Confessions of a First Time Mom #3

Accidental Dropping

Alright y’all, confession time. About a month ago, I dropped Hazel. Yep, that happened… I became one of those parents.

Before this incident, I always said I would never be one of those parents that accidentally drops their kid. Like how does that even happen? Well, I now know how it happens and my judgemental attitude has gone out the window. I now want to tell you my story and reiterate that if/when this happens to you, you are not alone!

The day of the accidental dropping started like any other. I was working from home and my husband was watching Hazel. He decided to go outside and work in the yard leaving Hazel in my care. No big deal. He had left her sitting in this caterpillar thing that helps her sit up and not lay on her back all day. Also no big deal. But our coffee table was blocking my view of her, so I decided to pick her up and move her closer to me, so I could keep an eye on her while I was working. No big deal.

I walked over to her and like a genius, I figured I would just pick her up in the caterpillar. As I lifted, my adorable top-heavy baby fell backwards out of the caterpillar. It all happened so fast! When I realized what was happening, I dropped the stupid caterpillar and picked her up immediately. I was bawling so hard and couldn’t catch my breath. Hazel was crying, because she had just hit our floor. Utter chaos is happening inside while my husband blissfully cuts limbs out of the tree.

Instead of running outside to tell him what happened, I call my mom. She attempts to calm me down and then tells me I need to go get Jeremiah and call the pediatrician. Jeremiah comes in and is so lost. I not-so-calmly explain to him that I dropped Hazel and we need to take her to the doctor. He gets Hazel to stop crying and we rush to the pediatricians office.

When the pediatrician takes a look at her, she confirms that Hazel is in perfect condition. She was able to be calmed, she is a good weight, no internal bleeding, and good reflexes. She had no concerns about Hazel, which is a total relief and blessing. I was mortified now though. I’m sure they wrote something in her file that her mother is so irresponsible. But the doctor informed me that typically with falls from less than a foot onto carpet result in no harm done and the hardest part is the parent forgiving themself.

So there you have it… it happens to 90% of parents and more often than not your baby will be fine. Forgive yourself and keep trying. Parenthood is hard work and accidents happen.