Broken or Not

There isn't any reason to not go get an X-ray to see what's there or not there. Call the doc in the morning and tell them you were carrying her to bed in her room and the gate was up, you fell over it and dropped her.

At least you didn't break her more. That's a good thing.

At least you didn't make her walk to school.....my SIL did after my niece hurt her leg on a swing set. She told her to stop complaining and, yep, made her walk to school the next day, LOL. Took her to doc later that day and found out it was broken......

Or my friend who sent her son to football practice when it was 90 degrees. He kept complaining that it was hard to breathe during practice, and she thought he was trying to get out of practice because of the heat...until she took him to doc the next day and found out he had pneumonia......

So, you are not alone.
It was either dear Abby or Ann Landers used to publish a list of all these mishaps on Mother's Day just to remind us that we are all human.

Call the doctor or take her in. You will feel better once you know what is really wrong and can help her.

how on earth would i know?
if you're concerned, of course you go to the doctor. i myself would probably give it a day, since there's no swelling, but everyone has a different threshold.
it was an accident. accidents happen.
stop with the mea culpas and handle this accident calmly and sensibly.
khairete
S.

I'm so sorry - we've all done something like this and we just feel awful. But that's part of parenting. And you'll find that kids do dumb stuff when they are older too - fall out of trees or down steps. We can't protect them from everything. All we can do is care for them afterwards.

But you know, it's Friday - so call the doctor now, if you haven't already, so that you can get in quickly for an exam and x-ray without having to go to the ER, which takes forever and is so expensive.

Did you call the pediatrician yet? It's always a free call for a worried parent to the 24/7 line. If it's after hours, you'll get the pediatrician or nurse practitioner on call. Don't fell bad - just call.

I know you FEEL like a terrible mother, but in reality, you are a NORMAL mother. It happens. We've all pinched our kids' fingers in doors, fed them a spoonful of something that was too hot, accidentally hit them with the mop handle while mopping, etc. This is completely different than neglecting them, or otherwise not taking care of them.

We get flustered, we get nervous, we get anxious, and sometimes an injury occurs. Don't let this de-rail you. Take her to be examined, just in case, and be honest with the ER - you tripped and fell while holding your baby.

I hope she's just fine, and I hope that you can feel relaxed knowing you're taking the best care possible of your children.

i wouldn't wait any longer. it was an accident, these things happen. don't beat yourself up about it. take her in and have her checked out as soon as you can.

I would go right away to the doctor. My mom tripped over her baby gate (that keeps her dogs in the kitchen) and broke her leg 3 weeks ago! It's better for your daughter to get checked out asap if she is hurt. It could be a fracture. PS - When our son fell on his arm at age 9 we all thought he was fine and didn't take him in to get checked for 3 days! He would say it felt fine...later he would say it hurt. Then shortly after he would tell us, no it feels fine now. It was very confusing. It turns out it was fractured and he needed a cast. oops. That was a bad parent moment for sure.

First of all, even though we love our children and would never intentionally hurt them, most of us have done similar things at one time or another.

Call your pediatrician and see what he/she suggests. If your pediatrician isn't available, take your daughter to urgent care. Even if there's nothing wrong with her, you'll have peace of mind.

Here's a few of my 'bad mother' stories:

* After our son was born, I was exhausted from my C-section. I was holding him while I was in the hospital bed and fell asleep. My husband was sleeping on a cot next to me. I woke up and realized that our son was about to slide through the opening on the bed rail. Husband woke up at the same time and was also jumping up to get him. Fortunately he didn't actually fall, but it scared the heck out of us. The nurse told us that it's actually not that uncommon for tired parents to drop their babies that way.

* When the same son was about 3, I was carrying him down the stairs. I somehow missed a step and fell down the last three steps, with him in my arms. I took the brunt of the fall, but his head still hit the wood floor.

* I turned my back for a moment and when I turned around, our 2 year old was standing on the arm of the couch. He tumbled off and his head hit the floor.

* When he was an infant, I put him in his bouncy seat on the floor of our family room and went to take a shower. I was careful to shut the baby gate so our dog couldn't get in the room. Came back from my shower and found our 60 pound boxer laying next to him. Apparently I locked the dog IN the room with him. Still thank our dog for not eating him that day!

Kids are resilient. I don't think it's necessary to take her back to the ER or demand an x-ray, if she's behaving normally.

For future reference, here's our pediatricians guidelines for head injuries:

"Head injuries are very common in the pediatric population. Some children need to be seen after an injury and others can be observed at home. Your child should be seen if:

The accident happened at a high speed such as a car accident,
The accident occurred with great force such as a fall from a significant height,
There was a loss of consciousness, that is, he was knocked out or he was confused for a period of time,
The child has a severe headache or won’t quit crying,
There is repeated vomiting (2 or more times),
The child has neck pain,
The child seems confused or disoriented,
His pupils are unequal,
He is not using his arms or legs normally,
He has trouble with his balance or seems unusually clumsy, or
A bump on his head is larger than one inch in diameter. If your child cried but quieted down with consolation, the injury can usually be observed at home. Please follow the instructions below for 24 hours:

Keep the child as quiet as possible - no vigorous activity.

Give clear liquids for 6 to 8 hours since children often will vomit one or two times. Then feed him lightly for the remainder of the day.

Your child can go to sleep, but you need to awaken him after 30 to 60 minutes of sleep to check on his awareness, his color, and the strength of his arms and legs. (Have him squeeze your hands, and push with his legs against your hand to be sure the strength is normal and equal). After this initial check, again check on him every couple hours to see that his breathing is normal and his color is normal. If you have any doubts about his condition, wake him again. If you cannot awaken your child or any of the other symptoms listed above develop, call us immediately".

You need to ALWAYS take in babies, toddlers and kids when they get hurt. You should never 'assume' they are ok just because you can't see anything. Especially head injuries, no matter how minor. Good luck.

aww mama!! I know that feeling!! I slammed my son (now 16) hand into a car door!! I was so upset. I was crying more than he was!! Took him to the doctor and he was fine.

Settle your nerves and take her in. If she can't stand on it - she might have a spiral fracture.

Breathe mama. You didn't do it on purpose!!

We all have felt like terrible parents at one point or another and accidents happen...that's why they are called accidents....

Now, with that said, with infants and toddlers, since they really can't verbalize exactly what or where it hurts, I'd take her to the ER or urgent care and get the munchkin xrayed...I wouldn't have her wait it out....Hope she's OK and feels better soon.

PS. When I fell up the stairs and fractured my shoulder last fall, the folks in the er, while we were waiting for the results on my xray, really thought I had a sprain because it wasn't really swollen nor bruised and no bones were sticking out (which I suppose is a good thing) but it hurt like hell and it wouldn't/couldn't move...and lo and behold!!....
Anyways, I hope it's nothing, but go have it looked at

Take her. Could be fractured.

I'd get her checked out.. especially if she continues to cry when attempting to walk. Keep her calm and comfortable, and call her pediatrician to see what they recommend.. don't beat yourself up continuously. We all have had moments where we would like to rinse and not repeat..

Take her to the doctor. You'll feel worse if there is something wrong and you waited to get her treated. In the meantime, don't be too hard on yourself. Accidents happen. Hope she's OK.

Take her in to get it checked out. My niece fell out of her high chair once (long ago) when I was putting the tray on the side. She didn't hit the floor but did cry out. Then she appeared to be fine. She would not crawl the next day. Turned out though she had to get a cast. It is better to have it checked and nothing wrong than not check and a problem later.

You do need to take her to the doctor.

Part of having little children around us is that they do really unprdictable things. You can't help that. Accidents happen and you just have to deal with the aftermath. Try not to beat yourself up here.

Awww, try not to feel guilt because it was an accident. Accidents are accidents for a reason. Give the baby extra kisses. You'll both begin to feel much better.

Yesterday, I accidentally hurt my daughter's pinky. I felt bad. I apologized a few times, kissed her pinky up and rubbed it really good. Her pain went away and she believed my apology.

When my son was 3 he was chasing me a round our apt one day. It was fun for a little while up until he tripped over his foot and hit his face on the corner of a wall and bled. Yep. My baby boy needed stitches to his eyebrow. Did I feel guilt? Definitely. But, it was an accident. They happen.

I would have demanded an xray. Take her back tomorrow if shes still screaming.