Sore knees and bumped heads

The more adventurous Molly gets the more damage she's doing to herself!

Short of wrapping her up in a bubble wrap suit (which I'm seriously considering, both making and patenting - go on, I challenge you to name me a parent who doesn't secretly want their little cherub wrapped in a protective coating. Impervious to all table edges, cupboard corners and hard floors!), I don't think there's an awful lot I can do to help her out.

At the moment I keep having to stop myself from just hovering a couple of inches from her all times 'just in case'. I keep reminding myself that this is the only way she'll learn, but although she's great at the getting up bit, the getting down bit is still a bit of a mystery to her. Add to this the fact that she'll only wait so long for assistance, and you can see the problem! And, oh my god! those sickening THUNKS as her head hits the floor/table/underside of the desk, you name it she's head butted it... followed by the inevitable squeal, or not. Sometimes she just gets up and carries on like nothing happened - and of course, being the paranoid freak that I am - I don't know which is worse?! If she cries I can comfort and cuddle her better, if she doesn't, I just panic that she's probably still numb from the last collision, concussed or worse...

For a couple of days now Molly has been practising the art of letting go. She braces herself against the furniture, legs far apart (in a kind of 'axeman of rock' stance), checks that I'm watching, grins and then lets go. For a few triumphant seconds she wobbles and beams - I can see her thinking 'I'm so damn clever Mummy!' - and then CRASH! scream, or not, and off we go again.

Oh for a room with padded walls, floors and furniture! Yep, I can hear you all thinking it, and you're not wrong, it might just be the best place for me!!