Poor Natalie Babe

Here's Natalie, a few days ago...

Just had to add that one, because those cheekers are sooo stinkin' cute!

And here's Natalie, tonight...

Notice anything odd?

How 'bout from this angle?...

No, it's not the too-short pajamas that she's growing out of.

It's a duct tape sling. On her right arm.

Poor little baby girl!! She has a micro fracture in her shoulder. It's so sad, but could be much worse, I know. A couple of days ago, her sister (not mentioning names here, ahem...) wanted her to "come play" in a little tent the kids had made in our living room. Natalie ended up being rolled over in a funny way, where her shoulder got pinched underneath her as she rolled. She started crying a really sad, painful cry and I could tell something was wrong. I scooped her up and rocked her, and she fell asleep pretty quickly (it was her nap time). I was hoping she'd just been jostled a bit, and that she'd wake up okay. But as soon as she woke up from her nap, I could tell she was still in pain.

Poor thing, her little arm was just hanging limp by her side. I tried to get her to grab onto some toys, or her pacifier, but she wouldn't respond at all. It was making me nervous, so I got Brian on the phone and he helped me find a doctor in our area, in our insurance network. They worked us right in, and referred us to a different doctor who could do an x-ray. I know I'm not the first mommy to help their baby get an x-ray, but I felt so sad, holding her little arm in place, with that big heavy lead shield on her tummy. She didn't cry too much, but she just looked so confused about the whole thing.

Long story shorter, the doctor couldn't see too much from the x-rays, but determined she most likely has a micro fracture in the top of her shoulder. Because she's a baby, those bones are quite "bendy" -- that's why it was hard for him to see what happened. The good news about "bendy" bones is that they heal up really quickly. He told me just to pin her sleeve to her shirt, since she's too small for a real sling.

Well, I got home and got a better idea. Why not just make a little sling for her out of duct tape?

We had a follow up visit this afternoon, and the doctor was impressed with my ingenuity! Maybe I should patent it? :) It's been working fairly well., actually. Today was the third day we had her taped up, and I think it's helping her to heal. She's using her hand a lot more, and even reaches toys and things up toward her mouth from time to time. I just feel bad she's been hurting. No mama likes to see her kids get hurt, ya know?

She's really not too much worse for the wear, thankfully. We went on a little outing to the park yesterday, and as you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed herself, even with her arm pinned down under her little jacket...

Her little tootsies were just sooo cute I had to get a close-up...

Let's hope she's on the mend now. As her Grandma Bishop says, "Good thing babies are made of flubber, so they can survive their siblings!!"

Oh, and for the record, the unnamed sister at fault felt very bad and has been a great helper ever since!