Nursemaid Elbow

Today, Tali partially dislocated her left elbow for the second time in two weeks. The injury is called Nursemaid Elbow and is a common occurrence in preschool children and usually happens when the child is being swung by her arms or pulled up/away from something. It occurs more often in girls and usually with the left elbow. For some children, it happens often and for others it just never happens. The doctor said that her ligaments are simply more loose but that over time she will grow out of it.

The first time it happened, Tali didn't want to leave preschool and sat on the ground in the middle of the parking lot. I pulled her up and snap! We actually went to the grocery store and it wasn't until she started saying "arm" in the cart that I realized something was wrong. She wouldn't move her arm and complained when I picked her up or tried to move her arm into the car seat strap.

Today, Tali was trying to go to a puppy who I don't let her play with. This time, I felt it snap. We went home, had lunch (the doctor's office was closed for lunch) and then went to get her elbow relocated (and a flu shot, since we were there). On the way there, Tali was saying, "elbow," "doctor" and "again." It was kinda funny.

This time, the doctor showed me how to do it myself as it will likely happen again. It's very easy. So if you take care of Tali, please remind me to show you how to fix her elbow.


NOTE TO THE GRANDMOTHERS: This is really no big deal so please don't freak out! It doesn't seem to hurt Tali that much and is easily fixed. She will tell you when it happens by saying "elbow" and "doctor" and if you know what to do, then it'll be fixed in seconds and she's on her way. Just like putting a Band-Aid on a scraped knee.