Madeline was my easy child. When she saw the baby gate, she stopped there. She didn’t do anything until she was certain she could do it well. She didn’t take risks.

Annabel is the opposite. She pushes gates until they give. She tries everything with full steam. And she changed her middle name to risk.

In a week, Annie mastered crawling and started pulling up on things and cruising.

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She is really good at pulling herself up. She is…less good…at cruising. Which means lots of falls.

I am struggling with this. Do I follow her around with a pillow? Do I put a helmet on her head? Catch her before her bottom hits the ground? Or do I let her fall?

The other night Mike and I were both sitting on the floor with her, and even though we were only a few feet away, she managed to fall straight back and slammed her head. We got the silent cry for fifteen seconds (The longer the silence goes, the louder the scream will be. It’s basic math.) before the real crying began.

If I don’t follow her around, she will hit her head at least five or eight times a day. I think Maddie hit her head five times TOTAL.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be this helicopter parent, but I don’t want her to get hurt. I want her to test her skills and get better. She doesn’t like it when I hover:

go away!

So do I wrap her in bubble wrap, or memorize the signs of a concussion?