Six-month old falls from bed

The most horrendous moment for any parent is to hear that "THUD" sound when his or her baby falls from the bed or couch or some high furniture. Worst even to see the poor infant wailing on the floor, I mean it takes a while to get out of the shock.

Our son fell from the bed in his 6th month. Our bed is 1.5 feet from the ground. One day, in his 3rd week, he fell from the bed while attempting to hold something that caught his attention. I was in the other room and suddenly I heard "THUD!!" and my heart sank. I ran and took him in my arms. He was wailing and seeing him I wanted to cry myself. But composed myself, immediately rushed to the washbasin and dabbed some cool water on his head which soothed him a little. He cried for almost 2 minutes, the longest 2 minutes of my life! Anyway, I performed the following checks:

• Eyes - They were white. When kept his favorite objects(which generally we tell him not to touch) like phone, he was following them. Later on I read on the net that if the eyes get pink or red, immediately rush to the doc.
• Ears - I played his favorite music, title song of "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." and he quietened for sometime and smiled as he does always. Then did all the noisy actions that he generally does and found that he was following the sounds. It is said that if the baby behaves the same way as earlier, no need to worry.
• Nose - checked if any bleeding there. Thankfully, no bleeding.
• Mouth - checked his gums, tongue, everything normal.
• Arms - checked if they were normal, as in no disfiguring. 
• Legs - rotated his toes and feet, normal. 
• Actions - I left him on the floor and he crawled to his toys as he always does. So his legs and hands were normal. He was standing the same way, using my body as support, as he always does. 
• Feeding - He took his feed normally.
• Bumps - He had no bumps that day, but at night I observed a small pinkish bump which went by the end of next day. On touching the bump he did not cry which means it was not paining him.
• It took him 30 minutes to finally normalise and play as always. I guess it took me 2 days to come out of the shock. Worst is that being the mother I could not cry as he should feel comforted and secure with me rather than cry more, seeing me cry. I was unable to enter the room till my husband came home as I always visualised him flat on the floor. It was a nightmare!

Remedial measures

a) His play area is set on the floor with the mattresses spread out. He loves being there whole day. And now that he crawls swiftly and is able to stand, guess, its a life saver. Besides I have lesser tension even if I have to leave him for sometime.

b) If we have to spend more than 2-3 mins elsewhere in the house, he is in his walker. He loves the independence of movement in the walker!

c) We keep him on the bed only under strict supervision.

Moral of the story

Babies are free thinkers and believe me, they can land in problems in less than a fraction of a second! So, never assume things about a baby. And whatever s/he may be doing today, they may be adding something to those actions in a day or two. Thus, always be 10 steps ahead of your child so that you are well-equipped mentally and physically to keep him or her safe! :)