when my baby gets hurt
It's been a rough few days. Yesterday, I was at the store with my daughter and she got tired of sitting in the cart so I carried her in my arms until I couldn't anymore. I put her down so she could walk. She wasn't walking for more than two seconds when another shopper plowed her cart into my baby and knocked her down flat on her back.
From just steps away, I saw it all happening in slow motion, screaming, "Watch out!" but it was too late. The woman didn't see her and I couldn't get to my daughter in time. I scooped my baby up, held her tight, and stood there crying in the middle of the store. My baby cried too, but not for nearly as long as I did. Her forehead was a little pink, but a few minutes later there was no physical sign of the collision.
Today was another story.
My little climber fell down some stairs at home. Again I rushed over from where I stood (not close enough!) and picked her up. I didn't even notice her cut, puffy eye until after she stopped crying and I looked at her precious little face. All my fault. I immediately called my husband and resigned my job as mother saying my daughter would be better off without me.
I also called my sister-in-law T. for some advice about what to do about my baby's eye. She gave me a few tips, and then she said, "Here's what you should do for you." T. said it wasn't good for me to be stressed because the baby would pick up on it. She recommended some Rescue Remedy.
My friend B.'s baby also took a tumble recently and B. rushed her to the hospital, a nervous wreck. The doctor told her husband, "The baby is fine, but I'm really worried about your wife." He wanted to give her some Valium. Seriously.
It's hard watching your baby get hurt and it's hard not to feel guilty and think you could have, should have …
I'm pretty sure that my baby's black eye will heal, but I don't think I'll ever recover.
How do you deal with your stress when your baby gets hurt?
