#Perfect Parenting

I marvel that I've kept a little human alive for three years, and wonder how anyone survived to their eighteenth birthday before the invention of helmets, seat-belt laws, and for that matter, pillows.

After discussing some of the admirable parenting decisions I made last week, I didn't plan to revisit the subject again so soon. But today has been one of those days...

Kiddo likes to climb. Especially on the arms of the couch. He sits on them, stands on them, and jumps off them. I'm always telling him to get down (or at least sit down to reduce the distance between his head and the floor). For some time now I've had images in my mind of him diving backwards, head first, from the arm of the couch onto the hardwood floor.

Well, it turned out to be more of a back flip than a dive. I don't think he fell from full standing, but I can't be sure. I was looking the other way until motion, or something, caught the outer edges of my vision and made the hairs stand up on my neck. I turned in time to see Kiddo roll backwards over the toys scattered on the floor in his landing zone.

I was sure we were going to the ER, but after a quick cry and a hug he was pulling himself back up onto the couch and bouncing up and down. I checked his pupils, looked him over for bruises, and poked my fingers around his neck and collar bone. All seemed well. Kids really are more resilient than adults.

An hour later, while following me up the stairs, he tripped and bumped his chin on the step. His chin already has a good bruise from yesterday when he slipped (on nothing that I could see) and landed on the ride-on toddler car that happened to be tipped sideways nearby.

Kiddo is now in bed. Half an hour ago, I figured I should check that he was still breathing. As usual, he'd worked his way out from under his blankets. As moms do, I decided to cover him back up. An innocuous action, right?

Kiddo usually sleeps like a rock. But there are exceptions to every rule and this was one of them. The second I moved the blanket he startled and leaped (like really jumped) sideways...off the bed, headfirst, onto the floor. It happened so fast I hardly had time to let go of the blanket let alone catch him. Thankfully, due to some recent 2-am rolls out of bed, there happened to be a blanket and a cushion present to break his fall. Still, I'm amazed he hopped back into bed and let me cover him up without, as far as I could tell, even waking up fully.

I should mention, my husband has been out of town since yesterday afternoon. Now that I think of it, this isn't the first time Kiddo has sustained multiple bruises while Hubby was away. Possibly, he's the one who has been keeping this kid alive all along. Figures. I do ninety percent of the worrying and yet the injuries still happen on my watch.

Hubby won't be home until tomorrow night. Maybe it's a good thing Kiddo goes to daycare tomorrow.