It happened...

Wham... Thud.... Waaaahaaaahaaaah.... Every mother's nightmare. It all started innocently enough. A little game of peekabo. Only the Mommish did not realize that this week that the Babish decided running was a contact sport and his only mode of transportation. So you can imagine the guilt I am feeling from his head on corner collision as he was running to surprise me. The bruise is so linear - that even my brother-in-law immediately looked at the Babish and commented, "someone hit a corner." Well, now the bruise is linear... we started out with the classic progression from a Klingon (bruise with egg lump underneath in the center of his forehead), to Harry Potter (zigzag line in his forehead, black eyes instead of trademark glasses) to now what resembles a Bindi. [ed. note. the Hubbish's characterization of this progression was more of a unicorn into someone who celebrated Ash Wednesday, but I digress.]

A wise pediatrician [sorry, drawing a blank on whether it was Sears, Spock or Brazelton - hey, maybe I'll suggest Leach too and it has to be one of them...] once wrote that if your toddler does NOT have any bumps and bruises, then you are hovering too closely. It's a fine line to draw, because what parent wants to see their child get hurt. And as if there aren't enough things to feel guilty over as a mother. And of course there is the worry about taking him out in public (will other mothers judge me and think I can't watch my kid - or worse - will they think I hurt him...). Thankfully on day 2 of the horrible, terrible, no good black lump of coal on my son's forehead an older woman commented what a beautiful baby I had upon seeing the Babish in his shopping cart. Now, I'm assuming her eyesight wasn't perfect - but still, it made me feel much better!

I guess all we can do is stock up on arnica gel (you may want to double check with your own pediatrician on its safety - but everything I've read indicates that it's fine for toddlers) and hope that the bruises fade quickly. Everything is a learning experience for the Mommish and the Babish! (and as you will see above, the bruise is finally fading... but sunglasses were needed to protect the innocent :)