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.

Bear in mind they are so small and close to the ground that they roll and tumble down stairs more than fall

It's more a series of tumbling knocks than a head falling from 5-6 feet off the ground whacking down.

This happened with my daughter. I felt awful. Took her to A & E even though she recovered quickly and seemed ok. Its the height thats a concern. Mine was running around A & E by time she was seen but not once was I made to feel we shouldnt be there. Got a call from the health visiot a day or so later who was v kind but quite rightly told me the stargate needs to be up. Hope all is well.

I know it feels horrible.

I've been told by medical staff if the bump has come out its better. If no bump it can mean it's internal.

I'd take him personally.

@Backtothe80splease

Ah the good old days when we could just pop to our local GP!

It happens. Have it checked, though.

My DN did ethe exact same thing - it was steep, long set of stairs too! I swear they seek out danger! He's 14 now & does much more dangerous things!

I would go to A&E just to be sure but I'm sure he'll be fine.
You're not a bad mum, accidents happen and babies are very fast sometimes!
I remember my DD falling off a climbing frame when she was about 15 months and really shouldn't have been on it. She was fine but I felt terrible for days

You should have gone to A&e right away with a taxi. School run? Drop other child off? Go home wait for partner? This is appalling lack of care for your baby who fell down the stairs and so needs medical checks not being taken out and about. I assume you didn’t leave your baby unattended at home? You could have taken your other kids with you to a&e. You’ll get questions asked about this fall and rightly so.

Definitely not a bad mum, we can't go all day without a wee and a drink! But yes definately A&E for a scan to check he's not done anything bad internally.

I'd call that NHS number or phone your GP surgery to ask their advice first, they can help you work out whether to go to A&E or not.

I fell up some stairs and my baby hit the concrete on the ground, my upstairs neighbours phoned the GP down the road who agreed to check him over for me.

My DN did a similar thing . . . parents phoned 999 and a paramedic came and checked her out and gave advice about monitoring for the next day or so but she was fine

You are not a rubbish mum otherwise you wouldn't be on Mumsnet asking for advice and you wouldn't have gone to the lengths you've gone to and taken your little one one to hospital

Hope he's OK . . . take care, you've had a nasty shock

Having a little one crawling around will make you look at your house differently . . . he'll be up to all sorts of tricks now!

I agree it happens to a lot of people and was clearly an accident but there needs to be responsibility and accountability as well. Everyone needs to think about what could happen and put measures in place to avoid them. Stairs gates need fitting before the child can move, child in cot while you wee or make a drink. It was an accident but an avoidable one and the child is the one who is hurt.

Come off it. The child rolled down the stairs. It happens to them all. If he's sick, listless or not himself then start worrying. I'd have rung 111 but dropping everything and doing a virtual blues and twos to A&E is overkill.

I took mine to A&E when he did something similar. I felt better that he had been seen by a professional, and I also felt better that it was clear that I wasn't hiding anything when he went to nursery later that week and he had a huge bruise.

I said taxi to a&e but yes perhaps ambulance in case of neck injury. None of my kids ever fell down the stairs because they were never left in a situation where this would have been possible. Head injury is a serious possibility and needs checking.

I agree and I'm one to err on the side of caution.
A head bump can be an emergency, especially if the child is in pain, sleepy or dizzy after. But a small bump and a happy baby would not send me rushing them down to A and E. Like others have said they are likely to roll down step by step rather than flying down the full height of 10 steps.

When DD was 18 mths I watched in horror as she opened the top stair gate, stumbled and then fell (more like bounced) down the entire flight of stairs.

I was at one end of the living room and the stairs were at the other end. By the time I'd raced across the room, she'd reached the bottom, where she stood up, dusted herself down and wandered off like nothing had happened.

I was so freaked out I took her to A&E anyway but she was completely fine. I've no idea how. I guess really rubbery bones and absolutely no fear?

She's 11 now and remains unscathed. I, however, aged about ten years in that moment and have never really got over it!

Give yourself a break, things happen. Something similar happened to my middle when he was a similar age except the older one pushed him down the stairs right in front of dh. It happened so quickly that dh had no chance to stop it.

we went to a&e and the triage nurse looked at me like I’d birthed satan himself but the paediatrician was lovely. She told me that 8 month olds are designed to be pushed down stairs by their brothers.

I’ve got three boys and the number of times I’ve been to a&e is no longer countable. Youngest is now 16 so they made it intact.

ignore those that say you should have jumped in a taxi. Most people don’t have the money to jump in a taxi. There’s no point rushing somewhere where you’ll have a 5+ hour wait.

im sure he’s fine, update us when you can.

Please be kind to yourself OP. I once took my toddler to wagamamma and thought he was ok sat on the bench but he leaned back thinking it was a chair and fell head first onto the hard tile floor. Hard, from height. He was surprisingly ok in the end after a big bump and lots of crying, but just wanted to reassure you every mother has a story like this I'm sure. Maybe ring 111 for advice if he should be seen.

It's frightening when your tiny dc have an accident but like fuck would my first thought be "I must ask Mumsnet"

That's what 111 is for. Or call the GP and ask their advice? Obvious injury/unconscious straight to A&E.

Cracked up at this 😂

My first thought when I read your title was, ‘oh me too!’ These things happen. Just sort the stair gate! :)

Yeah this happened with my toddler once too. It was horrible but he was fine. I did get him checked out at A&E. He was running around and making all the checks look silly tbh but I needed to be cautious. Got a call and a lecture off the health visitor about stair gates (fair enough).

What nasty and sanctimonious posters? every post I have seen says 'yep, been there too its normal'.

Also pitching in to say - been there, done that! Feel for you OP - it still haunts me now as I actually saw it happen with my dc. I think defo take to a and e if you have any concerns but remember it's not like us falling - they are much closer to the floor so more of a series of tumbles for them. I didn't take mine as was clear within a few mins that they were fine - I was not for a good while after but I never made the mistake with a staircase again.

Listen....it happens and by no means has any bearing on your ability to parent.

My son did the same, we had a gate, I forgot to close it!
My Daughter fell off the sofa and bashed her face so bad I was questioned by the child protection team in A&E! Horrendous.

They're both healthy teens now and none the wiser!

Take him to get checked definitely. Learn from it and go easy on yourself. Xx

Insane?? Who are you to decide that? If the child was blue-lighted to hospital, the experts must have thought it necessary. How unnecessarily unkind of you to say what you did.