Saturday, May 28, 2011

My baby boy hit his head {but is okay, thankfully!!}

Today, the one thing I never thought would happen "to me" happened-
My baby fell on his head. Sort of. Let me explain:
I was doing laundry with Elliot on my hip, as usual. Everything was going fine- he actually kind of likes doing laundry with me- when I clumsily dropped the Tide lid {typical}. I let go with one hand while still holding his butt and lower back with the other, which I have done a zillion times now that he is strong enough to hold himself up. This time, however, it backfired. Right when I went to squat down and retrieve the lid, Elliot decided that it was a great time to do a 180 and look the other way. Well, in about five seconds flat, he lost his balance, did a massive back bend, hit his head on the hard kitchen floor, and he was back up on my chest in my arms before either of us quite knew what happened.
Next thing I knew, he was crying, I was crying, and then... five minutes later... he was sound asleep. That's what scared me the most- I thought maybe he had a concussion or brain damage or something and was scared he wouldn't wake up. I called his doctor, who said he was "probably" going to be okay but that I should take him to the ER "just in case" {cue the hysteria}, so off to the emergency room we went, with me crying my eyes out the whole way. No kidding. I was a mess.
The ER doctors were fabulous. They kept telling me that this kind of thing happens all the time, that babies who get dropped down whole flights of stairs go on to be valedictorians and doctors and lawyers. "These things happen," they said. I thought, BUT NOT TO ME! All I kept thinking was, I can't believe I let this happen. I felt like a horrible mother. I mean, people don't use that saying, "were you dropped on your head when you were a baby?" for nothing, right?!
Luckily, Elliot is fine. He passed all the tests with flying colors, and other than the GIANT lump on his head, you'd never know what happened. His head is still really tender and he doesn't want to lay flat but... all things considered, he is alive and whole and healthy, praise God! I tell you what, somebody must be looking out for us up there.
Tonight, as I rocked my tired, runny-nosed, whimpering baby boy to sleep, I said a silent prayer and thanked God, again, for this miracle baby. It is absolutely amazing what I would {and wouldn't} do for this child. A mother's love is unbelievable.
So yes, my son was dropped on his head as an infant. And he survived. And, as hard as it is to admit, it doesn't make me a horrible mother. But let me tell you- I'll be sure to use both hands from now on!!
All right, I'm off to bed. It has been an emotional day!
PS: I debated whether I should even write about this today. Honestly, I would have preferred to just pretend this never happened. I realized, however, that these are the types of things that should be talked about. Other first time moms need to hear stories like this. Life, and motherhood especially, is messy. Things are going to happen, and you will do "those things" that you SWORE you'd never do. But hearing that you're not the only one makes it a whole lot easier to swallow.

12 comments:

  1. I am glad that you decided to write about it. We all have experiences like this, whether we admit it or not..

    I am the type of mother that gets completely worked up about the smallest things due to worrying. I understand your hysteria. Whenever I take my boys to the ER or the Dr over things that turn out to be little or nothing at all, I always tell them I would rather be safe than sorry.

    You're a great mom. Thanks for blogging about it.

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  2. Sylvie and I were flying last week and I accidentally hit her head. She had a particularly stinky toot and I thought she may have pooed. I lifted her up out of habit to do the butt sniff, forgetting we were on a plane with no headroom. I banged her head on the ceiling in front of a bunch of people. She was fine and didn't even cry, but I felt like the worst mom ever. So, I hear you on this one. I'm glad you chose to write about it. You're right, first time mamas need to know that these things happen!

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  3. I'm sorry hun {{{Big Hugs}}} You are an amazing mother and love elliot with all of your heart! I have had many, many, many head injuries and still freak out every time..

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  4. aww taht is horrible! i'm so sorry! trust me though, i've had so many horrible horrible experiences with B falling! things like this definitely happen all the time.

    but i'm sorry that this did happen to you, i can only imagine how hard it was especially without your husband! that's the worst, is going through problems like this alone!

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  5. ahh jess so scary! but these things do happen. don't be so down on yourself! you're still an awesome mom ;)

    i hope elliot is okay and doing better!!

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  6. ::hugs:: oh mama! how scary! i'm glad elliot was ok!

    when gage was 16 months old we built a tent in the living room. he was happily playing in the floor when i heard the phone ring. when i came back, not more than 10 seconds later, he was standing on the very edge of the couch, where the sheet for the tent began.

    he was smiling really big, and said, "hi mama!" as he attempted to walk onto the sheet before i could stop him. obviously it collapsed underneath him and he went face first into the hardwood floor. almost three years later, and that is still my most terrifying moment as a parent. i can still remember how it happened in slow motion, and the exact moment when gage's face changed from smiling to pure terror.

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  7. Thanks for posting! I have moments where I get all crazy about the smallest things so it's kinda nice to see I'm not alone haha Glad he's fine!!

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  8. You know it happens to EVERYONE! My son rolled off his changing table and I thought I was going to die but he didn't even cry! I lost it though. He just looked at me and then started laughing as I'm sitting there crying. He will be fine. It is definitely more scary for you then it is for him because he doesn't know any better yet. So don't worry it will all work out in the end!

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  9. I'm glad he is ok but it does happen to EVERY baby at some point, there really is no preventing a fall from happening and it took me a while to actually realize this. When it first happened I was freaking out! It was in Vegas and David was looking out the Window and I was playing with Alyson. All of a sudden the door knocked and I told David to watch Alyson but apparently he didn't hear me I was already close to the door when it opened it was room service and she was like "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I was walking back and I see always making her way to the edge of the bed and I yelled at David to get her because he was closer but I was still running for her but it was too late and she had already hit the floor by the time I got to her. I was freaking out because I actually saw her hit her head!!! I kept saying how we need to take her to the doctor and all this stuff but my mom calmed me down when I had called her. She had a red spot on her forehead and rug burn on her nose!! I felt sooooo bad!

    But like I said, it happens!

    Oh Jazmyn

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  10. Aww poor baby and poor mama!! When James was learning to pull up he hit his head on the tile and I FREAKED out. I wouldn't let him nap for at least an hour after he hit his head. And another time I had him on my hip and was walking through a doorway and turned back and hit his head on the molding. It was so loud! i felt horrible. But these things happen to the best of us. Glad he is fine!

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  11. Poor things! I'm glad to hear he is OK! :)

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  12. Oh... sorry... but I can tell you I'm surprised Marshall doesn't have brain damage as many times as I've bonked his head on the wall. We have a pretty tight corner and turn going from our kitchen to our bedroom and when he's especially squirmy he tends to catch the corner right on the back of the head. I'm glad Elliot's ok!

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