Pass Me That Trophy

I'm officially in the running for worst mother of the year. It's an achievement to aspire to, let me tell you! I have a friend who believes she's got it in the bag, but I'd like to submit my entry to give her a run for her money.

We aren't huge baby-proofers. We cover electrical outlets (most of them, sometimes those covers just disappear...), we have our brick hearth covered with pillows (which now Princess #4 thinks is a fun place to dive bomb, so we may need to rethink it) and we don't have a coffee table. We got rid of our coffee table when Princess #1 was learning to walk. It was huge and took up way too much space, and we were tired of constantly following her around, protecting her from the edges. Plus, our dog chewed up a leg of it one day in a mad, crazed moment, so it looked bad anyway. Needless to say, it was no huge loss.

We went out of town last weekend (hence the lack of posts) to visit some family. My aunt has recently redone her living room with new paint, decorations and yes, a new coffee table. Now, Princess #4 has been walking efficiently since Christmas, but sometimes her little legs get ahead of her.

Can you guess where this is going?

Yes, contact with the corner. Lovely. Split her upper gums just above her front teeth. Blood everywhere. Try holding down a one year old to apply pressure. Yeah, fun times. Oh but wait, that's not my official worst mom of the year entry.

Fast forward to yesterday. Princess #4 was healing up nicely. No issues at all. I put her down for her afternoon nap, much to her chagrin. She fussed a bit, but nothing unusual. About a half hour later she started crying, which I admit I ignored (am I earning my trophy yet?). She settled down after another half hour or so and slept for two hours. When she woke up I went in to get her and was met with no sight any mother wants to see.

She was covered in dried blood. All over her face, her hands, her clothes, her bedding. I get so sad still thinking about it. I didn't immediately see the source so I grabbed her and started cleaning her up. Still not seeing a source, I finally looked at her mouth. It appeared that she somehow reopened her gums, most likely within that first half hour (you know, when I ignored her crying). Yeah, I feel awful.

She's no worse for wear of course. It's just the mommy guilt that lingers. I told hubby that this ranked up there with the time when Princess #1 was just a baby and threw up in her crib without us knowing it and slept in it. Yeah, that was fun to wake up to. *sigh* Well, I guess 2 out of 4 isn't so bad.

So, do I at least qualify for an honorable mention?