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Written by Lauren Snyder
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Tuesday, 15 November 2005 |
[Preemie-l Member],
Your post makes me giggle as I think about my daughter and all of her bumps
and bruises. The first ones are the WORST. I remember the first time my
daughter bonked her head pretty hard - it was in front of the PT no less! I
was holding her by her shirt to "spot" her standing and her feet slipped out
from under her. In that instant, I pulled her up by her shirt, but she still
hit the floor hard on her forehead. I was freaked out! (As an aside, don't
spot your kids by holding their shirts - they stretch!) I called the peds
office and rushed her in for an appointment. The Dr. checked her over and
explained that the best place for a kid to hit their head is the front and
the back - the sides are a little more dangerous. Mostly she was mending MY
wounds as I took longer emotionally to heal than my daughter's goose egg.
She told me about the first time her son who is about a year older than my
daughter hit his head and how guilty and terrible she felt about it. It
helped relieve some of my angst and guilt, but I still watched her for funny
behavior.
I don't know about you, but bonking her head, is one of those things that
can "set me off". I think it's because I have worked so hard to protect that
little brain of hers in all the ways I can, when I see it get bonked, I
freak out a bit. But I am getting better. A few days ago, my daughter was
outside playing with her bubbles, spilled them, slipped and hit I think the
back of her head on the concrete...once again I was freaked. I scooped her
up, examined her head for bumps, blood, etc. (nothing), took her in and out
of the house to see if her eyes would dialate and then watched her for hours
to see if she was behaving normal or slurring words. I remember thinking,
how do you know if a 2 year is "normal" or "slurring words" - all her words
are slurred!!! ACK! In the end, I determined that she was okay and prayed
that I was right. But I didn't rush her to the doctors!
As far as the toddler bed goes...my daughter was about that age when I put
her in her toddler bed, because we were going to confiscate the crib for the
next baby. I wanted her out of the crib early enough that she didn't feel
like we were stealing it for the other baby. I was apprehensive about the
bed, but my daughter loved it immediately. She loved being able to climb in
and out of it and would play in her bed all the time with her toys. She did
fall out quite a bit in the beginning but we just put the cushions of the
arm chair that was in her room on the floor just under her toddler bed. The
first few weeks were hilarious because I would check on her and not be able
to guess which part of the room/bed I would find her sleeping. She would
roll out of the bed, onto the cushions, off the cushions onto the floor. But
she was very content and unharmed. I was delighted with the bed. Eventually
she slept on the bed without the pillows. Now she sleeps in a regular double
bed with safety rails. She climbs up a stepping stool to get there.
Lauren
Mom to Brooke (born 26.5wks now 2 1/2) and Brandon (born 38wks now nearly 7
months!)
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