Worst. Father. Ever.

I felt pretty horrible after Kailyn got hurt on my watch over the weekend. Here's what happened:

We were at a retail store and Helen was trying on some clothes. I had Kiki buckled into her stroller and was watching her, but it seemed like she wanted to get out so I unbuckled her and prepared to lift her out. We hang the diaper bag on the handles, and I've learned from experience that when I take the baby out the stroller tips over from the weight of the bag.

So I went to the back side of the stroller to remove the bag and prevent the stroller from falling, when I saw Kailyn get up out of the front of her seat, then fall head-first onto the non-carpeted floor. It all happened in slow motion, and the 'THUNK' of he head hitting the floor was terrible. I ran over as fast as I could to scoop her up off the ground, and there was that instant when there was an eerie silence...followed by loud crying from the baby. I nearly cried, too.

I carried her around and looked at her head, where there was a little plum-sized bruise forming on her forehead in mere seconds along with a little cut. The workers at the store gave us an ice pack to put on her head to keep the swelling down (and to prevent any potential lawsuit, I imagine) and after a little bit Kailyn was all better and the bump mostly went away.

I on the other hand, was a wreck the rest of the day, feeling guilty and wanting to be extra nice to our daughter to make up for letting her get hurt. Helen joked that Kailyn could ask for anything and get it from me at that moment, which was probably true. New pair of baby Ugg boots? Done. Ice cream for dinner? No problem. Sleep in mommy and daddy's bed? Sure thing.

Thankfully, both she and Helen were understanding of the situation. Neither gave me the evil eye and by the next morning Kailyn's bump was gone, her bruise was nearly non-existent and the cut was hardly noticeable. But it was a scary reminder that one must always keep an eye on their children at all times.