Elbow Injury

Natalie has been rolling over like crazy these past few days! All that rolling led to her first real boo-boo. Natalie has been having a hard time falling asleep, especially for naps, because she is so busy practicing her rolling skills. And this morning was no exception. Just a few minutes after laying her down for the first nap of the day, we could hear some fussing on the monitor. My hubby volunteered to check on her, and he found Natalie on her tummy with her right arm kind of trapped behind her. As he rolled her over to her back, there was a scream of pain, and I immediately knew something was wrong. I ran up the stairs to help calm my sweet girl, but even when I cuddled her close, she didn't settle down - very rare! Some troubleshooting revealed that something was wrong with Natalie's arm. I called Grammy to ask her what I should do, and she said, "Call the doctor." I described what happened to Dr. Spence, and she diagnosed a dislocated elbow.

Not sure I would go so far as to call it dislocated ... more like pulled ... I mean it was out of the socket, but not to the point where it looked funny ... I could just tell that she was hurting. Once we got her arm immobilized, she was totally calm ... and by the time we got to the doctor's office she was even smiling! The doctor just checked her entire arm - very carefully - and then bent her arm so that her hand touched her shoulder - there was a tiny pop and that was it ... she didn't cry at all, and she's been using her arm like normal. But it's good to know that it's actually quite common - especially once they start walking and you hold their hands up over their head. And I feel good about the ultimate outcome because I feel like Natalie did a good job communicating with me, and I was able to maintain my composure ... good to know for future and more serious situations - mommy instinct just kind of kicks in :)