Miriam Quiambao's Son Elijah Fell Off The Bed And Hurt His Nose

No parent would want to harm his or her child, but sometimes it happens anyway. Miriam Quiambao Roberto shared on Instagram yesterday, October 22, 2019, that her miracle son, Elijah, who just turned 8 months, fell from the bed. The mom of two recounted how the unfortunate incident.

Miriam was having her quiet time in the bathroom when “suddenly heard a thud followed by a wailing cry.” She rushed to the bedroom to check on her baby. Miriam thought Elijah was asleep on the bed, and “surrounded by a fortress of pillows,” the mom of two wrote. She found her son on the floor next to the diaper changing table.

Elijah fell and hit his nose at the corner of the diaper changing table next to their bed. His nose developed some redness and bruising, “with a bit of blood coming out” of it. His pediatrician, whom Miriam called right away, advised her to apply gentle cold compress on his nose.

“I put [my] baby to the breast to comfort him so that I can also apply the cold compress without him wriggling away from my embrace,” Miriam said. “I can only thank God na ito lang ang nangyari! No broken bones or brain concussions. Nothing worse!” she added. Thankfully, Elijah is all better now.

A fall from a standard bed will most likely be non-fatal, pediatrician Dr. Faith Buenaventura-Alcazaren, M.D. tells Smartparenting.com.ph, but they can also be serious. (Click here for guidelines on what to do when your baby falls fro the bed.)

When things like this happen, parents should not be too hard on themselves. Miriam took it as a reminder to “constantly be vigilant and watchful” and continue to pray to God for her family’s safety. Still, it’s a incident all parents can learn from.

“Apparently, there a small gap between the headboard and the pillow that I wasn’t able to secure, and he managed to crawl there!” the mom of two revealed about the fortress of pillows she built to keep Elijah from rolling off.

“This, unfortunately, happens more than you know, and this is why adult beds are never considered safe no matter what you try to put around and think is safe,” wrote U.K.-trained and Manila-based sleep coach Gabrielle Weil of Babes of Bliss, on Miriam’s Instagram post.

Parents are encouraged to follow safe sleep guidelines, which protect infants not just from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), suffocation during sleep, but also from rolling off into unsafe positions, or worse, falling from a sleep surface. The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) reiterates the following safe sleep practices:

1. Put infants younger than 6 months old to asleep alone and on their back.
2. Place baby’s crib in your bedroom, but avoid letting her sleep on your bed. The AAP recommends that parents avoid co-sleeping with babies until they’re a year old. If co-sleeping is unavoidable, have your baby sleep in your room — not on your bed, but in his own crib — for at least 6 months.(Click here for co-sleeping safety tips.)
3. Your baby’s safe sleep should be a safety-approved crib with a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet.
4. Your baby’s sleeping space should be clear of pillows, blankets, crib bumpers, stuffed toys, and other soft items. When can your baby use a pillow? Child Safety Experts suggests waiting until kids are aged 2 to 3 before introducing pillows.

For more information about safe sleep, click here.