Saturday, February 26, 2005

Fallen

It was a Sunday evening. Mae and I were lazing around in the living room in front of the TV. We had put Baby to sleep on our bed - he likes it there and tends to sleep a little longer, even to the point of waking up happier. So there he was, asleep on our bed. We put up a barrier of pillows and bolsters. It would be safe enough and besides whenever Jesse awoke, he'd call for us. And so we left him there. Alas, we also left a small opening in the barrier. "He couldn't possibly crawl backwards," we rationalised. Who would have thought the boy could gostan at such a tender age?

And right there in the middle of the final episode of SATC, we heard a sickening thud. Mae and I rushed into the room and Jesse was nowhere to be seen!!! Fear gripped my heart and I felt the blood flood into my head. I expected the worse.

Jesse was lying there on the floor at the side of the bed away from the door. He was curled up on his side. His face was convoluted and his mouth wide open. But there was no sound! It was like some perversed silent movie.

And then like a delayed telecast, sounds of his cries filled the entire house. I picked him up and held him close. He was crying. He must have felt like shit with the shock and the pain of the fall. Mae was feeling like shit. I was feeling like shit. It was the shittiest day of our lives.

He calmed down fairly quick. But to be sure, we took him to the hospital anyway. There, he was given a clean bill of health. The nice guy of a doctor reassured us that Baby was okay, "As surprising as it sounds, we do get a lot of such cases." And just like that Mae and I are inducted into the Dumbass Parents' Hall of Shame, an age-old fraternity of lousy parents who allow their babies to fall off the bed.

It's been three weeks since. We can laugh about it now, but damn, that day must easily have been the worst day of our lives. It's still a little heartbreaking when I think about it. That day Jesse woke up alone in that room and instead of calling out or crying, he entertained himself by rolling around on the bed. And for being the good boy that he was that day, he was rewarded with a nasty fall. *sigh* Poor kid. Looks like I'll have to give him back all of his future allowances that I had deducted from his Buku 555!

24 comments:

  1. Awww poor James and Mae. I think both your shocks are greater than the little bump Jesse got. Hate to say it, but newbie parents got it all the time. And oldie parents like me too when we underestimate the kiddo. Cheers!

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  2. My parents told me that one morning they actually woke up to find me on the floor outside my crib. Until now, they still cannot figure out how did I climb over the tall sides, or how I could have squeezed myself through the narrow bars. Still, it was a good thing I fell or landed on a pile of blankets and was blissfully snoozing away. Haha, an indication that my calling was to be a cat burglar or a skyjumper? Hmmm!! XD

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  3. Oh my,baby Jesse must have felt the pain,so did the parents.Glad that the doctor said it was fine though.Hmm,gotta be careful next time and not underestimate the little ones.

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  4. Oh man, the guilt, the pain and the shame! I once watched helplessly (unable to reach her on time) as my baby (now toddler) fell of the stroller (which I had carelessly left unstrapped for just a moment) and hit the ground head first. Ouch! When it comes to safety, never take things for granted, not even for a moment, yes?

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  5. poor thing!....must have suffered a shock from the fall, judging from the delayed crying. :|

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  6. err...I did it, it was Isabelle (or Annabelle? can't remember), and Twinsdad did it too, it was Annabelle (or Isabelle? he also can't remember).
    both happen when the mommy and daddy fell in sleep :P, tell me about it how shit it was hehehe...
    but like Lilian said, every newbie parent have their share on this :P.

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  7. Yeah yeah you should be ashamed of yourselves!!! :P Poor baby :( I've been silently reading back all ... and I mean ALL your entries. You should blog more often, I like the way your mind works. And I miss Msia so much >_< Oh and your CKT recipe is a hit in my household, I also passed it on to some friends in Hawaii and England who were interested after seeing the photos on my site.
    Take better care of Jesse!!! I found my baby brother sleeping 360 degrees from the original position that he was sleeping in on my bed, so yes. Babies can gostan very well and breakdance too.

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  8. ah...poor baby...luckily he did not get Ang Mo Lao.We used to have big big ang mo lao when we fell down..:P

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  9. Phew! I am glad baby Jesse was ok. I once dreamed about something like this with Emily too and have been really careful ever since.

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  10. Mmmm must be a scare to have gone through that. Thank god Jesse was ok.

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  11. Nothing to worry about. My cousin sis kept on falling when she was little, she ended up just fine.

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  12. james, it happened to my daughter as well when she was only 3 years old. she fell from a 4ft high slide. while on our way rushing her to the emergency ward (it's already 10:30pm at nite), she vomitted once. thank goodness after the doc did a thorough examination, she was certified ok alright. well, today she's a 5+ pretty girl who always does her parents proud :)

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  13. sighhh i know the heart sinking feeling... we left our boiboi for just a few of seconds to get something in the nearby toilet in our room. 5 months old decided to roll around and the next thing we knew he landed on the floor. luckily there was his cot at the end of our bed with rollers dat cushioned the fall. however he had the same "no sound except big wide mouth opened"... urrghhhh!!!
    from then we never left him outta our sight

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  14. This is the President of the Dumbass Parent's Hall of Shame, I am sorry but your membership apllication has been rejected.
    My 13th month son, Marcus has fallen from the Bed, Sofa, Coffee Table, Dining Chair (with the chair on top of him). The thing is he will cry but after 10 minutes he will climb up the same chair/table/etc again.

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  15. OK, another story to scare you, James.
    When my cousin's baby was 6 months old, he could climb over his cot! So, he fell, head first, to the floor. When the babysitter heard his cry, she rushed in and found him in a pool of blood!!
    He was rushed to the hospital, the doc checked and said he just had a cut in his forehead. Other than that, no problem at all.
    The babysitter was so freaked out and scared that she resigned immediately!

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  16. It's called the School of Hard Knocks. Every kid has to go thru that, so don't beat yourself up. You're still swell parents. I fell many times off the bed and see! where I'm now. hah! Strangely, that doesn't sound very comforting. :lol:

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  17. Amir had been thru that b4, because of me. Dang, i still cant forget the look that I got from husband. Tsk.

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  18. just reading about the fall already made my heart jump, what more for you, james and mae. i can understand how that was the worst day of your lives! glad to know that jesse is allright.

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  19. I too fell from the bed at 6 months and landed on my head. My brother is convinced thats why im so short. Hmph..

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  20. awww, poor jesse. now you should throw Buku 555 and forget about all his debts =p

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  21. Poor Jesse indeed, Natalie. :)
    You're so right Lilian. Us newbies have a heckuvalot to learn!
    Or an escape artist, Applegal. :)
    The little rascal never cease to prove us wrong in underestimating him, Jason.
    Yes, mumsgather. Yes! Jesse nearly fell out of his stroller that day. :lol:
    I think the shock was worse than the fall, 9!
    :lol: I hope dad wasn't trying to balance things out with the twin, Twinsmom.
    Thanks for dropping by Gwen. And for trying the CKT recipe!!! :D And yeah, Jesse's pretty good at breakdancing too. Just hope he doesn't actually break anything.
    Yeah BigMugMug, I had my fair share of Angmolau too!
    Wow, Ariel, you had dreams to warn you? :)
    It was a madhouse in our home that day, Kervin.
    Gina: Wait. Which cousin? Hehhehh....
    I'm glad to hear your little girl is alright, Beauty. If Jesse had vomited, we would have freaked out big time!!!
    It's the guilt, BabeKL! It's such a dirty feeling. :)
    :lol: Peter, your little Marcus sure looks robust now. Must be all that training. Hehhh...
    Oh shit, blood? That's it, Papi, we're never letting him out of our sight!!!
    I'm sure you're well-adjusted, Fly! :)
    Aww Hazel! I know that feeling. Luckily for me, Jesse didn't happen during the times when he was with me alone at home. *ahem*
    Thanks Lucia. It was a scary moment.
    :lol: Annu, I'm sure you're fine.
    Leo: Throwing...

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  22. that's why we are sleeping on the floor (with the mattress lar). but then, even a small "thud" makes mummy and buaya daddy run to baby, so you are not alone ;)

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  23. hehe....once, when my brother and sis-in-law went out for supper,i babysat my nephew,who was..hmm.....3 months old.
    he was sleeping in his cot,which is joined to my brother's bed.
    so i sat on the bed and just watched him sleep....and then i fell asleep myself.
    and then there was a looooooud thud.
    i fell off the bed.
    ;)

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