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.
