Nursemaid's elbow?

[Mother of Sons]

Anyone else's kid get this? It's been happening to a lot. I learned how to fix it from my fil (ped) but it just happens so fast whenever I let her walk holding my hand. I can't carry her all the time :scratch

[LadybugSam]

Have you considered a harness? Its much easier for the child (because its arm isn't suspended in the air the whole time) and it makes them feel like they have a lot more freedom.

I got mine at target and it looks like a puppy. Caleb loves his (well he did until a week ago, i think he's finally outgrown it) It really helped when he began to want to walk at the store.

[mellymommy]

My dd had this happen at 4 months--FREAKED me out!!!!

I don't have a cure or anything, but wanted you to know you aren't alone.

[Whisperlily]

My oldest DD had this happen twice when she was little, and my oldest son had it happen once. I, too, learned how to pop it back into place, but the biggest thing I learned was how to keep it from happening. When walking, I do hold my child's hand... but the minute they start resisting I either pick them up, or if they're pulling away and I still need to hold onto them (for safety) I reach with my other hand and give them support/hold on *above the elbow* on the upper arm. If you ever want to swing your child around in play, or pick them up by their hands, always make sure you are holding *both* hands equally. It's such a habit for me to reach for the upper arm rather than the hand (if they try to run away in a parking lot, etc.) that reaching for their hand doesn't even occur to me.

If you are having repeat incidents with your child, you might want to mention it to the Dr. Sometimes after it happens a few times the tendons can loosen, and if they don't tighten up on their own it could require surgery. From what I understand it's very common for it to happen again within a short period of time while the tendons are still "loose."

You might have to talk to her about pulling away, and let her know that you *want* her to walk with you, and you *want* to hold her hand, but if she pulls away you'll have to pick her up so she doesn't get hurt... or tell her that you might have to let go when she does that, and you don't want her to fall.

[Mother of Sons]

It seems to happen the instant she pulls or trips. It's really really fast. I suppose a pulled elbow is better than a cracked head lol. I might try a harness. :think I'm just worried that she is going to pull on that too and hit her head (that's what my nephew does) She doesn't really understand much of what I say yet so explaining it to her won't help but I am worried that it's going to happen too much. She has hypotonia so she's already at a disadvantage there. I wonder if it would happen to her shoulder if I hold her upper arm. I suppose that's less likely, maybe I'll see if I can reach that low and hold her upper arm instead of her hand. :think

[Whisperlily]

I couldn't see your sig. when I was posting that reply so I didn't realize how young she is. (Guess the talks will have to wait a while, won't they? ;) ) Hope you find something that works! Maybe have an umbrella stroller in the car? My DD loves to go for a ride in the stroller, it's a huge adventure for her.

I know what you mean about it happening fast. I think the typical reflex when they trip, is to pull up to keep them from falling. Maybe you can train yourself to reach for the upper arm, or under the armpit to catch her instead? :hug2 Oh, and the shoulder will *not* do the same thing, thank goodness! :heart

[gentlemommy]

What is nursemaid's elbow? I've never heard of it before. And how do you fix it? I'm always worried something will happen when I'm holding dd's hand and she suddenly trips...like I'll pull something out of socket or something. :shiver I need to get one of those harness backpacks I think.

[Mother of Sons]

What is nursemaid's elbow?

It has something to do with a ligament in the elbow getting trapped but basically it's a minor dislocation. I wouldn't do it without someone showing you in person but it's really easy to fix. You just take their hand palm up slightly toward the outside and then push it towards the arm so that the elbow bends. You can feel it click back into place.

[AmyWA]

This happened to Kaelyn when she was only about 5 months old. The drs told us that she would be more susceptable (sp?) to it since she's had it happen once. But they also said that once she hit about 5 years old it probably wouldn't happen any more. Not sure about suggestions on how to handle it. The harness thing sounds like a good idea though. Hmmm... have to think about that one.