Head Case

Evie fell and bonked her head a record number of times today. Nothing says "good parenting" like the sound of a baby's soft head striking a cold, unforgiving, tile floor.

I'm not really sure why she fell so many times, though. I suppose it's possible that the first fall caused a concussion, which threw off her sense of balance and caused more tumbles...thus adding to the severity of the concussion and likely causing permanent brain damage.

But I'd like to think that she was just having a clumsy day.

The most recent incident occurred when she was standing on a large box of Easy Mac, trying to reach the forbidden third shelf of the pantry. Oh, have I mentioned she's a climber? I half expect to see her with rappelling equipment next time.

I truly can't take my eyes off that girl for a second.

This is what Evie can do (if allowed) in 30 mins:

• Pull out diapers from the pantry and spread them across the house (which would actually be convenient if it weren't so messy looking.)

• Pull out bags of brownie mix from the pantry and attempt to chew holes in them.

• Find and open every unlocked cabinet in the kitchen. Empty the contents.

• Crawl under table to "graze" breakfast droppings.

• Turn over laundry basket and spread plastic hangars across the living room floor.

• Remove DVD's from entertainment center and chew on them/toss them aside.

• Wander into the play room just long enough to tear apart Luke's carefully laid train tracks like some diaper-clad Godzilla.

You might be wondering why I would ever allow such a terrible baby-rampage. My husband certainly does. What he hasn't figured out yet is that it takes me only twenty minutes to put everything away that Evie has torn apart during the course of the day. Twenty minutes versus an entire day of hyper-vigilance....of following my daughter around the house with my back hunched over, my index finger outstretched, and my lips permanently shaped into a "NO!"

What he doesn't understand, and what I figured out months ago, is this:

That which does not kill her, can only keep her occupied.

And don't worry about the brain damage. I'm sure she didn't get a concussion.

Although...

(searches Google for "signs of concussion")

"Slurred speech, unsteady walking, and poor coordination."

Uh-oh.



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