staircase + mobile baby = trip to the ER.

oh yea. i'm sure i don't have to go into the specifics for you to imagine what this story entails. but i will.

back story: we live in a two story townhouse. if you have ever been in a townhouse, you know that the stairs are nothing short of a 90 degree angle [okay, maybe i'm exaggerating just a smidge] but needless to say, they are steeper than most. thankfully ours are carpeted - i promise that will play into the story in just a second.

sunday [10.10.10 = a day we will totally remember] around noon, CJ and i were sorting laundry from the washer on the second floor of our house. vegas came crawling out of the master bedroom, and slipped by me obviously. next thing i hear is CJ yelling "BABE, grab her!" i dropped my electric toothbrush out of my mouth and lunged for her. she lost her handing on the top step [which before that day she NEVER went near].

she slid down the first two steps and i was thisclose to grabbing her ankle but she managed to be a half a second faster than me. then it happened y'all. she ROLLED DOWN EVERY LAST ONE OF OUR STAIRS! - there are 12 if you must know. [i just threw up a little telling you that].

i raced down the stairs as she rolled, and it was like slow motion chasing after her. she didn't tumble head over feet, she literally rolled sideways down the stairs - the better of the two options if there is such a "better" alternative, if one is to roll down some stairs.

she landed on her back, but not before banging her little head on the wooden baseboard of our landing. immediately a large goose egg and a small scrape came up on her right temple and i was automatically that much more concerned. i raced back up the stairs with her, where CJ was standing in disbelief of what our curious daughter had just managed to do. i was hysterical and begging CJ to let me call the ambulance. in my fog of emotions i managed to not notice that vegas was acting completely normal. she was crying of course, but not a painful cry from what i could tell. i grabbed her back from CJ and she suddenly stopped crying. even managed to crack a smile.

i was not chancing her having a mini concussion or something worse, so we immediately packed up our stuff and headed to the emergency room, which is less than 8 miles from our home.  we get there and are put in a room right away. the doctor comes in and checks her out and says he would feel better if we would allow him to do a CATscan on her head to make extra sure there was nothing cracked or swollen since she fell down so many stairs. i'll skip over all of the logistics of how vegas h a t e d that scan. an 11 month old having to lay completely still... you get the picture. everything came back normal and we were free to go.

during the whole situation vegas did not act any different, like she was in pain or anything. i think i cried harder than she did. in that moment i felt like the worst mother in the world. who lets their child baby fall down a staircase? why wasn't i looking at her as soon as she crawled out of our bedroom? my mom had to bring me back to reality because the guilt and remorse i had was overwhelming me. i couldn't control what happened because i am a human. i make mistakes, and she is a curious baby. i cannot keep my eyes on her 24/7. one thing i can do, AND DID was install a gate as soon as we got home.

you live you learn - but i would like for the little baby jesus in the manger to try his best to not let that happen again. please and thank you.