A Close Call

So, I think every parent can relate to those "close calls". Those times where you think, "Oh my God! I can't believe my child didn't die!" And how thankful you are that someone must be watching out for the little guy.

Well, Hayden just had what I consider to be his second close call. The first close call, for those of you who remember, was when I believe he was nearly kidnapped at the hospital a year ago when he had croup.

This close call happened night before last. Hayden was down for his afternoon nap. It was time for me to start making dinner. Usually Hayden is awake before I start making dinner. He wasn't awake yet, though. When he wakes up, I can usually hear him plaing, talking, laughing or crying from anywhere in the house.

I thought, "Now would be a great time to start dinner, with him still asleep, and me not having to juggle him and the dinner." But, the wise little voice in my head told me to go check on him.

As I was nearing the top of the stairs, I could hear him screaming and crying. But, it was so muffled and smothered, that I had to be at the top of the stairs to hear him. I flung open his door, and didn't see him in his crib. Had he fallen behind the crib? Was he stuck?

When I got to the crib, I could see that he had pulled the sheet and mattress cover off one corner of the mattress, and burrowed in. The other three corners were still snug, and he was pinned underneath. His legs, on the loose corner end, had wrapped up like a burrito, so he was unable to move backward. He was completely pinned.

I have no idea how long he'd been that way. Did he sleep that way? Did it just happen? I pulled him out of there, and he was dripping with sweat, he felt 105 degrees, and his little body was bright red.

After comforting him, he was in a great mood, and though his body was still very hot, he wasn't lethargic or anything.

The whole thing was so scary. What if I'd made dinner first? At almost 20 months old, you don't worry about your kid in their bed. They're too old for SIDS or any of that other scary stuff. The crib is supposed to be the safest place in the house.

Hayden always pulls that corner off his mattress, and when I come in to get him, he always points to the corner, says, "Uh-oh!" and laughs. That night when I put Hayden back to bed. I was poking the corner, saying, "NO! No! No!" And we would point and say, "no! no! no!". I would poke it again and say, "Bad! Bad! Bad!" He would poke it and say, "ba! ba! ba!" Of course, he still pulls that corner up everytime he wakes up. So, now I have to check on him as often as I would check on  a newborn.