Falls

A friend of mine was just talking about that. I told her to buy a box of
butterfly bandaids and get ready for what it to come, tile or no tile. We
can't protect them as we would like to.

Carpet isn't going to make the fall any easier. Bumps and bruises are going to happen as they are so top heavy for a while. Honestly, when she starts to walk you will be more concerned with the coffee table or any end tables, cabinets, etc. It won't be the tile floor that starts to scare you.

Bumps and falls are so hard for a tender mama to endure, but our children are actually pretty tough. And built close to the ground – isn't that lucky?

I hear you about that hard tile surface – I still sometimes feel anxious watching my 4.5yo grandson playing on tile or concrete. Those little heads look so vulnerable. Carpeting has pluses and minuses: Yes, it will cushion falls to some extent. But depending on texture, it can also increase falls in babies learning to walk, because they often drag feet or toes during early attempts. And we don't want kids to start walking/runnning/playing with the assumption that the world will cushion every fall. It's not realistic.

I have several big, lumpy scars inside my lips from falls when I was learning to walk. I must either have been really clumsy or had teeth that stuck straight out of my gums. At any rate, I survived, never lost a tooth to injury, and have no traumatic memories of those falls.

Hi M., I am going to provide a different piece of advice, not that i disagree with any of the below, but just so you have another option to consider.

For parts of our tile floor where we set up play areas...we bought these rubber tiles that look like big puzzle pieces. They are sold at big toy stores. Different schools of thought believe the more safe a play area is, the more likely you will encourage independent play without hovering. So this is was we ascribed to and did.

I ordered them at the time from amazon.

I hope this helps. Do what your gut tells you.

Nope. Band aids. And baby tylenol. And margarita mix (for you), to calm your nerves after they're in asleep and safe.

My mum used to threaten to wrap me in cotton and tie me to my bed. I thought it was hilarious, until I had my son and realized what she was going though.

As usual she hit her head?
OMG- your job is to give her a safe space, as is your husband's.
The sound was awful? Imagine how it felt.
Go get rugs, or carpet, or what ever you need to do to make the space SAFE for her- she counts on you to keep her safe.
Start.
k

It would have happen with carpet too. How about putting down a big rug in the livingroom with one of those stay in place mats underneath. Thats what i did so mhy baby had a soft place to play and crawl. Then i cut the tops of a pair of crew socks for a little padding on the tile. She crawled no matter what. Stick with the tile it is WAY easier to clean and baby will be just fine.

NO, babies need to fall in order to learn where their bodies are in time and space. This stimulates the most important sense (sensory awareness) that we have called the vestibular system. Let her continue to crawl as much as she can everyday (a mile) on different surfaces like grass, sand, astroturf, carpet, tile, and other places. This all adds new connections to her brain and central nervous system. She will live through a fat lip but she will struggle all her life with learning disabilites and sensory issues if you don't let her crawl for 4-6 months before walking. Walking should happen between 12-14 months. My feeling is, if you put carpet in, she may not like it and find a way to walk prematurely. She is used to the tile. leave it alone.

kids are going to get hurt, its goning to freak you out at time but it happens. my one year old tried to "pounce' one of his toys the other day and hit the toy and spilt his lip, and it barely phased him (and then two hours latter he made my nose bleed..so its just rough around here lol) he also smacks his head against things alot...HARD! I was worried about it and spoke to his doctor about it and she said that babies are alot more vestitile than we think. i'm sure your little girl will be fine!

If you make your husband put in carpet, you might as well move out all of your furniture and pad the walls with padding as well. My point is this: if it isn't the floor they fall on, it's a chair they fall off of, or a bath tub they slip in and if your baby is like most babies (I have 3 children so I know first hand!) then you can expect many more falls, cuts, bruises, and injuries of some type. My oldest is 10 and a couple years ago she fell out of bed (sleeping of course) and hit her head on the wall close to her bed. How it happened to an older child, I will never understand but it resulted in a trip to the E.R. for stitches. You are over-reacting but that is not a bad thing in itself. Your baby will improve her walking skills over time and in time, she will grow out of the falling stage. Hang in there and keep ice packs on hand in the freezer as needed.

No carpet! That tile is so easy to keep clean - don't make your life harder than it has to be. Imagine her potty training on carpet versus tile floors. Or doing craft projects.

Put a fluffy rug in the family room so she has a soft place to play. She'll be fine.

Sadly falls happen carpet or not. We have a lot of tile in our house and our daughter, 1 1/2 at the time, fell of the dining room chair flat on her back. It's scary but they do learn where to be careful. If anything maybe you could put a rug down until she's more stable. I must warn you though, the falls and bruises don't stop any time soon. She's almost 2, our son's almost 4, their legs are never bruise free.

In this particular instance she would have bitten her lip just as hard even if there had been carpet. No matter what's on the floor, babies/toddlers find things to smash themselves on :-(

Still you're the mom and if you're anxious and worried, no one will be happy and relaxed. Maybe instead of putting carpet in, you can get a large soft area rug for the main play area of the house (family room?) so that at least most of the time she'll be crawling around on something plush. You can get carpet pad cut to the size of the rug as well so it'll have that extra squish-ability :-)

Hope this helps,
T.

Just wait until she's 4 and up on the top of some huge climber. She'll be having the time of her life, and you'll be having a heart attack!

"To be a mom is to forevermore have your heart walk around outside of your body." As nice as it would be to be able to always perfectly protect it, it's going to get a little dented. She, and you, will be okay.

Oh I can relate to you!!! Our house is mostly terra cotta tile. The first time our daughter fell on it, I thought my heart would break. I put large area rugs in the "frequently visited rooms" and put on my running shoes. Everywhere she went, I followed - quickly.

It's pretty scary no matter what the surface. It came in stages, she would get more comfortable crawling, then she started walking and the caution flag came back out again. Now, at 19 months, she knows how to put her arms out to catch herself.

She'll get many bumps and bruises even if you had carpet. Try and relax. It's just the start of plenty to come.

No, don't put carpet in. Just keep a better eye on her. My daughter was playing on my rocking chair and fell. She busted her lip and it was bleeding. Boy, did I feel bad. I was a total mess when it happened. It healed up nicely though. Good luck.

That sounds pretty traumatic and as a first time mom, it can be very disheartening. We have tile all over the house and my son had his falls from time to time (including down the stairs at 12 months which caused a major gash to the head) but can say it will be ok. Regardless of where you are and what type of floor you have, bumps and bruises will come their way and some drops of blood as well. Babies are very special and as fragile as they can be, their bodies have a magical engine that helps them recover from injuries fairly quickly. This sort of fall or injury can happen anywhere, outside playing in the grass or on the side walk or in someone else's house....even the playground. Fear not. What you do next is the important part. Comforting and loving without being too startled helps. Pick up the pieces, love your child and help her heal. For peace of mind, you can put a large rug in a specific area you all like to be in most of the time.....where she like to play th most......maybe the living room. At least that might help and a rug in her room by the crib in case she lingers out. Enjoy!