Any parent can tell you that having a baby requires constant monitoring, especially if your baby is mobile (see previous entry on Bella’s rolling talent). But ever since getting the Deluxe Jumperoo, I’ve discovered that putting Bella in the Jumperoo has allowed me to walk away leaving her unassisted for longer and longer periods of time.
I think I got a little too overzealous about my newfound freedom yesterday when I decided to wash my hair in the kitchen sink while Bella played in the family room. All you ladies with perms can attest that taking care of your curly coif requires several painstaking steps: wash and shampoo, condition and rinse, towel dry lightly, then comb through with gel and defrizzing serum, apply more leave-in conditioner, then let air dry or dry hair delicately with diffuser. In peparation for my hair treatment, I had systematically turned our kitchen counter into a beauty shop with all the hair products and towels.
After applying the leave-in conditioner, I swept my hair into a turban with the towel and went to check up on Bella. She was beginning to get cranky so I lifted her out of the Jumperoo and placed her on her back on the leather ottoman next to the couch. She had just spit her binky out onto the floor so I carefully placed her towards the center of the ottoman (in case she decided to roll in either direction) while I went to rinse the pacifier off.
I was gone for at most 2 minutes when to my horror, I saw from the top of the couch, Bella’s legs balancing ominously off the side of the ottoman. As her body teetered back and forth, it was only a matter of time and enough gravity until her entire body rolled off the edge of the ottoman. I was now running to the couch, trying to balance the cumbersome wet towel and heavy mop of wet hair on my head. I managed to round the corner of the couch and just as her body rolled off the ledge, I made a sudden dive headfirst and caught her one-handed just as I hit the floor.
I should have won the Heisman trophy for best one-handed baby grab but instead I got a stiff reprimanding lecture by Jin for my carelessness. What I considered an act of sheer athleticism (or at most, a funny anecdote), Jin thought was act of negligence and a harsh consequence of my “trying-to-do-too-many-things-at-once” syndrome. “Don’t tell me stories like that. It sort of makes me mad,” he declared.
“I’m sorry, but she’s ok and I won’t do it again,” I whimpered. Somehow though, I had a feeling that this was not to be the last time that something like this would happen. And unfortunately, it was certainly not the first time I’ve harmed or near-harmed Bella inadvertently.
First, there was the time when I was holding her in the Bjorn Baby Carrier. She was only a newborn, perhaps 1 month old at most. I suppose I turned too quickly when I stood up because I hit the back of her head on the inside doorframe. She burst into tears and even made me cry when I thought of the possible damage I may have caused. For the next few days and nights, she was under mommy observation for any signs of head trauma – seizures, poor appetite, excessive sleepiness, vomiting, etc. Thank goodness no lasting effects occurred.
Then there was the time I was clipping Bella’s nails. Her fingernails were growing so quickly that I trimmed them practically every day. At first it was nerve-racking. Trying to slip the blades of the clipper under her tiny thin nail without clipping any skin was no easy task. But soon after daily practice, I grew more confident and was able to trim all 10 fingernails within 5 minutes. Until one day I accidentally clipped a huge chunk of skin under her nail. She yelped briefly but then turned her attention back to Sesame Street. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that I noticed her finger was bleeding and the flap of skin was still semi-attached to her finger. The bleeding continued even after putting pressure on the wound. I decided against putting on a band-aid for fear of it as a choking hazard and instead wrapped her finger in a wet cloth. A few days later, the wound healed with no signs of infection
I think I will stop here with my examples of wrongful harm to my child for fear of someone reporting me to Child Protection Services. But hopefully you get the idea. It’s not that I’m a careless or neglectful person. And it’s definitely not because I don’t love my baby. It’s just that it’s very easy to focus too much on the little details of how to protect your child, how to raise your child, or even how to love your child. So in order to preserve my sanity I've tried to adopt a more que sera, sera attitude towards life. I hope this doesn’t backfire on me.
In the meantime, here’s a short movie clip of Bella as we enjoy her first giggles out-loud:
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