Head Bonking

How's this one for you?

At 3ish my son was RUNNING... "saw a pretty girl" (his explanation)... did a rubberneck ...and ran straight into a brick wall.

Split his head open to the bone needing stitches... and a lovely concussion to boot.

Men! (Sigh. It started much younger than I was ready for.)

omg, when my first baby was learning to walk, not only did he fall all the time, but he just didnt get the idea to put his hands out or fall onto his butt,,, we tease him that he used to just topple over like a tree, over and over. the other 2 at least seemed to sit-fall onto their butts. my best advice is to babyproof as much as you can, use gates to keep her in carpeted areas if you can. and just let her practice as much as possible in a safe area. it just takes time, the best you can do is make it as soft/rounded/padded safe an environment as possible.

My little girl hit her head so much that we started calling her Boo Boo because of the constant array of bruises on her forehead, and she's fine now. As long as you don't see any change in behavior, I wouldn't worry about it. Babies are resilient to the procedures of growing up.

hee hee hee. my roommates baby learned to walk just before I moved out. :) It was soo fun and cute to watch! It was also amazing to see how much more pain we were in than she was when she fell. We noticed that she would only cry if she noticed us watching her... she was amazingly resilient! But we did get those foam runner things from babies-r-us to put around the edges of the coffee tables and other sharp corners she might fall around... Just in case.

For the first 8 of his birthdays my son had a bump in the middle of his forehead. We gave him the name "Bonk" and at 13 he likes that nickname. If you are concerned consult your pediatrician. Otherwise I wouln't worry too much.

My son started to walk at 8 1/2 months. It seemed prior to that he did the same thing you describe your daughter doing. Pulling up, falling, or not noticing something above him so as to not hit his head. Once he could walk, he started to walk into walls and tables and anything stationary in his way. He just never stopped unless I stepped in front of him. It really freaked me out! I took him to the doctor to find out if he had vision problems or motor issues. He assured me he was fine. You see, babies don't typically walk that early. Usually, they're crawling at 7- 8 months, pulling up at 8 to 10 months, cruzing furniture at 10 to 12 months and then walking. He said the brain of an 8 month old hasn't yet develop the nerve pathways to get the message, "in comming" to the brain in time to stop before running into a wall. The speed of the visual information comes in faster than the brain can peocess it and send the information to the legs saying "stop walking before you run into the wall". Or "watch out, you're going to hit your head". He assured me that within 2 to 4 weeks, he would stop in time and not run into the wall. It only took 3 but it seemed like forever! Yes, they do make helments for babies, an if you're really worried, go and get reassured like I did from the doctor. Meanwhile, hope she doesn't walk earily, cuz by 12 months, my boy needed a leash!!! He was still too young to process running!! LOL Good luck!

Please put her in a playpen. She can still be in the same room with you. When she gets a little older and has developed her sense of balance you can let her out to explore. Keeping her in a room with carpet helps too. Gates are good for that. Also socks are slippery on a bare floor. Shoes or bare feet have better traction. You might need to move out the coffee table too.

Our little boy is a dare devil. He LOVES to try new things and see how far he can push it. He crawled at 6 1/2 mos, stood at 7 1/2 mos, and walked at 10 1/2 mos. One thing he really enjoys doing is sitting on his bum and then just 'fall back' and laughs and laughs. He did it once on the kitchen floor and he hasn't done it since.

As for the issue you are having in the kitchen, I'm assuming you have linoleumn or hardwood floors? I HIGHLY recommend your LO go barefoot on ANYTHING that is not carpet. It will help with their grip and balance. Some kids will learn quickly, others just have to keep trying thinking the outcome will change. Do you best to protect what you can and go from there. You and baby will be okay :)

To answer your question, yes, they do make helmets for babies, along with knee/elbow pads, but you don't need them! My middle child was constantly hitting her head. At 15 months, she had to get 5 stitches on her forehead from doing a swan dive off the couch! She also used to slam her head into the wall or on the floor when she was having a temper tantrum (talk about scary!) She'd even do it in her crib, some sort of weird soothing for her, but she had what we called a perma-bruise on her forehead for what seemed an eternity. I would recommend childproofing as best you can, but this is a stage they go thru!
Good luck!!

My baby has been walking for 5 months and still loses her balance and bonks her head. Last night she tripped over daddy's foot while we were putting her to bed and ran right into the door, head first. When it started my boyfriend joked that he wnated to put her in a helmet! LOL. I wouldn't let him though.

My son was forever getting a bonk on his head while learning to walk. It was almost a joke that when one bruise on his forhead was healing, it was time for him to bonk it again! He fell on the driveway and patio several times and got huge bruises and knots on his poor little noggin. But he was just fine. He would cry for a minute or two and then go about his business again. I would keep a very close eye on him to make sure he was ok, but I never had to call his doctor or take him in. I think putting a helment on your little one would actually impede her learning to walk because it will throw off her balance. They are very top heavy anyway so they don't need more weight up there. My brother got out of rehab for a severe brain injury, after spending 3 weeks in a coma in ICU, the day my son was born so you can imagine how overly concerned we were about head injuries. We finally relaxed a little and realized it's just part of the process! Hang in there, mine is 20 months now and rarely hits his head anymore. We've told him so many times to watch his head that he ducks when he's walking under something that's 2 feet higher than him!!