Walking and Falling

We are so excited Baby is walking!  It is so neat to see her tiny little self wander around, holding her arms up for balance.  She's just so tiny.  It's amazing that something so small can do so much.

I kept pushing and hoping Baby would walk.  I wanted her to be one of the first (yes, I may be a little competitive) so I could brag (I'm being honest, here!). 

I know a lot of people said to not push it, that I would regret it when she started walking.  Honestly, I really like it.  I mean, I can set her down somewhere and not worry that she is getting her hands dirty.  Or her knees.  She can have a little more freedom rather than being carried or pushed everywhere.  Not too long ago I took her to the mall and she had a blast walking around a few of the stores with me.  Granted, our pace was slower than a snail's and we may have clogged up a few aisle ways, but people can go around.  Hello, my baby is walking!

I feel a tiny bit disappointed that the big milestones are starting to pass.  First there was rolling over, then crawling.  Last was walking.  There is nothing left in this specific series.  At least I don't think so.  She could be a mutant and sprout wings and fly or something.  Somehow I find that highly unlikely.  That part is rather sad to see pass.  However, now I get to look forward to talking (and/or signing since we have our class on Sunday!).

One of the downsides of walking is falling.  Before, Baby was already on her hands and knees.  She couldn't really fall down, so to speak.  There wasn't very far to go.  If she happened to trip over a hand she would just do a little nosedive forward and scoop herself back up.  Walking opens up a whole new world of accident possibilities.

To begin with, Baby doesn't look down when she walks.  She looks straight ahead or up at one of us.  This means that she doesn't look where she is stepping.  Which in turn leads to her tripping, mostly over her toys.  The past couple of nights she has taken some pretty nasty falls.

The first time Baby fell she tripped over a toy she had been playing with.  She was coming toward me and didn't look where she was stepping.  She tripped and banged her head on the corner edge of the couch.  I thought for sure she gave herself a black eye.  She was not a happy camper.  I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I made an ice pack and attempted to put it on her face.  She just kept grabbing it and shoving it away.  A short while later she was back to playing so I didn't push the ice.  Luckily she did not in fact have a black eye.

The next night Baby tripped again.  She was heading toward Husband when she tripped over his foot.  She smacked straight into the edge of the end table.  And she did it hard.  Right between the eyes.  I comforted her and made another ice pack. She calmed down and played with the pack.

Again, she did not have a bruise the next day.  I don't know how the child does it, but now I am overly paranoid.  Every time she walks somewhere I want to scoop anything out of her way to make sure she doesn't trip.  I tense up, waiting to grab her should she go off balance.  I hover.  I really don't want her to seriously injure herself.   However, on the other hand, I refuse to pad everything down in the room.


How in the world do you put an ice pack on a baby?