# Please help!!! Broken arm....



## fire_in_july (Jun 10, 2005)

Last night I broke my right arm. A bad break, the top of the arm, not the bottom. Typing left handed, not my good hand.

ER folks kept insisting I had to go to formula - my baby has never had a bottle of EBM, let alone formula!! On pain meds. Should I stop taking them and just bear it? It is absolutely excruciating, even with the meds. I have been nursing, but don't know how bad for baby (vicodan).

Furthermore I have no use of right arm at all, even as a prop, it can't be moved at all, every jostle is worse than my worst labor pains - need DF to position baby for me for nursing. What am I going to do when he goes back to work??????? ER docs acted like they couldn't have cared less....

Please help me, I am so overwhelmed. Anyone experience this? What about the meds?? I just don't know what to do.


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## MamaRabbit (May 26, 2005)

I don't know about the meds, but do you have a nursing pillow? That could help you nudge the baby into place.

And what do ER doctor's know about breastfeeding?!?!


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## Trishy (Oct 15, 2002)

Vicodin is an L3 lactation rish, moderately safe. It is in the same class as loratab, which I have taken while nursing.

How long will your df be able to help you? I would second the idea of a nursing pillow when nursing on the right and the football hold when nursing on the left.

Hope you heal quickly.


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## fireshifter (Sep 2, 2005)

Oh Hunny!









How frustrating! I wish I had some good advice besides doing the best you can with pillows. I don't remember the age of your baby, but maybe side-laying would work for one side and pumping the other?

I do have experience with ER docs and to be really honest, every single male ER doc I knew gave crap to the three ER nurses that bf. Not in a cruel way, more of a joking about it. They were nice doctors otherwise, just thought it was a waste of time (guess that's why they're ER docs).

Maybe call a LLL gal or see if you can get some people that you feel comfortable with to come and help you throughout the day with feeding.

MAN, that's gotta be hard!









Jen


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

I have a friend who had a broken collarbone when her baby was born, and was unable to use her arm for the first month or so. I'm sure she was on pain meds, and she had some kind of brace from her orthopedist (?) to prevent her from jostling the arm and hurting herself. She did have a lot of help in the house, but she might know some tips for working around it. I'll PM you.


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## MamaRabbit (May 26, 2005)

Can I be nosy and ask how your arm got broken? I cry when I break my little toe!


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## fire_in_july (Jun 10, 2005)

Thanks for all the help so far. I can't do the side-lying nursing thing, as I can't lie down. :-( I can only semi-recline in the recliner. Any and all other tips would be great, including any thoughts on how to minimize the risk of the meds and nursing.

As to how I broke it, I fell down our stairs carrying the baby in my left arm. I slipped and in trying to twist and brace so that baby wouldn't hit her head, I slammed my upper arm into our window ledge and fell full on it while twisting. Baby was thankfully fine, but wow, what a price I paid for being a klutz.


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## nabigus (Sep 23, 2004)

oh, how awful. I'm so sorry you're in pain, and so sorry it's so hard to bf.

Sounds like it's time to bring in the army of friends. Call LLL and get volunteers if this isn't feasible. I don't know how old your dc is, but what about this for a young baby: a nursing pillow like the My Brest Friend clips in place, so you only have to worry about moving the baby into place (and if you have to, you can walk around the house with the pillow attached to you). Then have a rolled up receiving blanket (maybe taped into a sausage with masking tape, to make sure you don't have to fiddle with it), and wedge it behind dc while s/he's nursing. that will make you hand's free, which means you'll have a hand for adjusting breast, etc.


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