Imagine the second that you realize something is wrong with your child.  It is a scary, stomach dropping moment that I hope you never have to endure.  For me... it happened this weekend.  And I probably caused it.

Saturday morning I noticed that my daughter wasn't using her right arm, at all.  She wouldn't eat with it, play with it, or even grab for her beloved "paci" with it.  She was being very clingy and not herself. 

After a call to the pediatrician we were told that it could likely be "nursemaids elbow" and they we should go to the emergency room.

THE EMERGENCY ROOM!  Holy Crap!  So... off we went. 

On the way I looked up "nursemaid's elbow" on WebMd and here is what I found: CLICK HERE FOR FULL WEBMD page

Nursemaid's elbow can happen if you tug or pull on a child's lower arm or hand, especially if the arm is twisted. It doesn't take much force for the injury to happen. The most common cause of nursemaid's elbow is a pulling-type injury.

Nursemaid's elbow may happen if you:

-Catch a child by the hand to stop a fall.
-Lift a child up by the hands or wrists.
-Pull a child's arm through a jacket sleeve.
-Swing a child by the arms or hands.
-Yank on a child's arm to make him or her walk faster.
Sometimes nursemaid's elbow may happen if:

-An infant rolls over onto the arm.
-A child uses the hands to brace himself or herself during a fall.

Go to the FULL WebMD page for more on symptoms, first aid, etc...

After a couple hours of "manipulation" and waiting... xrays and waiting... nap (for her) and more waiting we were sent home.  All of the waiting was to see if the bone had indeed gone back into place.  See, kids are smart.  If something hurts they won't do it.  Even if it no longer hurts, they still won't do it.  It wasn't until a few hours later (once we were home) that she was back to using her arm 100% and acting as if nothing happened.

...My daughter may be acting like nothing ever happened...but not me.  I'm watching those arms like a hawk now.