And another one bites the dust

One of my first posts to this blog was about a spill Breeley took off the side of our bed when she was 8-months-old. (http://hudsonshappenings4.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-little-monkey-jumping-on-bed.html) It was an accident of course, but it happened on my watch. Well, I did it again, only this time it was Zack, he's 3.5-months-old, and it was off the couch.

I'd dozed off on the couch while feeding Zack, who'd fought bedtime and seemed to want some comfort nursing. Breeley started crying so I jumped up to tend to her so she wouldn't wake up Brian. She reached out her arms to me and wanted me to snuggle with her on her bed, which is super rare because she is a very independent sleeper ("bringing her into our bed" has never been a solution to middle-of-the-night wakings, which are also very rare, thank goodness). I crawled on her bed and started thinking that I better not fall asleep because Zack wasn't in a good position on the couch. He must have read my mind because at that moment I heard a thud, then music to a touch-sensored play gym that is on the floor next to the couch, then crying. Oops! I detangled myself from Breeley's arms and jumped up again, this time to rescue Zack from his face-down position on the floor. No blood and he calmed down immediately, and even went right back to sleep. Whew! After putting him safely in his crib, I went back to deal with Breeley, who was sitting on her bed looking very confused and concerned. This time she did not reach out to me. I guess she figured I was more trouble than I was worth! I kissed her and she lay down without another peep.

Sleep issues are quite rare with either of our children. We've been blessed with great sleepers--go to bed easily and sleep all night, and even let us "sleep in" by most parent standards. It's a good thing because clearly I don't handle multi-child sleep issues very well! Next time I'll just let Brian get woken up! :)

Speaking of falling... Breeley is usually the one who falls (while awake, and totally on her own accord). I read an article a few months ago that said parents of toddlers report that their children probably fall/trip about twice a week, when in reality toddlers fall about five times a day. (I don't remember the exact frequency, but it was a lot more than parents thought.) I remember thinking I would have guessed that Breeley trips at least 10 times/day! She's not overall wobbly or unsteady on her feet, she runs and jumps just fine (even advanced for her age), and it happens in tennis shoes, sandels, and barefoot. I read about it online and there's no major red flags, so I think she's just clumsy and perhaps a little flat-footed. Brian says her brain is ahead of her feet!
Luckily, unless she's really tired, she usually doesn't skip a beat. Her worst fall was a few weeks ago on her first day starting in the two-year-old class at daycare. She fell in the driveway and skinned her knee pretty bad. Zack and all our stuff were already in the car, so I had to quickly clean and bandage the boo boo, and she cried the entire way to daycare. It was quite a traumatic start to an already stressful day for her. Her clumsiness coupled with knee-exposing summer shorts and dresses, make me much more aware of our surroundings now and I constantly remind her to slow down to avoid falling.

If only I'd have thought as much about poor Zack lying on the couch...