canuckguy

my little girl for the past month or so has started to pull herself up on every piece of furniture that she can get her sticky mitts on. the coffee table, shelfs...etc. this is awesome that she is learning to stand on her own and can walk with assistance when holding my hands. The real problem is that she is very unstable when standing, so when she pulls herself up you have to make sure you are there to brace her if she falls straight back like a tree falling.
I am worried about when she uses the kitchen cupboards to pull herself up and its on the hard floor and her smashing her still developing mellon on the floor.
Anyway that i can minimize the blow to the head when she falls? anyone have any tips they used? we watch her all the time, but sometimes she can get up so quickly before you can get to her, sometimes she can stand for 20 minutes while she plays, other times its 10 seconds. am i just a worrier or anyone have any similar experiences. she just seems so young to take that type of fall to the head.

FatherTed

Yes, you are just a worrier, but it's hardly surprising and we all were when we were in your position.
Only advice I have is to try to keep her in rooms which have a softer landing area!

She will get over this stage really quickly - days I would have thought.
Soon, she will continue to fall, but land firmly on her butt, her diaper cushioning the fall.
They are remarkably resilliant - it still amazes me

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Redlemon

I'm not a doctor.

However, I think they can handle more than we think they can.

I'd say, let her fall a few times while she's standing on carpet, or perhaps carpet with a few blankets on top of it. She should learn to pull her head up quickly that way, without getting hurt.

Also, don't hover too much. With our boy, when he fell we wouldn't make a big deal about it, or we'd laugh and say "Timmy! You fell down!" That sort of thing. Quickly, he learned that it isn't a bad thing to fall. I've seen other parents who hover and panic, and it makes the kid worry, and any time they fall down, they start to cry automatically. Tim only cries if he is actually hurt.

Or, it might just be his personality. I'm rambling, I think I should just end this post now.

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dksuddeth

you are now at the phase of babyhood where babies excel at following backwards on their diapered bottom. relax and enjoy the learning experience with them. Just keep them away from stairs and such.

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Ella

Also you can buy little plastic thingies that stick on the corner of sharp edged tables, etc, to help avoid bumps from these. But as everyone else has said...it's a learning experience and babies need to discover what works and what hurts. They learn pretty quickly.

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Grasshopper Green

We had hardwood floors when my son was learning to walk, and I don't recall any bad falls; he usually fell on his butt. I think the protecting sharp corners suggestion was good though. Don't hover is also a good suggestion, we didnt do that and my son rarely cries now when he falls. When he does cry, we know its because he really got hurt.

canuckguy

well thanks everyone first for all the ideas, first off, we do hover, but don't panic and we laugh when she falls. second, she is not falling on her bum, that would not bother me, she can fall in all directions. like a tree being chopped at the base. if she gets distracted by something or looses her grip if it was not for my hands catching her inches from the ground, her head would be the second thing to hit after her elbow...etc. everyone has suggested its okay to fall on her bum, thats what i want her to do, i was indicating she topples like enron sometimes and it just seems like a long fall to slam the back of her head into the ground.

analog

I'm pretty sure babies have fallen by themselves all throughout history and we seem to be doing well enough despite a lack of evolutionary headgear. That being said, if a kid falls hard and back on their head frequently, then maybe supervision is a good idea on hard floor surfaces, and favor areas of your place that are more thickly carpeted in which to walk around aimlessly with more freedom. I remember my dad telling me once about me doing this, and he just carried a regular bed pillow with him while I trotted around. If i took a spill, you could see it coming, and he'd just toss the pillow in my general direction- worked like a charm, aparently.

martinguerre

that age is tough...one of the kids i cared for was at that very stage. i had to catch her, and have my hand under her for a month and a half. finally she started controlling her falls, and eventually getting the hang of it.

there's some good advice up above...but i wanted to add that she will be growing out of this particularly heart stopping phase. best o' luck.

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cyrnel

I have a niece who's learning to walk early - at 9mo. Her legs aren't well developed and when tired she tends to topple hither & yon. Furniture is her bane, especially tables with edged corners at chin height. Buckle, topple, *whack!* A few of these and she's frustrated and done.

I agree about not hovering. Kids shouldn't learn worry that early, or become the center of the universe (in their perception).

Yet I don't see the benefit of whacking your noggin on things to reinforce failure. Falling is its own penalty. To me the pain frustrates, lowers tolerance and shortens the day of learning. Better to equip them for safety during this period and thus speed the process. Seems like sparring headgear would be perfect.

MXL

They are built low to ground for a reason. Protect the sharp corners and stairs, and don't worry too much because this the natural way they learn. My daughter when she was about the same age, would throw a temper tantrum where she would sit on her bottom, very dramatically scream/wail and then fall forward, hitting her head on the carpet. This was an Oscar worthy performance mind you. That was fine until she tried that on the sidewalk one day. That was the last time she threw a temper tantrum like that. Kids learn very quickly what work and what does not work, sometimes a little pain is involved, but that is just part of growing up.

desal75

You should probably get rid of the coffee table if you have one.

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canuckguy

Just wanted to update, most of today she fell on her bum, once with a full diaper. lovely sound. thanks for all the info and tips! babies learn quick! thank god!

f6twister

My son is at the same stage. He falls every direction, sometimes landing on things that hurt. As much as I hate to see it and try to protect him, it just isn't possible all the time. It is all part of growing up. If he bumps his head, he cries for a few seconds then heads the other way. She will get through this stage soon enough.

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johngalt1998

Good advice here. We just buffered where we could (the sharp edges, careful what they can pull on / out, etc), and just watched him really close. The not making a big deal about falling is the right way to go for sure, but she's going to fall.

My neighbor and i have kids about the same age and he was much more worried than i was, can only blame he has a girl and i have a boy. Seems like we both want them to not get hurt when they fall, but i see the others dads that have daughters as being much more 'concerned'.

Nice thing about a lot of this kid stuff is that they go trough so many phases, she'll be running around like an expert all too soon... this too shall pass.

Bill O'Rights

Babies bounce.
They are obviously made of far stronger stuff than we adults. I've seen both of my kids take tumbles that probably would've reduced me to a quivering heap on the floor. But, they just got back up and tried again. Hmmmm...there may be a lesson in there somewhere.

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KMA-628

brian -

I seem to remember a different worry of yours some 10 months ago. Having gone through a very similar situation, I have learned to be happy about these kinds of worries.

Be grateful of the fact that you have these "little" things to worry about (I am a worry-wort as well, for the same reason as you).

I have learned one thing as time has passed.....its really hard to break a baby.

ngdawg

If you can possibly do it, devote a room to your baby where she can go nuts climbing, falling and playing in general. I bought gates and gated off the family room for my twins at that age. Nothing breakable(and thus injury-causing) was in their reach. They'd throw off the sofa cushions, bounce around, toss toys, etc. and could pull themselves up without fear of anything falling on their heads. Ten minutes before Daddy got home, everything got scooped up, put back in its place and peace would once again reign(and they slept really good!)

absorbentishe

I've gone through this 4 times with my kids, and 8 other times with relatives children. First of all, relax, take a breath. She will be fine. Children are a lot more resilient than you think. Over protecting is even worse. Let her learn on her own, she'll soon be a master.