Let's talk bumps and bruises.

ClandestineX · October 2013

Okay, so now our babies are getting older and trying to become mobile, they will eventually hurt themselves in some way.

Today, Connor was sitting perfectly fine on the bed. He was playing with his Sophie and it was all good fun. He then decided he was done with her and turned to my laptop which was on the whole other side of the bed. Well, he didn't care.. he had to get to it, so he basically leaned forward and lunged himself with his legs forward like a frog... thus hitting his head on the edge of my computer and gaining a little knot on his forehead.

The knot is gone now, but at what distance should you be worried about when they fall and hit their head?

Also, to people that have places with hard floors.. where do you let your babies crawl? I put a few blankets down under him but it really is hindering him trying to crawl since it moves all over the place.

NicoleSB80 · October 2013

We have tile floors. LO currently has a bruise on her forehead from hitting the floor in mid crawling tantrum two days ago. I don't know when to say to be concerned, I think that's when the mamma know kicks in.

MrsHartman7 · October 2013

We got our first knot this weekend too. Fin threw himself sideways as DH was laying him onto the changing table and knocked his forehead. DH felt terrible. After LO calmed down he acted completely normal. I think as long as they arent acting loopy or lethargic or throwing up they will be ok...at least I hope so!

JSS1002 · October 2013

ClandestineX said:

Okay, so now our babies are getting older and trying to become mobile, they will eventually hurt themselves in some way.

Today, Connor was sitting perfectly fine on the bed. He was playing with his Sophie and it was all good fun. He then decided he was done with her and turned to my laptop which was on the whole other side of the bed. Well, he didn't care.. he had to get to it, so he basically leaned forward and lunged himself with his legs forward like a frog... thus hitting his head on the edge of my computer and gaining a little knot on his forehead.

The knot is gone now, but at what distance should you be worried about when they fall and hit their head?

Also, to people that have places with hard floors.. where do you let your babies crawl? I put a few blankets down under him but it really is hindering him trying to crawl since it moves all over the place.

I don't know if you remember but a couple of weeks ago I posted about LO falling out of his travel system carrier and landing face down on a hardwood floor and how I thought my heart was going to stop beating... well, he never even got a bruise from it and was perfectly fine, but of course I freaked out.

I happened to be at a photo shoot where another firend of mine was there with her baby boy, and she happens to be a neonatologist...and she looked at him and asked if he fell from higher or lower than 3 feet (lower), and then just told me to look for things like bloodshot eyes, vomiting, etc... and that if he threw up or seemed "off" to bring him in, but otherwise kids get bumped up and banged all the time and falling less than 3 feet usually was fine, of course weird accidents happen all the time,but that made me feel a lot better!

OhSewCrafty · October 2013

Bumps and bruises happen - especially when they start walking and climbing! Oy. What you want to look out for are bruises that don't heal and/or strange behavior changes, sudden fatigue, throwing up, oddly dilated eyes, etc. shortly after a head bump.

tondraluv · October 2013

I bought a huge rug from target just for the purpose of him crawling

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CanukMam · October 2013

knitfaced said:

MrsHartman7 said:

We got our first knot this weekend too. Fin threw himself sideways as DH was laying him onto the changing table and knocked his forehead. DH felt terrible. After LO calmed down he acted completely normal. I think as long as they arent acting loopy or lethargic or throwing up they will be ok...at least I hope so!

Thats my feeling too. Babies are pretty resilient. My girls face plant into the wood floors on a daily basis as they crawl around.

This (Thats my feeling too. Babies are pretty resilient. My girls face plant into the wood floors on a daily basis as they crawl around. quote fail above)

I have hardwood and he's learned that face planting into the floor hurts. Its a much easier lesson to learn on your tummy then when trying to walk. That being said we did just buy some of those soft tiles for the floor in his room. It still hurts a little if he falls hard but not quite as bad and it will also protect the floors as he likes to slam his toys repeatedly into hard surfaces now and I can't imagine that will change for a long time...

fireflyz56 · October 2013

CoffeeMonster19 said:

Bumps and bruises happen - especially when they start walking and climbing! Oy. What you want to look out for are bruises that don't heal and/or strange behavior changes, sudden fatigue, throwing up, oddly dilated eyes, etc. shortly after a head bump.
This. I used to worry-we had all hardwood floors at our old house and James would fall backwards when learning to sit, once he flipped over the back of the couch. I bought one of those foam square playmat things for him to play on, but once he was mobile it didn't matter much. He has a hard head, and eventually I stopped worrying too much as long as he acted and felt ok after a fall.

We don't have hardwood floors but I have heard from other moms who have them that their babies just got used to them after a while.

We have had a couple close calls, since we are practising sitting now and DD loves to throw herself backward. I never leave her alone when she is sitting up since I don't technically call it sitting yet. She can sit for 30 seconds to a couple minutes but as soon as she tips either way, she's done. Anyway, once she threw herself back very fast and was too quick for me to catch her. By sheer luck there was a stuffed toy right in the spot where her head would have hit the ground. Still so scary and my heart stopped for that moment.

squatchiebaby · October 2013

We have hardwood in the livingroom so I bought a foam play mat that matches our decor for about $15 at Burlington. It's about 4 ft x 4 ft and has been perfect for playing and learning to sit up.

smiles21866 · October 2013

We have hardwood and tile floors. We have a huge area rug in our family room but that's about all. I have huge quilt-like blankets that I will put down but since he is rolling so much and scooting, he is off of them in 5 minutes.

I did go to Babies R Us and get the ABC's play foam mat--it's like a puzzle. He lays on that a lot, but not for long.

Like other PPs said, they are very resilient and before I had my DS, I would always check out the knees of friends babies who were crawling. Bruised up and just ouch. However, it doesn't bother them. I figure once he really starts crawling he will learn what areas are most comfortable to be in. Probably the whole house!

Mandmeesh · October 2013

phill027 said:

Jackson has already hit his head on a mirror when DH was holding him and he leaned too closely. He also hit his head on the hardwoods when rolling around while my MIL was watching him. Poor guy. He's fine though. but how bad is it that I'm glad none of this happened on my watch?! I struggle with being a helicopter mom and not letting him get close to falling or bumping his head in situations where it probably wouldn't hurt him anyways. Example - when he's rolling and is about to roll off of a rug onto hardwood, I catch his little head before it hits. I figure he has plenty of time to toughen up but maybe I'm not letting him learn a little about cause and effect? Feel free to chime in on this one!

I think it's natural to want to protect them in every situation. I have a SIL that reminds me that he will get hurt, touch germs, etc. etc. Although that's true, I still find myself wanting to make sure he's okay.

Comparing MH and I, though, I kind of giggle about how protective he is. That gives me the leeway to let M do things on his own and try to figure things out.

ClandestineX · October 2013

Thanks everyone! I bought a yoga mat since they didn't have the puzzle pieces and the nearest target or BRU is like 40+ miles away.

elbou · October 2013

@ClandestineX

I'm waaaaay late to this conversation, but I just wanted to add that we have hard floors everywhere, and I let him play on any floor that is clean. I found DS would hurt himself more when I tried putting a blanket or something under him. He has better traction on the bare floor, and ends up bonking his head less. Same goes for socks, he gets better grip with bare feet.

@phill027

The distance between their heads and the floor when rolling is much smaller than the distance when sitting/standing/walking/etc., so my personal opinion is that it's better to learn now. The bump your LO will get from rolling off the carpet and onto the floor is more likely to scare him than hurt him. Yes, he will likely cry the first few times, but I promise he'll learn quickly when you let him.

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