Peanut went bump !
New Year has always been a bag of mixed emotions for me – my Mum died on New Years Day a few years ago, but with each midnight trip to the back bedroom where I spend ages watching the fireworks, lanterns and people singing in the street from the window it turns exciting knowing that a new year brings an air of positivity with it too.
Last year it was knowing our first full year with Peanut was going to be filled with some amazing experiences – and it was. This year holds some absolutely awesome things to look forward to; I marry peanuts Daddy next month and we’re going to Mexico on our honeymoon too! I can’t even begin to explain how much we LOVE Mexican food because I’d really embarrass myself getting all passionate about Tacos… oh my god, Tacos! But other than my insatiable appetite being satisfied, there are other things to look forward to. We’ll soon be able to hold proper conversations with Peanut since her speech is coming on so fast, she’s really quite advanced for her young age and is surprising us everyday, she’s going to be a bridesmaid at her Mummy and Daddy’s wedding – something I experienced as a young girl and will never ever forget, and if all goes to plan, we’ll move in to our much-wanted big family home where every Christmas we spend will be just as special as the last. This Christmas went without a hitch and it was so enjoyable as Peanut was a lot more aware of what was going on. She was opening her presents and squealing at their contents with excitement and gradually, each gift that she ripped open got bigger and bigger. However, the big winner wasn’t the paper, it wasn’t even the boxes that she enjoyed putting on her head. No, it was the bubbles. I’ve never seen a kid so intensely overjoyed about bubbles! So out they come everyday without fail and rather than popping each one Peanut screams ‘Bubbooooooos!’ and just watches them. But the hitch did come and sadly it resulted in a trip to A&E on the worst day of the year. NYD arrived and we had a great time chilling out in the morning as a family and then Peanuts Daddy went to watch football in the afternoon (boring). But when it came to bath time up the stairs she went with her Daddy and from the kitchen all I heard was a bump, bump, bump and then a cry. The rest of what happened – how we picked her up, how we got to the hospital and what was said once there is a massive blur; knowing that she was ok and escaped major injury was all I needed. But the guilt that you feel afterwards is just immense and no matter how much you try to shut it out of your mind it replays over and over again. Looking at my beautiful little girls bruised eye, cut lip and clearly upset face was heartbreaking but accidents do happen and we remind ourselves of that everywhere she goes now. It was definitely a wakeup call that as a parent of a toddler you really do have to be so careful because if there’s a hazard, they will find it. So starting the New Year with a bruised little girl and a true sense of what being scared out of your mind feels like, I’ve decided I’m going back to basics with safety; no new-age crap where your child can learn from dangerous mistakes but definitely not the extremes of bubble-wrapping my toddler. I’m doing it the old-fashioned way just like mum did with eyes in the back of her head. But if all else fails and Peanut doesn’t understand that bleach isn’t a drink, plug sockets aren’t the entrance to a magical world of Peppa Pig and the Fairies, and that the stairs are not there to dive off, then I’ll pull out the big guns – pull out the bubboos!
