I couldn't catch him quick enough and now my poor baby has a fat lip and his top gum/front tooth(tooth hasn't came in yet) is now blue!!:( I have a appointment in a few days but doesn't stop me from worrying if he's okay:( anyone else have this happen? Feeling like a failure I know they will fall but when they bleed it feels worse thanks for letting me vent.
They heal so fast at that age the marks will be gone before you know it. This is normal. Babies were designed for this.
I know - I had a super early walker and it seemed that the bruises and bleeds started so early.
A few thoughts to help you:
a) a pediatrician I know doesn't call them bruises, he calls them "having fun marks"
b) kids are close to the ground - they don't fall far, and when they do, they bounce
c) his teeth are baby teeth right now. My friend's son lost an entire baby tooth and for years they called him "The Pirate" - and now he is handsome as you can imagine.
d) learning that you can fail at a small task/feat but succeed at life is a child's key to future success
e) an unbruised, unblemished, unscarred child is one who never experienced life, who stayed in a cocoon, and who was totally handicapped later in life. This is the child who never talks to a teacher in high school, can't function in college, and goes through his professional life totally afraid of every possible failure and set-back.
f) this has NOTHING to do with you being a bad mom!! Nothing!
Say this to yourself many times - small boys bounce. They just do. It will be okay.
Of course you feel bad. You can't help it. But he will be fine.
I know just how you feel. I can't begin to tell you how many times I was just that 1/2 step away and couldn't do anything but watch my child fall. You feel like you should have been able to stop it but in reality all children fall. Accidents happen with or without you there. You aren't a failure; you are just a mom with a hurt child who feel his pain.
Don't beat yourself up! My kids have face-planted so many times I can't even count! When my youngest was 4, she tripped running full speed and fell directly on her teeth on our brand new hard wood floors - there was so much trauma to her teeth and gums - her front tooth was pushed all the way back and the emergency dentist put temporary "braces" on her to try to hold it in place... the tooth didn't even die (to my surprise) and stayed in almost 2 years after that! A week after the incident you would have never known. My other one face planted off a bike onto a curb... thank God for helmets but her whole mouth and nose had road rash... Kiddos are so resilient, and mouths bleed a LOT.
My oldest fell and cut his top lip pushing a toy when he just a bit older. We took him in to see if he needed stitches but they assured us it would be more traumatic to do stitches than just let it heal. Mouth cuts look much worse than they are because of the blood mixed with drool. We just gave him pain relief meds and he was fine.
I felt terrible. We all do. Now when I look at my teenager, and see that tiny little scar that makes his lips looked bowed, I think of it fondly. I know, weird right? But it was a growing experience as a parent. Good luck and don't beat yourself up :)
poor little boo. yeah, we feel awful when it happens, but he's long past it and it's part of the trials and tribulations of being a tiny person learning how to navigate the world.
you just can't let yourself bog down in guilt and drama. dust him off, dust yourself off and carry on. you've got years of this kind of thing ahead of you!
khairete
S.
My daughter got her first tooth at 3 months. She fell onto her bottle, off the couch, and jammed her front tooth back up into the gums. It died. She didn't have a tooth in that slot until she was nearly 5. In her 5 year old Easter photo she had no teeth, top or bottom, from eye tooth to eye tooth. It was so funny looking.
I think if you see a pediatric dentist you'll find it's okay. I hope that's who you have an appointment with and not the pediatrician. Baby teeth need to be treated by a baby tooth doc, a Pediatric Dentist. Call your insurance and ask them if they can give you a list of them. Then call each one and see who you feel is the best match to you.
A family dentist is NOT a pediatric dentist, you understand that, right? They treat big kids teeth and they're just not the same. Best wishes to your little one.
