I Fell with My Baby

J., please don't feel ashamed! Right now you are sleep deprived, recovering from giving birth, taking care of a new baby, etc. etc. losing your balance is hardly unusual. Good save, by the way. When my girls were babies, I recall a few times when I almost ate it as well. It's just luck, you know. The important thing is that the baby is not harmed and hopefully you are okay as well. All you can really do is try to be extra careful now, knowing that anything is possible. HTH!

Dear J.,

Yes, unfortunately it happens. I can specifically remember dropping my holdest baby when she was about 7 mths and I was 5 mths pregnant. I tripped over my shoes and ended up running straight in to the wall and hitting the bar. The baby scuffed her shoulder and I did everything I could not to fall down. It scared me. I didn't want to hold her for fear that I would lose balance and drop her again. But honestly the best things that get me through motherhood is that when I look at both my children and realize that I'm their only source to making it in this world. When they're hungry, I feed them, when they cry, I comfort them, when they laugh, it's because I humor them. They depend on me for EVERYTHING. Even when I dropped her she still needed me to hold her and tell her everythings going to be ok. And you know what else? Babies do have short term memory. They don't remember that mommy drop me. They know mommy's there when they need her. So take it easy, cry if you need to. But you really are good mom.

L.

First of all, co-sleeping did not cause the fall, and when each of our little girls were newborns, they slept right in between us. The only problem that we ever had with that, was getting them to sleep in their own beds when they got older, but at 7 and 11, they are very loving, thriving little ladies. I have never fallen with a baby, but I have had some close calls. There are just some things that can't be helped. Since it was an accident, there is no point in beating yourself up over it. The baby was not hurt, and hopefully you were not hurt. Just make sure that whether your house is clean or not, that you maintain sort of a clear path between where you are going to need to walk during the night. That means no little shoes, toys, or any other hazards. I was not raised in a clean house, but my mother always would remind me to keep her path clear, LOL! Now that I am a mama, I understand why.

Don't feel bad!! Your mommy instinct kicked in. For the future just have a little night light so that doesn't happen again.

J.,

I know exactly how you feel. When my oldest was 2 months old (she is now 11) I fell down the stairs in our apartment. All I could see going down was her legs about to hit the stairs. Like you, somehow I managed to turn my body in such a way that she came down laying on my stomach and my backside was very bruised. A mother's instinct is POWERFUL! Don't worry about your little girl. It probably scared you and your husband more than it did her. Take care, T.

I co-sleep too. Remember that your falling had nothing to do with co-sleeping. It could have happened on your way to her crib. I think most moms have fallen at some point while holding their children. And like you, I think most of us have managed to fall in a way that saves the baby.

I fell once when I was 8mos pregnant and had my almost 2yo on my hip. I had slipped on the ice and somehow managed to fall so that neither my belly nor my toddler got hurt.

i have a bad back and when my heasvy son came home from the hospital i remember on several occasions holding him, walking around and for no reason my back giving out and i would collapse. thank God that i like you seem to have a natural instinct to protect our child. i always fell forward but would always seem to catch myself with my arm not holding my baby. just say a blessing that you both are ok and that you have the 'instict'. :)

First of all, I slept with my son once he was born for about a year. So i do not disagree at all with you all sleeping with your baby. When my son was about the same age as your daughter I was carrying him walking into the hallway and someone called me from behind. Well i turned my head but still kept on walking and I accidentally hit my sons head on the corner of the wall. It startled him and he started crying but he didnt even have a scratch. So just to let you know accidents happen!!! A lot more than you would like sometimes. Especially with my now 3 1/2 year old now. He is always doing something. So dont worry. I am sure you are a wonderful mother!!!

It happens to everyone. I drop my baby the first day I was home she didn't even cry and now she is two running around like a crazy lil monkey. It's hard not to feel like a loser but you are not getting enough sleep, your body is trying to adjust to all the changes and you have to take care of another human being. whew. Know wonder. About co-sleep you would be surprized lots of people do it. I did it with all three of my children. They are now 2, 3 and 8y/o and they have adjusted to sleeping in their own beds. It was hard sometime esp when the second and third were both babies. We had to go get a new bed to fit us all. Then my son 6 felt left out we threw him in the bed too. lol IT was fun and now looking back I'm glad we did it. We only have our children as young at heart for only a few short years. Cherish them.
L.

One time when my third child was a baby, and I mean a newborn, he woke up in the middle of the night, and I was VERY tired. His crib was right next to my bed and when I got him I lost my grip on him and he literally flew into the air. I caught him, I don't know how, it was so dark, but even though it happened 4 yrs ago, I still come close to tears when I think about it. I know how you are feeling right now, but there must be some sort of divine intervention in cases like this (like how you managed to land on your back and keep your little girl from hitting the floor). Just keep telling yourself that she didn't get hurt. And one thing I promise you is that after this scare you will be sooooo careful from now on, that it will never happen again. I never even came close to losing my grip on him again. Try not to blame yourself. It was an accident, and everything was fine. It happens.

J.,

This response is a little late, but maybe it will help you feel better anyhow.

First off, as other moms have mentioned, co-sleeping isn't a bad thing if it's done safely - sometimes my one month old won't sleep anywhere but nuzzled right beside me with a blanket roll separating us to keep him from getting too close. If it's the only way I can get some sleep at this point, so be it.

Secondly, I, too, fell with my first son. He was about 6 months old and I slipped on a slick floor in a restaurant and went toppling over, too! Moms must have some kind of inner ear sensors like cats because I also landed on my backside with the baby in my arms. I was too mortified to cry, but believe me, I wanted to crawl under the closest table, and I might have had there not been people sitting there!

That was 8 months ago, and my son doesn't remember it of course, but my husband and I look back and laugh. We were on our way to meet friends and apparently from their vantage point, I was there and then I suddenly vanished. I felt like Sandra Bullock in her beauty queen high heels, just a lot less glamorous.

:-)

ouch... I hope you are both ok... I think God must give mom's cat reflexes. don't think I had that happen to me with my son, but I do know I fell once when I was pregnate with him...wound up falling face first into the bed...I was headed towards the floor. I remember laughing histerically, and my husband freaking out asking if I were ok...
as far as the co-sleeping... I did that with my son mainly because he had really bad reflux, and he would only sleep on his stomach, so I slept with him on my chest out of fear of SIDs... he was a premie.

Don't feel bad. I fell with my son at a friends house one time coming in their back door. He was like 3 or 4 yrs. old and I felt so so bad about it. I had to leave early from their house because I felt so bad. My friend told me its no big deal and my son didn't get hurt in the fall. I think I put one arm out and broke our fall. Things happen that you can't predict or prevent. Just wait till your baby grows up and gets hurt or someone hurts them or their feelings. That's real fun! lol So don't feel bad and good luck with your little one! :)

Hello J..

I think something like this (or at least as scary as this) has happened to every mother. The important thing to focus on is your baby is OK.

Just like you, my son slept in the bed with me when he out grew the bassinet and I was not ready to put him all the way down the hall in his crib yet (my husband worked nights, so it was just the baby and me in bed). When he was about 4 months old, he rolled off the bed one morning. I cried and cried, too. I felt like a bad mother, thought about what "could have" happend, and long after he stopped crying, I was still crying.

My grandmother tells a story of how her 1st child fell of the couch at 6 wks, her 2nd fell off the couch at 4 wks, and her 3rd fell of the bed at 2 wks. (She said she never had a 4th because she was afraid it would fall off the delivery table!)

It is always scary when something happens to your child (especially when they are that little) and you will always be upset or feel guilty, especially when you feel it is your fault or you could have stopped it. My son is now 2 and since the bed incident he has fallen off his changing table (with me standing right there!), fallen down learning to walk and gotten hurt doing various things he wasn't supposed to. It may not be a comfort, but she will probably have a few more minor "accidents" in the coming years. I know my son has. Sometimes you can prevent them and sometimes you just have to be there with an ice pack. It is part of childhood, and although it always hurts me when my son hurts, I know how to handle it better now. "Oweys" may slow him down a bit, but he is up and moving a second later.

You should not beat yourself up over it, like I said, it is important to remember that you daughter is OK!!!! You are a good mother with good motherly instincts (I know that because your instincts allowed you to do that superhero twist to land on your back without knowing how!) Don't focus on what happend or what could have. You baby is OK, and that is the most important thing.

God Bless!
M.

Hi, it's okay. My ex and I let our little girl sleep with us to, when she was younger. Yes, I have falling with my little one. It's okay, it happendes, as long as the both of you are all right. Just hold her and tell her you love her. Every thing is ok.