8 month old constantly falling HELP

[areandare]

My little boy is 8 months old today. He is so active and honestly doesn’t stop from the moment he wakes up in the morning.

He was rolling at 4 months, crawling at 7 months and in the last 2 weeks he has started pulling himself up to stand on things e.g sofa, cot, jumparoo - basically anything that he can.

I am a nervous mother (which has surprised me) and am living on pins about him hurting himself. He is still quite clumsy while he crawls so constantly face plants the floor or his toys, he will fall if he pulls himself up on something as he isn’t steady on his feet yet and doesn’t realise so will let go and fall straight down with force.

Im finding it so difficult because he is EVERYWHERE! When he’s playing on his mat I need to sit on the floor next to him at all times otherwise he will face plant something or try pulling at the chairs or going towards the coffee table. I have laminate flooring in the living room but two big foam mats out for him but obviously there is still flooring around the mats that he gravitates towards.

Even with me hovering and watching like a hawk he is still face planting and falling all over the place and I’m so worried as he’s had a few bumps that have resulted in red marks on his head and him crying 😔

How do people get through this stage? I’m just so scared of him hurting himself!

He hasn't got full co ordination yet, I'd see if he would sit in a soft sided playpen with mats on the floor.

My son is exactly the same! He was walking at 10 months, climbing everything and had a trip to a&e not too long ago requiring steri strips (now scarred 🙈). I'm on edge all the time as he's constantly bumping into things. I swapped my laminate for carpet, got rid of the coffee table, and basically never relax ever! Lol.

A big play pen might be useful for times when you can't be hovering.
Make sure he has bare feet to get a better grip on laminate.
Remove things with sharp corners or pad them well.
Make sure that things aren't going to fall on them if used to pull themselves up eg bookshelves etc
Otherwise, you just have to let them explore and have a pack of frozen peas in the freezer for treating bumps and bruises!

Falling and being unstable is part of the way he will learn to get more stable and build his coordination. Clearly you don't want him to fall off something, or hit his head on something sharp, but please let him explore and wobble and face plant a short distance as he will develop much better skills for it

Falling over and hurting himself is part of how he learns to slow down and be more cautious.

He is going to bump his head - his head is heavier in proportion to his body. When this happens the NHS has great information of what to watch out for - as it does for many minor injuries/issues in children.

How you react is important. Comfort him when he is distressed but then you have to let him get back to it - not hover over him because this is telling him that there is something to be fearful about.

You do what you can to create a safe environment of course, and supervise at a safe distance, but bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes are normal parts of growing up.

Make sure you know basic first aid to treat common issues and use the NHS guidance or 111 if you're concerned.

Completely normal and it won’t end for a long time! Once they walk, then they climb on the sofa, the table etc. it’s important you allow free movement, we’ve never had a playpen, it’s just another thing for them to climb out of. I think you need to Accept it, bruises are fine.

This. He won’t learn to be safe if you’re hovering there to catch him. Make the environment as safe as you can then let the get on with it wherever possible

Thanks everyone! I have considered a playpen but I really don’t think he’ll like it 😅 he hates being restricted and I can see him now pulling himself up in it standing screaming to be let out!

I don’t let him on the laminate flooring yet, not until he’s a bit more steady. I have two big foam mats out and make sure he stays on those. It’s so exhausting because he tries to get in to everything now and always wants to pull himself up to stand. He has plenty of space on the mats but still insists on playing right on the edge where he will hit his head on the laminate if he falls back. I’ve tried putting cushions around the mat but he goes straight for the cushions and wants to play with them lol.

Im not too concerned about sharp corners etc as I have those covered, it’s more so him slamming his face on to something hard or falling while pulling him self up on the sofa.

God they know how to keep us on our toes 😂

I think you have to learn to let go - literally. Let him fall, let him climb, let him hurt himself (within reason) - it's how he will learn. Boys seem to test things to the absolute limit, including themselves: how far they can bend something before it snaps, how far you can push something off a windowsill before it falls, how far they can jump before falling into the gap, how high they can climb without breaking a branch. It's part of life, part of testing limits so they learn how to stay inside of them.

I'm afraid you've got YEARS of this ahead of you. Best get into the right mindset now!

Sometimes dc do have to do what they might not immediately like - the play pen! You won’t get any time for a long time if you don’t take some action to control where he goes. Coffee table probably needs moving but nothing will stop him pulling himself up now. You have a lively little lad!

Honestly babies are made to bounce. My youngest walked before she was 9 months old and was climbing everything too. It’s scary but you have to let them learn. Every photo of my youngest from around 7 months to 18 months she has bruises somewhere. My eldest was much more cautious but some babies just want to move.

8 months, wow ! Playpen is your friend here, so you can at least make yourself a quick cup of tea or go to the loo. He doesn't have to be in it all morning. If you have a couple of toys that he only plays with in there that should hold attention for a bit. Be wary of toys he can pile up or climb up on, it won't take long.

My mother had a vast circular one in the 70's/80's - must have been 4-5 feet across and the base could be lowered so the sides could be raised as the child grew. You could put several children and toys in there without a bother.

I got a pack of foam squares from a toyshop and basically covered the whole floor in them, rolled the rug back so it could be covered up when needed. The bonus was the rolled back rug protected DC1 from the fire surround.

That was my son too, he was walking (clumsily) at 9 months. It was awful. I felt like the worst mother in the world and my back was giving in as I was hunched over ALL THE TIME.

One day I decided to babyproof to the hills. I stopped short of turning the downstairs into one of those insane asylum rooms padded from floor to ceiling but it was close.

I got rid of the coffee table. I put foam mats EVERYWHERE. I used those alphabet puzzle mats as you can fit them around furniture etc. Bought lots of safety stuff from amazon, including things you can stick around sharp corners. I even stuck them on the corners of the walls. I put locks on all the doors. I locked ALL kitchen cupboards except 2, which I put baby stuff in so he had 2 cupboards to explore at will. I had 2 baby gates as well. I'm sure there was more but I can't remember. Look up ideas online.

Babyproofing properly was life changing.

I also bought some climbing foam cushions for babies so he has something to climb on safely.

The stage only lasted about 2-3 weeks here, then he learnt not to let go! It was a stressful couple of weeks where no housework was done, but it got better fast. Putting him in a playpen doesn't seem fair and will slow down his practice. Just follow him for a bit

Buy more foam mats. Or rugs.
they all go through this phase and it is pretty nerve wracking.

As other PPs mentioned, basically turn the room(s) into a padded cell. Remove anything you can with sharp edges/corners anything slightly unsteady and pad the rest. Foam pipe insulation is remarkably versatile. Cover the entire floor.
Forget about having a nice looking grown up space for a while. This too shall pass!