Thud

Well, it finally happened. And it wasn't as bad as I feared it might be.

V is our one year-old pro at getting up and down the step by our back door. She turns and goes down backwards - smoothly, confidently. Not only this, but she has synthesized the information and can apply it to other scenarios. On the changing table, she turns around, slides a leg over and tries to make her escape mid-diaper change. On the bed, she insists that she dismount each morning, while I hold on to her to protect her from falling the distance that our too-tall bed offers her.

Unlike the other kids, she is a stealthy waker, and she wakes up raring to go. She literally pops up from a nap and crawls in whatever direction she is facing before she is fully aware of her surroundings. And she doesn't yell out or cry in fear when she is ready to wake. She just gets up and gets moving.

So, I listen carefully to every snort and sniffle on the baby monitor because I want to get there before she falls off the bed. Yes, this is the only downside I have discovered to living sans crib. But the fact is that since I never got any of my kids to nap in a crib anyway, the safety of such napping is purely academic in our family.

Back to my original declaration - it finally happened. I heard her wake, make a tiny peep and then the heavy breathing that means she is on the move. I ran up the stairs. As I was just outside the door to the room, I heard a thud. But no tears. I opened the door to see her stunned and sitting on her bum on the floor at the foot of the bed. Realizing her accomplishment, she grinned with delight.

"It's a good thing she landed on her bottom!" exclaimed D, who was on my heels to run up and receive her waking sister. "You got out of bed by yourself!" she cheered her on.

This is not going to teach her to be more cautious in the future.