My Scary Mommy Moment
I'm pretty sure this is my baby's disappointed face over my scary mommy fail moment.
No matter how hard we as parents try to do things perfectly, it is inevitable that we are all going to experience some type of failure or another at some point. In the 18+ years we will spend caring for our children, there are bound to be some moments that are less than ideal, challenging or even downright scary.
I had always heard about parents having moments like this, but had been lucky enough to not experience one myself. It felt like I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop … until the other day that is, when I had my first scary moment as a mom.
It happened while Fern and I were playing in the living room. We were on the couch — I was sitting and she was laying in front of me — playing a game. It was almost nap time, so I thought I would grab some books and read to her before she went to sleep. We have a little bookshelf filled with baby books literally two feet from the couch, so I got up to grab a few. My back was turned for no more than a few seconds when I heard a THUNK and then a piercing wail. I flew into a panic, dropped the books, and found Fern lying on the floor. Turning my back on her for just a moment had given her enough time to roll off the couch, narrowly missing our coffee table (the one with cast iron corners) on her descent.
I picked her up and quickly nursed her for comfort as I shook like a leaf with tears in my eyes. My heart was racing at a million miles per minute. I felt like such an awful mom. In less than a minute, Fern stopped crying and all was well in her world again, though I was more than a little bit shaken up. I definitely learned my lesson about leaving babies unattended on elevated surfaces that day. A scary mommy moment indeed.
Have any of you had scary mommy moments?
How did you react?
Lauren Hartmann is the founder of The Little Things We Do, a blog about life and adventures in Portland Oregon. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or catch up on all of her posts here on Babble.
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I think you meant “on her descent,” not “on her decent.”
I spent a bit of time wondering what she had fallen on exactly that you would nickname decent.
I had a similar experience a few days ago with my 6month old. I think it mostly just scared us both. I had to check for bumps or bruises or broken bones. But he’s ok. You’d never know it happened. I definitely learned a lesson. My mom says I rolled off the bed twice and I turned out ok.
Thanks for the correction Anna! Apparently late night blogging and proper spelling doesn’t mix
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@Anna that’s the only comment you could think of? You felt the need to correct her spelling? Hopefully your context clues are good enough so that you knew what she meant.
It happens to everybody. Around here there’s an old wives’ tale that says if your baby doesn’t fall off a bed before he or she is a year old that they will die young. I think that one came about as a way to reassure mothers that this happens to.
http://www.deathmetalmommy.blogspot.com
I laid my baby on the couch and turned to get something, and in that instant, he rolled off. My parents were visiting, and I tried laughing it off, saying my son was so eager to walk already!…but inside I felt like crap, like the worst mom ever.