DD2 broke her femur :(

Army~Wife · August 2011

We just get back from the orthopedic specialist and he confirmed that her femur is broken just above the knee and the crack goes mostly up the femur. I am so upset.

We noticed yesterday morning that she was pissy and pretty unhappy from the moment we took her out of her crib. We thought that she was just tired and moody because DD1 had us all awake starting at 3:30 that morning. I had to go to Jury Duty so I left the girls with DH. Just as we were being dismissed, because the case was resolved, I got a text from DH saying that something was wrong with Z. I went home and decided that I would just let her comfort nurse throughout a nap to see if that helped. When she woke up there was no change. Crying, screaming, staying mostly still, wouldn't smile. Not my normal happy kicking baby.

So we went to the pedi and he agreed about doing x-rays. By the time we did 3 follow up x-rays and the results were in everyone was closed. Pedi said he thought it was just a buckle fracture above her knee but that he wanted to get her into an orthopedic specialist to be sure. He saw what the pedi saw but also noticed a crack going up the femur. He could do a body cast but since she's not mobile yet feels that it is over kill. So, all we can do it give her Tylenol and keep DD1 away from her until her follow up in 4 weeks.

The only thing that we can think of is that she rolled onto her belly, stuck her leg thru the bars of the crib and got it pinned between the crib and wall. Nothing else could have happened that we can think of. I am so upset. She is not even a 1/2 year old yet and she already has a broken bone. ;'(

In between x-rays we bought a breathable bumper to avoid any further/future damage.

ashnoelle · August 2011

I'm so sorry for your little girl! I hope she heals quickly.

jdp · August 2011

Poor thing! I hope she heals up quickly. That is one of my worst fears with a crib!

vmm0016 · August 2011

That is scary! Poor thing!

Army~Wife · August 2011

Thank you both! I have always worried about them getting stuck in the bars because it just wouldn't be comfortable but I never in a million years thought that they would be able to break a bone. If I had known that, I never would have hesitated buying the breathable bumpers. DD1 did fine without one. She got stuck a few times but nothing that caused an injury.

I feel like a huge mommy fail! How could I have not known this was possible and worse....not do anything to prevent it?

When DD2 is in her crib I always make sure that DD1 can't get into the room for fear that she would accidentally pull/break/injure or what have you. Ugh....I just want to curl up and cry with her!

karencz · August 2011

Oh my gosh, how scary!!! T&Ps for a speedy recovery for her

CTA7 · August 2011

I'm not a doctor, but do find it very surprising that a baby could break her femur simply by getting it stuck between the crib slats. Could there be any other cause? And did the hospital check for any other conditions that could have made her more susceptible to broken bones? (Again, not a doctor, but I have heard of "brittle bone syndrome" and other things that can weaken bones).

Arcadia1114 · August 2011

You are a wonderful mom. Accidents happen. (Liam's new love is spinning and he is covered in bruises.) Zoe will be running around before you know it. It sounds like she is in great hands. I hope everyone feels better soon!

tusshie2004 · August 2011

Oh no! Poor thing. I hope she gets better soon and heals quickly and I hope your family is doing alright.

Army~Wife · August 2011

CTA7:
I'm not a doctor, but do find it very surprising that a baby could break her femur simply by getting it stuck between the crib slats. Could there be any other cause? And did the hospital check for any other conditions that could have made her more susceptible to broken bones? (Again, not a doctor, but I have heard of "brittle bone syndrome" and other things that can weaken bones).

We honestly cannot think of anything else. She was fine when we put her to bed the night before. She never screamed out/cried during the night. We noticed symptoms as soon as we got her out yesterday morning. But we thought she was just overly tired from us being up most of the night with DD1. They share a room.

They didn't do any tests to see if she is more susceptible but I will ask her pedi when he calls me back today to go over the findings from the specialist. The specialist did say that maybe DD1 could have stepped on her wrong and we just didn't notice until the next morning but we never let DD2 have tummy time on the floor if DD1 is running around (for this very reason). Unless maybe DD1 leaned on her wrong while she was in her bouncy. Sometimes DD1 will come over to the bouncy and "lean it" to give DD2 kisses...I guess this is possible. Just thought of that!

Army~Wife · August 2011

Mrs. Day:
You are a wonderful mom. Accidents happen. (Liam's new love is spinning and he is covered in bruises.) Zoe will be running around before you know it. It sounds like she is in great hands. I hope everyone feels better soon!

Thank you! I just can't stop thinking that I should have done more to protect her. My hormones are all over the place lately. (I've been thinking about taking a PG test here lately....somethings going on....praying this isn't the issue but that's a whole separate post).

The bolded is Ash's new fav thing to do to. She also loves to put a blanket over her head and walk around like a ghost. If you try to take it off she will try to run away and sometimes runs straight into the walls. I hate that!

Danielleee · August 2011

I'm so sorry this happened! Fortunately she is so little that she will probably heal very quickly and definitely won't remember a thing. Hang in there! It sounds like you have done everything you can for her. GL!

CTA7 · August 2011

Army~Wife:
CTA7:
I'm not a doctor, but do find it very surprising that a baby could break her femur simply by getting it stuck between the crib slats. Could there be any other cause? And did the hospital check for any other conditions that could have made her more susceptible to broken bones? (Again, not a doctor, but I have heard of "brittle bone syndrome" and other things that can weaken bones).

We honestly cannot think of anything else. She was fine when we put her to bed the night before. She never screamed out/cried during the night. We noticed symptoms as soon as we got her out yesterday morning. But we thought she was just overly tired from us being up most of the night with DD1. They share a room.

They didn't do any tests to see if she is more susceptible but I will ask her pedi when he calls me back today to go over the findings from the specialist. The specialist did say that maybe DD1 could have stepped on her wrong and we just didn't notice until the next morning but we never let DD2 have tummy time on the floor if DD1 is running around (for this very reason). Unless maybe DD1 leaned on her wrong while she was in her bouncy. Sometimes DD1 will come over to the bouncy and "lean it" to give DD2 kisses...I guess this is possible. Just thought of that!

That is strange. I hope DD heals quickly! Like everyone else, I don't think it's any reflection on your parenting. We only briefly used a bumper with DD due to all the SIDS concerns.

Army~Wife · August 2011

tusshie2004:
Oh no! Poor thing. I hope she gets better soon and heals quickly and I hope your family is doing alright.

Thank you! The specialist said that she should be feeling much better in about 2 weeks. He said that by 4 weeks there should be so much new bone growth that it will be like nothing happened. I really hope this is the case. I feel like we need to be extra tender with her and I'm a little concerned about this slowing her development a tad. I know if won't/shouldn't have any lasting effects but she is getting close to that time where she will be scooting and crawling. I guess I should be grateful that she isn't crawling yet because then he would have done a body cast.

ldoo · August 2011

Sorry to hear that.

When DD#1 was 8 months she fractured her leg. The only thing we could think was that my mom (who had her OWN broken leg at the time) tripped while carrying her and steadied herself against the wall. When she did that, my daughter's leg must have twisted or something.

We never could figure it out. Once we saw she wasn't putting any weight on her leg, we took her in for the x-ray.

Anyway, no cast for her either since she wasn't mobile yet. I think it was a week or so and then all was well. No ill effects, and she's 3 now.

Your LO's injury sounds worse, but I still bet it heals in no time!

Try not to beat yourself up. Kids break bones all the time without their parents knowing, because they just don't communicate it.

My friend's 8-year-old walked around and played soccer with a broken arm for a week before she finally clued her parents into the fact that her arm was killing her!

QueenNini · August 2011

Your poor DD! I hope she heals quickly and feels better soon.

Army~Wife · August 2011

ldoo:

Sorry to hear that.

When DD#1 was 8 months she fractured her leg. The only thing we could think was that my mom (who had her OWN broken leg at the time) tripped while carrying her and steadied herself against the wall. When she did that, my daughter's leg must have twisted or something.

We never could figure it out. Once we saw she wasn't putting any weight on her leg, we took her in for the x-ray.

Anyway, no cast for her either since she wasn't mobile yet. I think it was a week or so and then all was well. No ill effects, and she's 3 now.

Your LO's injury sounds worse, but I still bet it heals in no time!

Try not to beat yourself up. Kids break bones all the time without their parents knowing, because they just don't communicate it.

My friend's 8-year-old walked around and played soccer with a broken arm for a week before she finally clued her parents into the fact that her arm was killing her!

OMG! That's scary!

Thank you for filling me in about your LO. I am glad to hear that your DD healed well and quickly. That is what I am praying for too. In the meantime I will be completely babying that leg.

Temp937723687505543 · August 2011

I'm so sorry to hear this! And no Mommy Fail- I think it's great that you guys noticed and took action so quickly. She'll recover and never remember a thing. I also was in the camp of "they don't break bones by getting limbs stuck in crib slats"- I'll definitely use DD's breathable bumper for DS.

benoitfan · August 2011

Maybe this will make you feel better. I was less that a year old at a eye dr. appt, when I fell out of the exam chair and cried for a bit. They (dr. and nurse) brushed me off and gave a me a once over, decided I was ok and handed me off to mom (also a nurse) and sent me home. Later that day, when I was crawling around on one hand and one elbow, my mom realized something was wrong with my arm. It was broken between my wrist and elbow. 3 medical professionals missed it. Don't feel bad! Stuff happens. Luckily little ones bones are soft and should heal up quickly and be as good as new.

southernsweetieal · August 2011

poor thing

I hope she gets better soon

ldoo · August 2011

Army~Wife:
ldoo:

Sorry to hear that.

When DD#1 was 8 months she fractured her leg. The only thing we could think was that my mom (who had her OWN broken leg at the time) tripped while carrying her and steadied herself against the wall. When she did that, my daughter's leg must have twisted or something.

We never could figure it out. Once we saw she wasn't putting any weight on her leg, we took her in for the x-ray.

Anyway, no cast for her either since she wasn't mobile yet. I think it was a week or so and then all was well. No ill effects, and she's 3 now.

Your LO's injury sounds worse, but I still bet it heals in no time!

Try not to beat yourself up. Kids break bones all the time without their parents knowing, because they just don't communicate it.

My friend's 8-year-old walked around and played soccer with a broken arm for a week before she finally clued her parents into the fact that her arm was killing her!

OMG! That's scary!

Thank you for filling me in about your LO. I am glad to hear that your DD healed well and quickly. That is what I am praying for too. In the meantime I will be completely babying that leg.

Glad I could help ease your mind. Yeah, we babied her leg. Made sure not to put her in any standing devices, like a bouncer or saucer. And since she was in daycare, we actually put a crazy looking sock on that foot to remind them which leg it was.

kmwills · August 2011

DD fractured her skull when she was 5 months old from falling off our bed (who knows why DH put her on our bed unsupervised....). Anyway, short story is that she was healed in no time. It's perfect that they're not mobile yet, b/c you don't have to worry about them doing any more damage.

Army~Wife · August 2011

kmwills:
DD fractured her skull when she was 5 months old from falling off our bed (who knows why DH put her on our bed unsupervised....). Anyway, short story is that she was healed in no time. It's perfect that they're not mobile yet, b/c you don't have to worry about them doing any more damage.

This is what I am thinking too. If she was already mobile we would have done a body cast. That does not sound like fun.

I am so sorry to hear about your DD. I absolutly cannot imagine how scary that must have been for you both. Thank God she is ok! I am glad that babies heal so much quicker than adults!

Army~Wife · August 2011

ldoo:
Army~Wife:
ldoo:

Sorry to hear that.

When DD#1 was 8 months she fractured her leg. The only thing we could think was that my mom (who had her OWN broken leg at the time) tripped while carrying her and steadied herself against the wall. When she did that, my daughter's leg must have twisted or something.

We never could figure it out. Once we saw she wasn't putting any weight on her leg, we took her in for the x-ray.

Anyway, no cast for her either since she wasn't mobile yet. I think it was a week or so and then all was well. No ill effects, and she's 3 now.

Your LO's injury sounds worse, but I still bet it heals in no time!

Try not to beat yourself up. Kids break bones all the time without their parents knowing, because they just don't communicate it.

My friend's 8-year-old walked around and played soccer with a broken arm for a week before she finally clued her parents into the fact that her arm was killing her!

OMG! That's scary!

Thank you for filling me in about your LO. I am glad to hear that your DD healed well and quickly. That is what I am praying for too. In the meantime I will be completely babying that leg.

Glad I could help ease your mind. Yeah, we babied her leg. Made sure not to put her in any standing devices, like a bouncer or saucer. And since she was in daycare, we actually put a crazy looking sock on that foot to remind them which leg it was.

That is a great idea. We are supposed to have a small family gathering on Monday. I think that I will do this so that we can avoid having issues. I will probably still be holding her the whole time though. I would hate for re-injury to happen.

ldoo · August 2011

Yup. White/plain sock on normal leg, colorful sock on boo-boo leg. Good luck!

lindseychase06 · August 2011

So sorry you guys are going through that. My son had a broken femur at 9 months old, its not a fun ordeal. Does she have to wear a spica cast? we did and that was a huge adjustment. Best of luck, and PM me if you have any questions about our ordeal.

Ali9381 · August 2011

My friend's baby had the full leg cast up to her hip from a broken leg and healed great, babies heal quickly! I think she was about 7 months and is now 11 months and walking just fine. Is sucks to see your baby in pain but know you did everything to help her.