I am embarassed to share this, but I feel compelled to (maybe this should be in the secrets post)

Please be really careful about using any kind of glass around a toddler. I am usually very careful. I always put stuff away from the edge of anywhere Helen might reach.

Two weeks ago, I wasn't that careful witha glass and I left the room for a moment thinking oh, it's okay the room is babyproofed, not even thinking about the water glass I'd drunk from earlier.

A moment later I heard a crash. I came running and found glass at Helen's feet and a huge piece in her hand. She was ready to TEETHE on it! I managed to carefully get it away from her without her getting cut. Miraculously, she had not gotten cut on the glass.

Now - I only use plastic cups - even for my coffee (lidded ones if it's hot). And I have made sure to move anything from where she might reach.

That was the only time before or since that she has taken something from a counter or a table, but that one time could have been a disasater.

Please, if you have a baby turning or just turned toddler - rethink your safety measures. And consider using plastic glasses.

Ame

By Heaventree on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 04:18 pm:

Thanks for sharing Ame, I think almost all of us have a story like that. Ours is a really careless one and I'm a bit embrassed to tell it but if it saves one child from this then that's a good thing.

I always warn DH to close the gates. We have a multi-level house. He always says "Yeah, Yeah". It really irks me when he says this.

Matthew received a little 4 wheeled truck for Christmas last year and I would let him ride it around the middle level of our house. I was always really careful that the gates were closed.

One Saturday DH got up with the children and let me sleep in. I heard this happening and it was terrifing. I could hear Matthew on his bike/truck going really fast, I heard him go off the steps and I heard him hit the floor. I almost died right there in my bed. As I got to the bottom of the steps on the second level as I was up up stairs DH was saying to me "He's ok", Matthew of course was screaming he was so afraid. He was not hurt, not one scratch, bump or bruise. We were so fortunate, it could have been much worse.

I was ticked at DH but didn't say much, he apologized to me a few times. However, there is some responsibilty on my part. I knew DH often forgot about the gates and knowing the potential danger I should have put the bike/truck away.

It's gone now, but should have been gone sooner.

By Heaventree on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 04:48 pm:

I just checked my email and got this link, thought I'd share:


How to keep kids safe

By Pamt on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 08:53 pm:

Don't feel bad Ame. We've all had those moments. I left some fingernail polish on an end table when my second DS was about 18 mos-2 yrs old. In a split second with my back turned, he painted his mouth with it. I had to call poison control. This is the same kid who also ate cat poop and I had to call the pediatrician. And he's really a picky eater--LOL

By Luvn29 on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 08:37 am:

Ugh. Since we are all on a roll...

My dd is three years older, and she loves those pretty polished rocks you can buy. Everytime we go to Pigeon Forge, we have to go to a certain store to get them.

Anyhow, guess she had her collection out when my fil was babysitting because when he changed ds's messy diaper he found a good size shiny polished rock in there. Scared the bejeepers out of him, and us! My hubby could have killed him for allowing him to get a hold of it, but I know that accidents do happen and he was feeling badly enough already.

I just thank God that Ashton was able to swallow it and not choke on it, and that it passed straight through his digestive track and didn't get stuck or anything. His angel was definitely watching over him!

By Kiki on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 06:45 pm:

Don't feel bad. My sister came over just before Christmas to help decorate the tree. I told her to put the ornaments that were on the table on the tree. I thought I had removed all the dangerous ones but you will soon find out that I did not. One morning while I was making coffee, I hear this crash and some jingling sounds. I went into the family room and discovered that my 19th month old had taken a glass ornament off the tree and had broken it. She was playing with the broken pieces and had cut herself. There was a lot of blood which mad it look worse that it actually was. I cleaned the wound and all she needed was a band aid. The funny thing is that she never cried which I'm not sure if that makes it a good thing or not but I think I will decorate my own tree this year. I am just thankful that she did not ingest any of the broken glass.

By Conni on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 09:14 am:

Uhhh, your embarrassed to post ONE thing. LOL I have a whole list of accidents I could report to you after having 3 boys that never stopped moving for the first 5 yrs of their life. lol Now THAT'S embarrassing when I think about it.

At one time we had been in the ER so much that I could tell they were looking at me *funny*. My oldest child was INSANELY impulsive when he was a toddler/preschooler. We should have built him a padded room to live in alone. lol One time we were playing at my parents house out in the yard- with no warning he picked up a bucket and threw it at his little brother, he had to have stitches. Then not too long after, I was sitting on the potty going #2 (so i was stuck and really couldnt watch my 2 toddlers very well for a few minutes) and they fought over a travel size etch a sketch. Older ds ends up hitting middle ds in head with it and gashed his head open *again*. I freaked out because head wounds bleed *alot* called ambulance. Very embarrassed when they came in my home becasue I had been cleaning out my kitchen cabinets and I had EVERYTHING sitting out on my tables and counters (i am sure they thought i was a slob!) ... He had to have his head stapled together. Then middle ds was at daycare and some little girl threw a rock at him hitting him in head and cutting it. I took him too doc and they just put a *butterfly band aid* on it. THEN (I know you'd think I'd be threw but I am just getting started really!) I was cooking in kitchen (we lived in a TINY house at the time) my boys were running through kitchen and playing, I am blocking them out pretty much trying to get dinner going and just letting them play... Well, I turned around and walked to the stove as middle ds was running through, he tripped over my foot and stumbled/flew into the under edge of dining table. Looked like he broke his nose!!!! I again flipped out and rushed him to doc office. They Xrayed it and said he was fine but that he would have 2 black eyes, and he did. He looked awful and I felt awful. Then I walked outside to my car to get some trash and my purse out and walked back to front door to find my oldest (3yo at the time) standing there with his pinky finger tip hanging off!!!! He was white as a ghost and I nearly fainted. I could not for the life of me figure out what the heck happened to his finger and I didnt have time to stand there and figure it out. I rushed him to my neighbors and I was a mess. SHE wrapped his finger in a cloth, called 911 because we had too many kids to load up and drive with, she gave him popscicles, and SHE called my dh. All I could do was cry. They had to put him in a stragiht jacket AND hold him down so they could give him a shot between his fingers if you can imagine. I cried when they did all that. And they kept asking me what happened and I couldnt tell them. It was SO embarrassing. They stitched his finger up. Went home and dh walked thru house with me until we finally figured out there was blood on the door frame of the front door. Apparently he was standing at the door watching me (i was outside for less than 3 minutes!!!), had his hand on the back part of door where it closes (not the door handle side but the opposite side) and his brother ran up behind the interior door and closed it on his little finger. It had popped back open thats why I didnt think it happened at the front door. Its hard to explain. I am a FREAK about kids around doors now. I will have a panic attack if I see a little one getting close to a door. The side of the door with the door handle isnt that bad if you get your finger in it, but the butt of the door will cut it off!

These are jut a few of the things that have happened in the last 13 yrs. If you'd like I could post about Brandon's football injuries (or the stupid things he does when horsing around BEFORE practice that cause him to run his shin into a metal stake, etc...), or when he practices with the very LARGE neighbor boy with NO PADS, Brad's cuts and burns from when he goes to lake with his DAD (my ex) on 4th of July (he ALWAYS has something gross happen where he loses a toenail or something. yuk) Or his fishing accidents, he is obsessed with fishing (think fishing hooks). And then there is little Blake... We havent even gotten started talking about all his battle wounds yet. *blushing*

I feel lucky they are still alive. lol My friends dh is always very sympathetic to me as he is one of 4 boys. He said his Mom didnt bother taking them to the ER after awhile. lol Apparently, by the time they were grown she had seen it all and had a very strong stomach.

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 12:27 pm:

Conni, you should write a book! LOL

By Tink on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 07:48 pm:

Conni, I'd have to be locked up in a looney bin if I had the boys you do! I have no stomach for that kind of thing. I guess God knew what he was doing, giving me only one (very cautious) boy!

By Conni on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 08:31 pm:

Yeah, There is no fear here and it really scares me. They were discussing last night how they are going to sky dive on their 16 th bday??? I explained I would never sign for them to do that. They said 'Oh thats ok, Dad will sign.'

I didnt even get into the whole bikes and 'hey guys watch me ramp my bike off this' stories... And Blake was following them on his tricycle as I am screaming and running down the driveway to stop him.

Or the 'I DO NOT need a snowboarding lesson Mom, I got it covered' as he slam's his face into the snow repeatedly all day. Cant move all night and does it all over again the next 4 days? Turns out once you get tired of falling, you figure out real quick how not to fall!!

Wakeboarding, attempting 360's, over and over slamming into water. Me on boat cringing.

My doctor has actually told me if I'd like to stay on medication while raising (my difficult one in particular) that, ahem, he'd uderstand!!!! ROFL

Looney bin would be a nice vacation.

By Kaye on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 09:42 pm:

My list is more like Conni's.

However my funnest story is this. I had a dentist appointment, and my dad agreed to babysit, but in the van. That works out well, makes it a lot less time. So the little guy was about 13 months. He was sleeping and strapped in when I parked. When I got back 30 minutes later, he was toddling about the inside of the van, while my dear dad was half watching, half reading a paper (in the back seat with him). Well, the next day I am changing a diaper and my little guy has all these irrediscent pony beads in his poop. I recognized them, but couldn't place where. Well dad was with me and said, ya know in the car there were some of those in a cup holder (thanks dd), and I saw him put them in his mouth and I thought I fished them all out..LOL. Ah the joys of boys.

True embarrassment is when you have called poison control so many times in a week you enlist your best friend to call, because you know they keep track

By Crystal915 on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 02:56 am:

Shane's got a big ol' scab on his eyebrow right now. He split it open last week, running for the front door as I was coming in. Poor guy fell, and gouged his face good, it was too jagged to stitch, so he got a butterfly. So, the moral of the story is in 3 years I've dealt with 2 broken bones, stitches, countless bandages, and more bruises than one could dream of. None of them were "preventable" (well, one was, but he was not in my care) by childproofing, it's just life with rough and tumble kids. My cousin had stitches in her head 5 times before she was 8, and she's grown into a healthy young lady... some kids are just accident prone! Don't beat yourself up over it, Ame!! Glad the little on is ok!

By Amecmom on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 08:02 am:

Thanks, ladies! It took a while to stop "seeing" Helen standing there with the jagged glass in her hand, but I'm okay with it now. We were luckily able to learn or relearn a valuable lesson without an injury.

My purpose in posting this was really to just give all the moms of toddlers a gentle reminder to double check things. I never used glass glasses around my son - in fact there are alot of things I had gotten lax about and Helen's picking up that glass was my wake up call.

Like Cori said, if it can prevent one other child from getting hurt then it's worth it.

Thanks, Crystal!

Ame

By Boxzgrl on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 03:39 pm:

I switched to plastic cups after DD started going after them. Even now we have them but are so used to the plastic ones that we still use them.