bruises- mostly a vent

[confustication]

My nine month old looks like he's gone a few rounds in a boxing ring. He's gone from very little mobility to pulling to stand in the course of about 2 weeks, and as a result, he falls on a regular basis. No long term damage, but he's got a bruise beneath one eye and an abrasion on his forehead accompanied by more bruising. We make sure he's in safe/clear spots, but short of never putting him down or investing in copious quantities of bubblewrap, I'm not sure there's anything more we can do.

I took him out to his sister's end of Vacation Bible School presentation yesterday and had one of the older ladies react with complete shock and horror that a child his age would be bruised. Is this a case of selective memory lapse? It's probably been several decades since her kids were young. I really have a hard time believing that bumps and bruises as they are mastering new skills are that out of the ordinary, or that everyone is so protective that these things NEVER happen to their kids.

(This is my third, and he is very much my most 'daredevil' like. However, the other two have also had their share of gravity-related-experiential-learning while learning to get around.)

[elmh23]

I've started to find the comedy in the fact that darn near every big event in my children's lives, one of them looks like they were in a fight.

-2 days before dd's first b-day, she fell and hit grandma's dining room chair leaving a massive bruise on her cheek.

-Easter 2008, ds1 age 13 months, did something (can't remember now what) and had a huge bruise on his face and another one on his leg that is visable in the photos.

-the night before ds2's baptism, ds1 ran right in to a corner in grandma's house and got a massive goose egg in the middle of his forehead.

my thought, if a kid is mobile and doesn't at least have some bruises, then they're not playing enough

[confustication]

Originally Posted by elmh23

my thought, if a kid is mobile and doesn't at least have some bruises, then they're not playing enough

That's been my approach as well- they're SUPPOSED to be testing the boundaries, which means they will fall/bump/bang into things.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3699387_n.jpg

[MeepyCat]

Some kids are less daring than others, some carpeting is cushier, and some people do have selective memories. None of these conditions is exclusive.

[texaspeach]

every 9 month old I know has a few bumps and bruises. ds keeps sitting on his blocks and toy shovel and bruising his butt, and falling over when standing up and bruising his head.

[MommaCrystal]

Oh gosh! I remember when my son was a year and half. He was just SO accident prone! He had no hair and big forehead which he tended to lead with! Just before one family function he had no less than three BIG bruises (from three different incidents) around his forehead and face. PLUS he tripped walking toward a flight of stairs and smashed the bridge of his nose on the edge of the step. He looked like a RACOON!

The comments I got were FABULOUS! My cousin's husband is a state trooper and joked that he is a mandated reporter (or at least I decided it was a joke).

Now just over a year later he is now 2 1/2 his motor skills are equal to or above his 4 1/2 year old brothers! I guess he learned a lot with those bumps.

People can really be totally insensitive.

Now, our family doc told me he looks for bruises on kids not as a sign of abuse but as a sign the kid is learning new motor skills.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

it's all part of learning, i've lost count of the amount of falls and bumps my lo's had when they were younger. caden's always falling, he's like his mum clumsy LOL