The great fall

Friday, the 15th of June, 2007. 7:00 p.m. Lil General was very cranky that evening just after we got back from our evening walk. It was quite humid inside so I tucked him on the bed in the bedroom and built the usual fortress of pillows while he slept. The family was chatting in the drawing room while I was checking my mails the first time that day. It was 8:03 p.m. and a sudden shrill cry came from the bedroom. It was not the "environment check" cry. LG usually cries for 30 seconds after waking up every time from his sleep to see if the environment is the same as it was when he went to sleep. If I don't appear in his radar, then starts the crying.

The next thing I know The Seniol is darting across the hallway into our long corrdior that leads to the bedrooms. He says, "Shit" that I can hear far away. I didn't need to know any more. I knew what had happened, something that I had been fearing for days and warning the family. But the faith in Lil General was so high or should I say everyone underestimated his capability.

Lil General found a gap through the pillows and found his way onto the floor. Bang, he had hit his head on the floor and the poor baby was crying out of pain. The Seniol comforted him but he didn't stop and then passed him onto me. I comforted him and then after 5 minutes he stopped crying but was still sobbing out of pain. We did aquick check to see if there were no prominent injuries like bleeding through the nose or swollen legs or wrists.

Each one of us was heartbroken. With so many of us around - 4 adults, we couldn't keep an eye on a small baby and prevent a small accident. No one played the blame game. It was partially my fault because I let me guard down and didn't build the fortress with so much care as The Seniol does. Should I say The Seniol is good enough to have done a PhD on analysing LG's strength on how far he can go and how hard he can push the pillows etc. The Seniol always puts 2 small pillows underneath the bigger ones so that they are difficult to push. I hadn't done that.

Worried if everything was ok, we took him to the Doctor that night. On teh surface, it appeared things were under control. LG smiled and rolled on his back within a few minutes after the falling off.

Some questions that the Doc asked us to see if there is anything to be worried.

1. From what height did he fall?


2. Did he vomit?


3. Is he feeding well?


4. Does anything appear abnormal?


5. Is there any swelling of the arms or legs?

Over the days, we were advised to see if he gets fussier, sleepier etc. He was prescribed painkiller - Ibugesic plus.

I am still worried and have decided it is better to place the mattress on the floor than risk leaving him alone on the bed.

On a lighter note, LG was trying to fly when he hadn't learned to walk yet - the friendly neighbourhood spiderman that he is.