A Lucky Escape

It is true that babies do bounce as I found out the hard way on Saturday. Katy had just dozed off to sleep in my arms so I placed her back in the rocker which was on the kitchen bench and didn't strap her in. I was cutting up potatoes for dinner when I heard this thump followed by loud crying. I turned around to discovered Katy face down on the kitchen floor. She had managed to very quickly and quietly wiggle out of the rocker and fall. Luckily her feet hit the ground first followed by her tummy and then her chin/face. Mum who was asleep at the time, woke up to the thump, cries and my swearing. Katy settled down pretty quickly and on closer inspection there were no signs of major injury.

I called Sandra (Andy's mum) to get some advise on what to do - should I take Katy to hospital or not? On answering the phone Sandra's first words were something like "Why aren't you watching the AFL?" St Kilda and Geelong were playing in the grand final with only minutes to go and St Kilda was leading by 1 pt. I should point out here that Sandra is a Geelong supporter. "No I have a bit of an emergency here" was my reply.

After various questions it was decided no trip to the hospital for Katy but just to keep a close eye on her. Had to watch for any signs of unusual drowsiness, vomiting, funny pupils, fits or unusual crying. Katy by now was asleep - tired from the shock and all the crying.

A little later we woke her up for a bath which she enjoyed and then tried to feed her. However she wasn't keen on drinking - not sure if it was a sore neck, lip or jaw. Getting a bit worried as she hadn't had any milk since 2.30pm and it was now 8pm. Sandra came around to check her out. We gave Katy some panadol and then syringed about 80ml of milk into her. Happily she drifted off to sleep.

The night wasn't as bad as expected and involved giving Katy panadol every 4 hours. She also managed to breastfeed at 11pm and 6am which was great. By Sunday morning, Katy was back to normal. The only sign of the traumatic experience was a graze on her chin and a little bruise on her bottom lip.

As for me, well I was pretty upset. In fact Andy said he was more worried about me than Katy. As time passed by and Katy began to act more like herself I became happier. Also after to talking to various people who all recalled an accident story involving them as children or their own babies I realised I wasn't a bad mother and that accidents do happen. Lest to say it gave me a big wake up call and a difference perspective on life.