Sunday, January 06, 2008

Subluxation

Two parenting moments for today.

First, Ellie developed nursemaid's elbow again, which is another story for quite another forum. As usual, I tried to make her comfortable in bed, this time with Finding Nemo on the portable DVD player by her head. But when Paul had finished preparing a Deceptively Delicious dinner of meatloaf (with pureed carrots) and mashed potatoes (with pureed cauliflower) I wanted Ellie to be up and about in order to share it with us.

Nursemaid's elbow usually reduces on its own, and if it doesn't, or if she seems to be in a lot of pain, I take her to the pediatrician for a quick reduction. Today, she wasn't crying, so we were waiting it out to see if it resolved itself before bedtime. Then I decided that I could probably do it on my own. I am, after all, a formerly certified E.M.T.. So I supported her elbow with my left hand and pulled gently on her wrist, rotating just slightly, and, "pop!" Immediate use of the arm again. I am SuperMom! It felt amazing, and now I understand why Ellie's pediatrician says that reducing nursemaid's elbow is one of her favorite parts of her job.

Later this evening, both girls were playing happily together, on their own, and with us, in Ellie's room, in Ada's room, in our room, in the hallway, in the family room, in the living room, etc. At one point, they decided that they wanted baby bottles with water in them. Don't ask me, I'm just the mama. They had great fun with these silly toys (neither of my girls would drink from bottles) and at one point, Ada was holding her bottle above her head with an out-stretched arm as though it were an Oscar.

Ellie leaned over and clunked her bottle against Ada's. "Cheers!" she said. Where did she get that?

So adorable.



Christmas Eve, at my dad's church

6 comments:

Amanda said...

I don't want to point fingers, but Aunt Pam taught my little guy to clink glasses and say "cheers". :)

Sarahlynn said...

It's amazing what Ellie (and, presumably, most kids!) picks up. She'll see something once, never say anything about it, then weeks later: bam! There it is, you I realize that she's been thinking about it all along.

Redhead Editor said...

Yah, for Mosby editors. I reduced my daughter's Nursemaid's Elbow reading an emergency peds book. Well, that is, until I couldn't and we ended up in the ER at St. Joe's. Funky cast with the arm facing outward instead of close to the body. Hard to get a Halloween costume over. Hey, I could have seriously performed surgery just reading one of our texts.

Sarahlynn said...

Hah! I guess it's OK to laugh now, since her arm is fine?

But, yes, those books give one a sense of confidence, deservedly or no. On the flipside, after working with medical assisting texts for years, I stopped asking questions of medical assistants at my doctor's office! 6th grade reading level too high! Ignorant DEs (me) choosing all illustrations and doing some of the writing? Gack!

Anonymous said...

Oh please email me about this elbow thing. We had a difficult day today and I told my girl that she was going to hurt her arm if she kept trying so hard to get away. She has been crying most of the afternoon, and she isn't very interested in doing anything with that arm, and it is the one she usual preferences. Not that it is this, but how does Ellie get this, and how do you know?

Ok, enough rambling.

Sarahlynn said...

I sent you an email. Oh, how heart-wrenching this is!

I recognize it easily in Ellie because I've seen it so many times before. The first time, the doctor had to explain it to me. I hope your little one is better!