You can call 111, I had to when my DD fell off the changing table. She seemed fine but I wanted to double check. They got my gp to do a call back, they called me later that day and were also satisfied that she was fine as she was acting the same as usual.

I also got a call later from social services checking out my story but the lady was lovely. They asked if I had sought medical advice straightaway and I was glad I did. I would call just in case you decide to later on as this might look more irresponsible.

Oh you poor thing, that happened to my baby. He had never moved before, I was frantically cleaning for a tenant inspection and he fell down the stairs. He was fine but we did spend a night in hospital and they did question me very closely to understand what had happened to cause his injury, which is their job. I also got a call from the child health nurse the next day to question me again. But again, she was doing her job and I understood.

And then we went home the next day and as far as I can tell he has been fine ever since.

The point at which the child 'clicks' that they can crawl and then them going where they want is very quick.

At around same age as OP's child our daughter was clearly on the cusp of locomotion but not getting it together. I left her on the floor in the, perfectly safe, lounge for a minute to pick up something from the kitchen. By the time I turned back, less than a minute, DD was coming down the hall at a fast pace,,,,

i know it’s hard but just remember that babies change so fast, faster then we can often adapt to them so accidents like this happen. You are not the first and will not be the last.

I would agree that a A+E/urgent care centre visit is called for in this situation. It’s probably be nothing and he will be fine. But head injuries can sometimes take a few hours and suddenly develop symptoms. Also just coz of the type of injury the clinical team very well raise a safeguarding incident. Nothing will come of it if they go that though, don’t panic they are just doing their job and everyone would prefer to be cautious then allow that child who may be having issues at home slip through the net. Good luck and how your little one is ok x

Accidents happen. If it was going to happen, it's great that he was't seriously injured. You have to go to the loo. That doesn't make you a shit mother.

First things first, accidents do happen even to the best of mothers, so please don’t call yourself shit.
Your obviously worried so I would head to A&E to get the wee one checked and give yourself peace of mind.

My daughter fell down an entire flight of tiled stairs onto a concrete floor as a toddler, spent the whole day in A&E just to be told shes absoloutly fine. She just bounces which is lucky because she spends her life climbing then launching herself off things.

On the other hand my youngest son tripped on soft grass and somehow shattered his collar bone and fell off the door step which is only a few inches and broke his nose.

It amazes me how 2 of my kids bounce without injury (oldest never been injured in 16 years) and the 3rd is seemingly just made of brittle glass.

Both my kids fell down the stairs, I also tripped while carrying my first and bashed his head. Accidents happen. You know now how quickly things can go wrong!

My dd fell down the stairs when she was around 18m absolutely terrifying. She also rolled off the bed.

Odds are she's fine but I'd definitely go a&e to be on safe side.

Obviously if she was seriously hurt you would have gone straight away. And wouldn't have asked on mn but in your situation It's a totally reasonable question to ask don't let people bring you down