It is never just a second

"I turned away just for a second". Before having a child I would hear that saying, or should I say excuse, and wonder in disgust how a parent could do it. I think I have an answer, unfortunately it came at my son's expense. He is fine by the way, it did more damage to me than him I am sure.

That infamous night I was flying solo. We just made it in from the park and the cold air started a very runny nose. I never want my kid to be the snot nose kid that looks neglected, so I took immediate action. We dashed into the house straight to all of the assorted baby care items in his room. I PUT HIM ON THE GUEST BED (Warning, first wrong move). The bed is purposely jammed in a corner and he is pointed toward a wall. I TURN MY BACK (Warning, second wrong move) to grab a wipe. Then I contemplate wipe or burp cloth.

THUD, yes THUD! My heart is now equally divided between my throat and the pit of my stomach. I turned back to him faster than I ever thought I could move. There he was on his back staring up at me with sheer terror in his eyes. I swoop and scoop. So far there is no crying. Then the look of terror in my eyes gets the water works and screaming going.

There I was profusely apologizing to my 11 month old son. Frantically but delicately I probed his tiny frame trying to make sure nothing is broken and that his brain isn't scrambled. I looked like a pyscho cop trying to give his first field sobriety test. After what seemed like 15 minutes (less than 5) the swell of tears subsided and the shrills came to an end.

Once I felt confident 911 was not necessary, I call the doctor then my wife. She picked up the phone and I start with Josh is fine - then I said it, "I turned away just for a second". I will deal with that conversation on another post.

Here is my theory on why parents even utter that sentence. We totally misuse the word "second". Before I had a child I would throw around this increment of time without a thought. Any length of time less than a minute was a second. You have heard them all. "Just a sec" , "One second". Going through night feedings, sleep and feeding schedules I know that every second counts. After this episode, I will never take a second for granted again. Which leads me to my final thought.

I know for a fact that it was more than a second. I even had a quick thought about how well he was staying in place on the bed. The reality of the situation was that it was more like 10 seconds. It doesn't take a crawling baby 10 seconds to get to the edge of a full sized bed. I won't give you the warnings that our wonderful pediatrician and every book I read repeated over and over. If you are striving to be a Primo Papa, you already know them.

I will just say be honest, it is never just a second.