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2/15/12 blog post

her first bump on the head...

Even though I might be safety mom, I think I’ve been pretty realistic that bumps and bruises happen. We’ve reached the point where Mary was a casualty to a bump on the head.

In her quest to challenge me (I know she is going to be strong-headed), the other night she was playing around one of our television tables that we have in our living room. We typically take these down after use but this was an exception. You are correct – my living room was not completely child proof!

The television tables are Mary’s favorite (she knows she isn’t supposed to play with them) and this particular evening was no exception. She was playing under one (like a tunnel) and before I could catch her she accidentally collapsed the table and it fell on her head (grazing the top of her head). She screamed…but then passed out (because of her breath-holding spells) and quickly came to and went on her merry way…

After comforting her and realizing the epic FAIL on my part to properly supervise I set out to determine next steps. Do we call the doctor? Do I take her to the emergency room? What information do I need? Who am I going to trust for that information? Is this a time to trust my gut?

Had she been profusely bleeding or passed out longer I would have immediately called 9-1-1. But this situation didn’t seem as emergent – in my gut.

Step #1 – I checked the Dayton Children’s website because I knew we had done a lot of work on when a bump on the head was really serious. After reminding myself (you always seem to need the reminder “in the moment”) about internal and external head injuries, I determined that her dime-sized bruise probably was external.

Step #2 – I called the nurse line associated with our pediatrician’s office. The nurse was great. I explained the whole story and also told her how Mary had blacked out but I assumed that it was part of her new-found breath-holding capability.

Step #3 – The nurse consulted with our pediatrician on-call and then called me back with the next steps of watching her and waking her up every 2-4 hours for the next few nights. They also attributed the “passing out” to Mary’s breath holding.

So we checked Mary every few hours that night and subsequent nights and her little bruise quickly disappeared. Crisis averted.

While I don’t suggest following my steps exactly – you have to do what the situation warrants and what your gut tells you – have you thought through who you would consult? What is an emergency vs. a wait and see? What are your tips for moms that face that first bump on the head or other first “accident?”