Recovering

This week we have been recovering and regrouping after an unfortunate incident that occurred last week in our home. I hate writing negative blog posts, but I hope that by sharing our story, other friends and family (specifically my mommy friends) will learn and keep something in mind for their own children.
I have been really excited about summer officially starting this week, because I had lots of activities planned out for me and the girls, along with a few different summer camps for Sonoma.  I had one of our babysitters booked to watch Cora while I take Sonoma to gymnastics camp, the pool, etc. I also had her booked to watch the girls during other events, meetings, etc.  Starting with last Wednesday. I put Cora to bed and the sitter was to play with Sonoma for an hour and put her to bed.  I returned home at 9:00, and the sitter told me "everything was great!! Oh, and by the way, Sonoma kept telling me her wrist hurt, but I never saw her get hurt. I put a bandaid on it just to make her feel better. But things were  great!" I didn't think much of it at all and I went to bed.  Flash forward a few hours later and Sonoma is up all night screaming and crying her wrist hurts.  Come the morning, she cannot move it. I asked her what happened and she told me that the babysitter hurt her wrist. The babysitter grabbed her and the babysitter put her in a timeout. I was so angry and shocked.  Marcus and I trusted her with our babies. I had to watch Sonoma for five hours try to eat, drink, get ready and play left handed. It was so sad, as she was trying so hard to be strong, but kept crying out in pain.  We finally got into the doctor later that day and they suspected a fracture so we went in for X-rays. Thank goodness it was NOT a fracture.  The X-rays did however, show us that her elbow had been dislocated. Also known as, "nursemaid's elbow."  It dislocated when the sitter "grabbed" Sonoma's wrist.  Here is one of many links you can find online with all sorts of good information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursemaid's_elbow
Her wrist was also sprained. After the doctor ruled out a fracture, and knew it was nursemaid's elbow, he was then able to relocate it by popping it back into place. I can't even begin to describe the pain of Sonoma as the doctor and X-ray tech moved and poked at her arm. Poor thing was bright red, holding her breath and had tears in her eyes. I felt sick to my stomach the whole time.  But, she was so brave and I was so proud of her.  Once her elbow was relocated, she was like a different kid.  Smiling, happy and her old self again. Unfortunately, she is under restrictions for a week, and the doctor said NO gymnastics camp. Things certainly could be much worse, and it is definitely not the end of the world, but it is really sad for her. She has been looking forward to her drop-off gymnastics camp for weeks now. We also had to cancel a few play dates, since she can't play on the playground. And that is the stuff that is important to Sonoma. She was bummed.  I've been busy making new plans, such as enrolling Sonoma in a dance class to replace gymnastics camp, since there are no other gymnastics camps for her age this summer.  I also started the girls in our library's summer reading program yesterday. And, the good news is that Sonoma is doing just fine.  I can only hope that if the day comes when I trust someone with my children again that Sonoma will not be frightened.  And when that day does come and I decide to trust a babysitter again, you better believe I will be sharing the links and information on nursemaid's elbow and making sure care-givers know that baby and toddler's joints and bones are more delicate than ours. I want to make sure people know you can't grab a baby or toddler by the hand, wrist or elbow.  I hate that Sonoma had to experience that pain in her own home, but kids are so resilient. I'm also thankful Sonoma is a vocal child, who could be honest with me about the night, unlike the babysitter.
I'm just glad tonight, as I go to bed, my family is all here together, safe and sound. We are definitely looking forward to being active again soon with Sonoma.