I just accidently dislocated Jacob's elbow :(

charmcitygirl · January 2011

OMG...what a terrible last hour!

We were playing on our bed this morning and he was laying down. I pulled him up by his arms to a sitting position and he started to whimper. He held out his left arm for me to kiss it (kisses have medicinal purposes in our house). I kissed it and told him we were going downstairs for a snack.

He started to whine and whimper and cry. I gave him his water, which he normally holds with 2 hands when he drinks it and he started bawling. At this point, I knew something was wrong and I called DH to see what he thought. Jacob wasn't using his left arm at all. He was playing a bit, but still only using his right arm.

I called the pedi (who is closed/oncall right now because we had a terrible storm last night). And then I called my next door neighbor who is a doctor - albeit an anesthesiologist. My neighbor came over as my pedi was calling back and they talked.

Jacob was so sad - crying and saying mama. And I was crying. My neighbor popped his elbow back into socket and it was over! After a couple of minutes, he was back to using his left arm and everything was fine.

Ugh. What a terrible experience. I'm so glad that I didn't break anything on him. I feel like a bad mom as it is!

So, the moral of this story is...be careful when you're picking your LO up by his/her arms.

SeaSoul · January 2011

Oh my! How scary! So, how was it determined that it was his elbow that was injured?

Kristinmo · January 2011

My parents dislocated my shoulder when I was that age (by picking me up by the hands and swinging me when I was walking between them). I have no memory of it and my shoulder is fine.

xtencornfield · January 2011

OMG, how scary! Poor Jacob and poor you:( Thank goodness you have a doctor living next door who could help immediately.

CardsfanSM · January 2011

How scary for both of you! Glad it was a quick fix though.

charmcitygirl · January 2011

SeaSoul:
Oh my! How scary! So, how was it determined that it was his elbow that was injured?

Well, I thought it was his wrist because he was crying whenever I touched it. But my neighbor checked his shoulder first to see if it was dislocated and then checked his elbow. As he was moving his elbow around, it popped back into place. He checked his wrist too, but didn't think that was injured at all.

And now Jacob is playing with his drum with both arms. So I'm positive he was right!

njdcgirl · January 2011

Sad Poor little guy! (and mommy too!)

I'm glad you figured out what was going on, and that your neighbor was around to help. I'm always worried about this when we practice sitting up...now I'll be even more careful.

Glad he's feeling back to normal!

Cassian · January 2011

Oh no, you poor things! I'm so glad that your neighbor saved the day and that Jake is alright. I will definitely be a lot more careful when pulling DD's arms now!

Smudges*Mom · January 2011

Oh no!! Poor Jacob and poor Mama! I am so glad your neighbor and pedi were able to get Jacob back together! What good fortune having a doctor in the neighborhood! And Allison, don't beat yourself up! You did not mean this to happen and you got him the help he needed. And, you have taken one further step, you have shared with us a good reminder to be mindful of little joints and body parts.

Carrie25 · January 2011

Oh no! I'm glad your neighbor was able to fix it! Scary! Makes us feel like even worse moms though!

SeaSoul · January 2011

charmcitygirl:

SeaSoul:
Oh my! How scary! So, how was it determined that it was his elbow that was injured?

Well, I thought it was his wrist because he was crying whenever I touched it. But my neighbor checked his shoulder first to see if it was dislocated and then checked his elbow. As he was moving his elbow around, it popped back into place. He checked his wrist too, but didn't think that was injured at all.

And now Jacob is playing with his drum with both arms. So I'm positive he was right!

Wow! So remarkable how they aren't phased after such things.

charmcitygirl · January 2011

Smudges*Mom:
Oh no!! Poor Jacob and poor Mama! I am so glad your neighbor and pedi were able to get Jacob back together! What good fortune having a doctor in the neighborhood! And Allison, don't beat yourself up! You did not mean this to happen and you got him the help he needed. And, you have taken one further step, you have shared with us a good reminder to be mindful of little joints and body parts.

Darn snow! If it weren't for the snow, we'd be at the Building Museum right now on our playdate and this whole thing wouldn't have happened!

jds0521 · January 2011

oh my - how scary. you are NOT a bad mom - it was a mistake, they happen sometimes. Glad the lil guy is feeling better.

BoxTer · January 2011

This happened to N at school once and we took her to the doctor and he actually showed me how to do it myself. Google "nursemaids elbow." It came in handy because I've had to do it a few times. It's very easy and you can feel the elbow pop back in, which is cool in a weird way. It's a very common occurrence with little kids.

kme930 · January 2011

Poor little man and poor mommy! That must have been so scary! Will turned away from me the other day while I was holding his arm and I was sure I dislocated something. He was better an hour or so later, but I can totally relate to how scary it is to feel like you've hurt your little man. That said, little kids bounce back so well and it sounds like he is just fine, and really, little boys play and get hurt - it's almost a fact of life, albeit a scary one!

laura&dan05 · January 2011

Ugh! That's awful. Poor Jacob and poor mama. My mom did that to Hannah when she was younger and it was so traumatizing for us all. You're not a bad mom at all so don't beat yourself up over it.

emmyloustu · January 2011

Oh no! Poor mama and poor Jacob! Don't fret though because as p/p have said this is a super common injury for toddlers. It would still freak me out though! Hope your day improves!

MayDayGirl · January 2011

oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I am so guilty, I do it all the time!

MontyMrs · January 2011

Oh no! Poor Jacob and poor mommy, I'm so glad that he's feeling better. I hope you are too.

Germanwife2b · January 2011

My ex-boyrfriend was swinging my sister around outside by her arms (my sister is 14 years younger than I am, so she was about 3 years old). Her shoulder became dislocated and she was screaming and crying. A nurse neighbor of ours came over (I was babysitting) and popped her shoulder back into the socket and she was immediately better and has no memory of it to this day.

It is so scary and I think many of us learn this lesson at one point or another in our lives (I happened to be 17). I am constantly reminding DH of what happened to my sister when he pulls Patrick up by his arms. We all do it sometimes. Kids are resilient though, so Jacob will continue to play along happily like nothing ever happened. These things happen my friend!

oct11bride03 · January 2011

Ouch!! Poor kiddo and poor mama. I'm glad he's OK!

beebe929 · January 2011

charmcitygirl:

So, the moral of this story is...be careful when you're picking your LO up by his/her arms.

BETTER MORAL.... live next to a DOCTOR!

OMG Allison!! So scary!

InACitySoNice · January 2011

Totally Nursemaid's Elbow. So sorry for both of you! DH did it to my older DD when she was little. We rushed to the ER, the nurse fixed it ... and DH has never forgotten or forgiven himself.

Gotta tell you though, if it happens once, it's more likely to happen again. be really careful and don't freak out. Just learn online how to fix it yourself. I did. It was scary as hell the first few times, then I got the hang of it.

So sorry you had to go throgh it. But it's such a relief when they bounce back!!

Mr.&MrsS · January 2011

Poor Jacob and poor Mommy! I am glad he is all better now and it was an easy fix.

DH thinks I am nuts because I always cringe if he picks the boys up by the arms. That is a fear of mine.

mrsolsenk12 · January 2011

Poor Jacob!! What a borrible thing to happen but I am glad he is ok. This is why I tell DH not to pick him up by his arms.

roaringrock · January 2011

what a horrible experience! wow! I'm so glad to hear that all is ok now. I guess I learned something new today. we all did.

dundasgirl · January 2011

I have always heard how easy that can happen and I pick Penny up by her arms often, although I don't recall doing that to Reed. I was more cautious with him I think...I should watch myself and stop doing that!!

perry7285 · January 2011

how scary! don't beat yourself up. kids have ridiculously loose ligaments and stuff like this happens.

i'm glad he's fine now. (((hugs)))

somethingchangd · January 2011

I had a moment like that at our Gymboree open gym last week. Turned out I didn't actually dislocate it, but I thought I did for a few minutes. I felt terrible, but also knew I didn't do anything awful to cause it - just like you didn't. I'm glad he's back to good now. Hugs to you, mama!

dana316 · January 2011

How scary.

I'm so glad that he is okay.

LisaMarisa · January 2011

Oh no! You poor thing! I'm so glad he's feeling better now. It could have happened to any of us.

nicolita14w · January 2011

Oh, how scary! I'm so glad he's all right! I always worry about this when we pick up James by his arms.

laura1 · January 2011

Don't feel bad - it happens all the time. I did a pediatrics residency and we would see those in the ER all the time. It was actually one of the most satisfying things for us - you do an exam, then reduce it, and within a few minutes the kid is back to normal!

My DH picks DS up by the arms all the time - I am more nervous because when I was younger, my neighbor had her mother pull on her arm and actually broke her wrist (she was about 2 or so). She was in a cast for a while. THAT would make me feel awful!

Glad he is better now!

BeccaLandes · January 2011

my elbow used to pop out all the time as a child. it would hurt, but once it was in again it felt 100% fine.

vandelay · January 2011

Oh my goodness -- poor Jacob and mama! I'm glad he's doing fine now!

Mrs.Reem · January 2011

Did they show you how to replace it? Because be prepared. It will happen again. It's called nursemaid's elbow and they don't grow out of it until they're about or so. This happens to Katen all the time. Her little friends like to hold hands and if they take off without her it dislocates. So frustrating and painful for her. The good news is that once you pop it back in, it's all good.

galway · January 2011

I did the same thing to my son a few months ago. We took him to the ER and they said it happens ALL THE TIME in this age group. "nursemaids elbow" they called it.

Glad it's popped back in and he's feeling better!

ejgballerina · January 2011

Awwww how scary! I know how easy it is to feel guilty, but don't be too hard on yourself. This is actually a fairly common thing for kids this age, it's called Nursemaid's Elbow. One of the kids I babysat for in high school had it happen two or three times doing various things so I was always extra cautious. (((HUGS)))

sixres · January 2011

Oh, I'm sure that was so scary. I'm glad he's all better now though.
Same thing happened to me and Aiden. I dislocated his elbow, too. I thought something was wrong with his wrist, cause that's where he was holding. It was so sad to see him crying when we had to move his arm to get him in his car seat. I'm glad you didn't have to take him anywhere! It went back in super fast and in 3 min, he was playing and acted as if it never happened.
It happens to lots of toddlers. I'm just extra careful now. And I tell others that are playing with him to be careful too. Cause once it happens, it's likely to happen again, more easily.

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