But I just turned my back for a second...

Earlier today, while changing a diaper, I was thinking about the millions upon millions of admonitions that one gets when preparing for a baby. A significant form of this tends to be along the lines of "Always stay within arms reach of your baby" and/or "Never leave your baby unattended while engaged with this product." Changing tables certainly fall under this category: I can't tell you the number of times that I have almost stepped away for "just a moment" before that nagging little comment echoed somewhere in the back of my mind. I know, I know, babies are developing every day, and who knows when and where they will learn how to be mobile?

About 15 minutes ago, Elle was up for a late-evening play session, so I decided to get some work done while she kicked around on her play mat. This gives her a chance to learn to play independently (so that adults don't have to entertain her 24-7-365). We bought an exercise mat to go under her play mat so that she could kick on a more forgiving surface. Unfortunately, the mat is a tiny bit narrower than the mat, so it hangs off a bit on one side. (The mat is about an inch thick, so it's not much of a drop off.) Anyway, I put the exercise mat and her mat down, and let her go to work kicking, swatting, and grabbing at the toys dangling over her. While she delighted in this, I watered and pruned the houseplants in the same room.

Of course, I don't stare at her every second -- I do turn away for brief periods. So, while I was focusing briefly on removing a yellow leaf from a particularly thirsty plant, I heard a quiet little "uhh" from Elle. Figuring that she was gearing up to fuss because she was tired, I turned back ... and there was Elle, face down on the hard wood floor!

Well, I panicked and ran over to her while saying, "Oh my goodness, are you OK?" I grabbed her and picked her up, and she greeted me with a big grin. Dagnabbit, she rolled over and I missed it!! She's been close for days, regularly rolling onto her side and back, but hasn't ever made it all the way over on her own (the July fluke excluded, of course). Now, I don't know if we can count this as a true roll over from back to tummy because gravity may have aided her as she "fell" off the exercise mat. Even still, she clearly has the idea. I'm still amazed that she didn't cry, given that she generally abhors tummy time. Maybe tonight, she was just so surprised that she did it on her own that it was OK? She sure looked pleased with herself.

So, I put my little roly poly to bed a few minutes later, feeling horribly guilty about the whole affair. Why? I haven't a clue. I'm still a little bit convinced that she must have banged her forehead in the "fall," but I would definitely have heard a thud if she had. But hey, you can't help how you feel sometimes.

Oh man. I hope she doesn't roll herself over in her crib tonight. Finding her face down in the morning will truly make me panic, given how groggy I usually am!