Oh the joys of motherhood! Boy did I get a good scare this morning when my LO woke up crying in pain. It all began when I was putting her to bed last night. Her bed is situated right by our footboard, so somehow she hurt her left wrist or elbow as she was transitioning from our bed to hers. She started crying, noting that her hand hurts, but I didn’t think much of it since she fell asleep shortly after, nor did I witness the chain of events since it was pitch dark. Poor baby woke up this morning still in pain 😢.
I began looking up Urgent Cares around us, but they don’t open until noon!! May I add, we’d like to avoid going to the ER during this global pandemic, if possible! I called her pediatrician and he suspected that it was “nursemaid’s elbow,” which I’ve never even heard of, and told us to bring her in for a look.
What’d ya know?! He gave my LO a quick twist of her elbow and managed to snap her ligament back into place! Within just a minute, she was miraculously sitting there clapping her hands! 🤨 I am so glad my baby girl is okay, but it is also important to highlight a few things that I learned from today’s experience:
- Nursemaid’s elbow is very common among children under age 5.
- It can happen by swinging your child by the hands. Sounds all too familiar, huh?
- What the pediatrician performed on my daughter today is a “reduction maneuver,” as per WebMD, to correct the positioning of the elbow.
- Children who have had Nursemaid’s elbow is at higher risk of getting it again.
- Chances of getting Nursemaid’s elbow is reduced by the time children reach ages 5-6, as bones and ligaments strengthen.
I never do this to my LO, but please do not swing or lift your toddler/preschooler by their hands!! They need TLC! 😍
❤️ Love you my baby girl! Sorry you had to go through what you went through today, but mommy’s extremely glad you are okay.