Falling Down

It's always scary when a child falls and hits her head.  But two times within a few days?  Sunday, we decided to check out our friends' church.  We were leaving and chatting and Lilah was toddling down the sidewalk with Spiderman in one hand and two tiny panda bears in the other. Suddenly she tripped and fell flat on her face, not letting go of her toys.  We all heard the smack as her little head hit the sidewalk!  Immediately a huge blue bump appeared on her forehead. It was a panicky moment- Lilah screamed, ice was found and people buzzed around.  I was afraid to let her take her nap that afternoon, fearing she had a concussion.  She was fine of course, and the next day the bump and bruise were hard to see, crisis over! 

Yesterday, I put her to bed for her nap, was walking back to enjoy my lunch and heard a strange thump.  Mother radar caused me to run to her room, where I found her laying on her back in front of her crib!  Her mouth was open in a silent scream, that was slowly forming into a shriek heard round the world.  She had leaned forward in her crib- with the side down- and I guess did a total flip to land on her back.  It was a scary moment for both of us.  Again, I was worried about concussion and didn't want her to go to sleep.  I didn't know if she lost consciousness, even for a second, since I wasn't there.  But after she calmed down, she seemed fine, except for a bitten lip.  

But still, I looked up head injuries in books and online. I talked to Mark on the phone, who was not worried. I knew if I called the pediatrician, it was going to end up in the ER.  When she was about 9 months, she fell out of a chair and landed on the ceramic tile face first.  I called then, and they said they could only send us to the ER.  There, she was strapped to a table for a cat-scan, held down for x-rays and irritated beyond belief by having to wait for hours.  And of course, everything was fine.  After her fall yesterday, after she turned into Monster Lilah for lack of a nap, I put her back in her crib to let her sleep. (With the side pulled up!) She woke up later, fine and dandy.  Babies and children are built for falling I guess. Mom's just aren't built for not worrying and for always fearing the worst.