"dropped" is such an ugly word

Any story that begins with, "she's fine" isn't going anywhere good. That said, let me begin this tale of Yuki's day by stating up front that "she's fine."

Last week, or thereabouts, I came across a news story that the Bumbo seat had been recalled. The swell yellow chair that we put Yuki in all the time is a Bumbo seat.

we love this seat and we'll only give it up if we find it is prone to exploding

Turns out the seat was not defective but the company is recalling them from stores so they can put larger warning labels on them. I guess some people were putting their kids in the seats and then putting the seat on a table and the kid would get wiggly and fall out and, wham! Skull fracture. Well I would never dream of putting Yuki in her seat and then putting the seat on a table. On a chair? Sure. On the couch? All the time. On a desk which, technically, is not a table? Why do you think we call it a "Desk Baby Chair"? Okay, at least I wasn't leaving her unsupervised in the chair, he says in his haughtiest "aren't I superior?" voice.

So fast-forward to today. On the weekends it is my (this is Philip, by the way) treat to get to pick out Yuki's outfit for the day. Today I picked out the swell pink onesie with the shiny, bejeweled alligator on it that was a gift from my brother Daniel and his dear wife Dana.

Yuki sporting "Chumlita" and her fancy diamond necklace

I thought, since today was its debut, I would take a few pictures of Yuki wearing it to send to her uncle and aunt so they could see their adorable gift on its intended model. So I propped her up in the Boppy, which we use when we sit her up on the bed because she can almost sit up by herself but is sometimes prone to tipping over, and took a few photos.

Then, leaving her on the right side of the bed, in the Boppy, I went to brush my teeth. I grabbed my toothbrush and set to brushing and I walked back into the bedroom to keep an eye on Yuki who was playing with a duck toy. She dropped it a couple of times, I picked it up, brushing my teeth all the while. I finished brushing my teeth, rinsed, went back to check on Yuki who was still happy as can be on the bed, and then I went back to the bathroom to clean my toothbrush (it's a Sonicare and sometimes crud collects under the head). As I was disassembling my toothbrush I heard the most sickening THUD. I ran back to the bedroom to see, well, this is as close as I could get:


She dropped her duck and must have leaned over to find it and slid right off the bed and landed face-first in the basket of old newspapers on the floor. I picked her up and checked her head. Her forehead was bright red and she was screaming screaming screaming. I rubbed her back and shushed and bounced her up and down because who doesn't want to be bounced up and down when they've just been dropped on their face? She calmed down pretty quickly but I was a mess for most of the rest of the morning. Thank you August 26th New York Times Arts & Leisure section for cushioning my daughter's fall.

So much for my moral superiority. Now I'm just another guy who left his kid sitting unsupervised in a thing that was not designed for the way in which it was being used. Nice work.

Did I mention she's fine? Look, here she is being fine.

Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.

Later in the day our friends the Wards came over and we ate too much Chinese food and they loaned us a couple more baby-amusing contraptions.

Yuki and Zack at Baby Conference 2007 (with special guest, Trixie)

I sincerely hope that Mimi never inflicts cranial trauma on our precious daughter, but I do kind of hope that the next time my kid takes one in the coconut, it can't be traced back to me.

I'm a horrible father.

Bad Dad! Keep your eye on the kid.