15 month old fall?

Question

My daughter is 15 months old and learning to walk. She had a fall tonight on a linoleum covered concrete floor. She hit the back of her head and has a big "welp" that is about an inch long and about a 1/4 of an inch wide. There is a goose-egg at the very top of it. She isn't disoriented, acting fine. She wouldn't let me keep ice on it. Called the Dr. and she told me to go ahead and put her to bed, but wake her up in 2 hours to make sure she's walking and talking normally. Anyone else had this happen? This is my first child and I'm really freaked out.

I did forget to mention this happened at 8:45 and she was not put to bed until 10:15. She was fine, tired, but fine the whole time. We were at a friend's house when she fell and she stayed awake the whole 20 minute drive (in the dark) and when we got home, she was her regular fussy, ready for bath self. Did fine in her bath, played with her toys, sat and read two books, and laid down fine.

I went in just now and rubbed her leg enough to get her to move around. She picked her head up slightly and opened her eyes for just a sec. She didn't totally wake up, but she rolled over onto her side. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

You are doing everything right. You do need to check on her occasionally tonight, you don't have to fully wake her up, just get to her to stir or open her eyes slightly. If she is crabby tomorrow give her a little baby motrin or baby tylenol. Since she was playing and acting fine then I really don't think anything is wrong with her, kids don't act fine if they are hurt or in pain. If she begins to vomit or you can't wake her at all (if she stirs or fusses she's still ok) then I would call an ambulance to take her to ER or rush her to ER yourself. When my son was 18 months old he fell and needed 3 staples in his head. My daughter has also hit her head pretty hard before, but was just fine and still is just fine actually. You are doing a great job!! Try not to freak out, I know its hard, but you have to try. Good luck!!! I hope her little head feels better, and I hope you feel better too. HUGS!!!

Answer 2

oh my goodness when my daughter was that age i know she stopped my heart more times than i can count and still does she was always falling or running into stuff i remember wanting to get her christmas pictures done that year and not being able to do it til after christmas bc it seemed like everytime a bump or bruise would start going away she would get another (she still thought she could run under the table, but was a little too tall among other things) we now call her monkey bc she loves to climb and still has falls occasionally. but over the past few years the one thing i have learned it how tough their little heads can be but even knowing this it still freaks me out when she gets a boo boo on her head or anywhere else for that matter. if she is acting fine when you wake her up in 2 hrs then it is probably ok as a first time mother i have made many trips to the dr just to hear that she is ok and i really didnt need to bring her in but if it makes you feel better about the situation then by all means do it..peace of mind is well worth the cost of a drs visit in my opinion i have always thought it is better to trust yuor gut and have the dr tell you all is well than not to and something be wrong. but if you have contacted your pediatrician and he says just to keep an eye on the situation he is probably right i hope all turns out well with this bump and all that are sure to follow

Answer 3

oh my god a couple months ago my mom and i were watching my baby which was on my moms bed (just learning to crawl) i turned my head for a second and she fell on the floor which is cement with carpeting covering it up (the bed is the the matress the box spring and that metal thing that goes under it... but my mom looked for all the signs she started crying right away didn't have a concussion etc. she's been fine ever since but let me tell you this i've been a lot more careful with my daughter cause i've never been more scared in my life then when she fell. but just remember kids will fall all the time and get bumps and bruises. she'll be fine.

Answer 4

Sounds like she is fine to me, as long as she didn't vomit or pass out then she's sounds okay. I have a fifteen month old boy and when he was learning to walk he fell all of the time, he got worse when he was learning to crawl. I just did the same thing I did when he fell off the bed, kept him up for a couple of hours to make sure he was okay and then let him go to sleep. When he fell off the bed the first time I rushed him to the emergency room he was four months old and rolled off. Now he's a beautiful, smart healthy fifteen month old so I wouldn't stress out it will happen more than once.

Answer 5

I had to laugh reading your question (No offense !)

You see the same thing happened to my 20 month old only 2 hours ago - so we are in both the same boat.....

He fell off his little slide/cubby house thing onto hard concrete although that fake grass carpet stuff was there for a wee bit of padding .. he's still ended up with a cut on the back of his head and one huge lump !

He's sitting down watching sesame stree (thank god for DVDs) so he's happy

It was great reading all the answers here - thanks.
Good luck with your daughter ... wow - we have the terrible twos to go through yet ....

Answer 6

I did have that happen with my first at that age. It is so scary and you most likely won't sleep at all tonight. My doc told me that head bumps that bulge are what you want. It's head wounds that cave in or "dent" in that are most cause for concern. Follow the docs instructions, but if you are really freaked out go on to the e.r. I used to think the cost of the co-pay was a small price for my own sanity. I'm sure she will be fine. You might try a cold pack after she goes to sleep.

Answer 7

I would say to wake her up like the dr said but don't feak out about it too much. Kids have to be made outta rubber and we just don't know it! If she's acting like her normal self and not throwing up and if the gooseegg popped out and not in it should be ok. My 14 month old daughter fell off our couch when she was walking on it yesterday and hit the coffeetable and she's got a horriable gooseegg but is doing fine.

Answer 8

My daughter was always falling and bumping her head. She got a couple of knots that I had to call the doctor on. I just kept checking on her through the night. As long as I could get her to wake up a little bit I didn't worry. Your doctor told you to have her walk and talk? well I would do what my doctor said. She will be just fine, they are built to take quite a bit.

Answer 9

The DR gave you the correct advice. She is apt to be fine. Kids whack their heads all the time. Yes, check on her after a couple of hours of sleep. Usually if a child hits their head they don't recommend putting the child to bed unless it is at or past their usual bedtime. One of the symptoms of serious head trauma is sleepiness. She still may not wake and be her normal self just because of you interrupting her sleep routine.

This is a good web site that may help ease your fears and give you guidance for determining if she needs prompt care now and for future mishaps.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/head_injury.html

Answer 10

yes i have worked at a daycare for 4 years and ive seen the worse of the worse. you arnt sopposed to put the child asleep within the first hr of it happening. if she is acting fine, make sure u do wake her up to make sure that she is ok and also check frequently in the night to make sure she is ok. she should be fine. try to get her to let you apply ice tho to avoid a huge goose egg that may take a couple days to go away also u can put a bag of frozen veggies on it and she should be ok with that. she may need a little baby tylenol if she is cranky tomorrow. good luck and believe me there will be more to come when learning to walk