Falling boys: Well, I am not a mom who overreacts when Dutch gets a little bump or bruise. He’s already had his share of trips, bumps, and scrapes. To date he’s fallen off the bed three times, all occuring under (of course) my watch. Each were in a split second, a quick look away, and whoop! there he went off the bed. Of course as a mom you feel horrible, but seasoned mothers reasurre that every baby falls off the bed at some point. In May we were at Lake Shasta and Dutch fell over off the little seat where he was propped and landed on his head on the linoleum. I wanted to die and I think I was more upset than he was, but thankfully Darcy was there, a mom of two who immediately began telling me when she accidently dropped her son on the tile floor in their home and cut his head open. Somehow this story made me feel better and less like a negligent mom.
Well, now that Dutch can crawl around and handle himself just fine, I thought maybe the days of falling down off things were over. Wrong. Today, he crawled out of his crib. Yes. He crawled up over the edge of his crib and landed on the floor. We had the edge down just slightly (it was still up to his armpits!) and somehow he managed to get up over the top. I had friends over and all of a sudden I hear this super loud cry and it sounds like Dutch’s door is open because I can hear him so clearly. I ran upstairs and I could hear the clicking off the little wooden letters of his name on his door, as if the door was open. Since I knew I’d shut it I couldn’t figure out why it’d be open unless Jeff was in there, but he wasn’t. As I got closer, my jaw dropped as I saw that our little boy had apparently gotten out of his crib (by falling!) then crawled over to the door, pushed on it (it doesn’t latch well so it pops open easily) and opened the door and was trying to get out of the door while still crying from his fall. As I realized what had happened I could not even believe what he had done–and of course I scooped him up and comforted his little sobs and wiped the tears from his face.
Amazingly enough, there was no damage. Minutes later he was laughing. Falling this far for an adult would be like falling off the roof. But he is just fine, thank You Lord, and we put some wooden wedges in the side so that the side-rail stays up farther. Goodness gracious.
Besides that I am just savoring the fact that we have a weekend at home. Did you hear that? Home. Yes, I am at home. It isn’t my home, but it is home all the same and I’m so happy to be here. Today there was the tiniest bit of snow fluttering outside, and I watched it fall above the icy cold white water of the river. This morning Jeff and I took our long walk with Dutch, breathing deeply the fresh country air and thanking God for the beauty of the country. Tonight I’m making a yummy dinner and maybe even cookies–a Friday night at home deserves a treat! I’m thankful for a warm house and a fireplace a curious and adventurous little boy who can climb anything. He must take after his uncle Kris, the rock climber.
Enjoy your evening too, wherever and whoever you are. Remember to breathe, laugh, and thank God for life.
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Remember when at just 4 months old the little Dutcher rolled off our couch? Yep, that one was under my watch! Daddy does his part to make Dutch tough too! One of those times when his cries were so deep they were silent for the first 5-10 seconds. Love, you of course are doing an excellent job, and Dutch is responding to your motherly love in a thousand different ways.