HELP asap! Baby with broken arm!

mrsstrickland

New member
How to secure this child??

got this message from a foster mom, and i have NO clue!!

"i need your help! We just got this two month old, right? Well she has to have her arm wrapped at a 90 degree angle and we aren't supposed to unwrap it. HOW do I do the car seat?! To get her home I just tucked it under and tightened the best I could. It feels so unsafe though! And we have to travel to the city on Tuesday (2+ hrs away)...."

After questioning more...

"if you hug yourself, across your body, she has to have her arm that way. A wrap is then wrapped completely aroudn her torso, securing her arm across her body. So I can't fit her arm under the strap. So one side of her body isn't really secured."

She HAS to transport the child for a visit on Tuesday. How to??
 
ADS

tiggercat

New member
Can she unhook the shoulder strap from the splitter plate, slip it between the chest and arm, then rebook it to the splitter plate?

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mdsvc89

New member
Re: How to secure this child??

From the description it doesn't sound like you'd be able to slip the strap between her arm and torso, and I'm also not clear why you'd want to -- you need the strap to be over the shoulder, which presumably you can do even with her setup.

Hopefully a SN knowledgeable tech will chime in, but I'd think this is in some ways akin to a child with no arm -- the seat should still fit... no?

Michelle
 

osumoose

New member
Hi, I have a desperate question! We are a foster family and just got a 2 month old little girl with a broken humerus (upper arm, can't be casted). The orders are to not unwrap her arm at all, with no exceptions. If it were my child, I would find a way for a sitter to stay home so I wouldn't have to strap them in incorrectly, but that is not an option here. She will need to have visitations with her mother 30min away at least three times a week. Her arm has to be strapped to her body at a right angle (imagine wrapping your arms across your chest, then securing one arm with a wrap) This makes it impossible to fit the arm under the strap! To get her home I just layed it over her shoulder/chest and tightened the best I could, but obviously this isn't overly secure.

Someone please help! I know the BEST option is to not take her in the car, but DHS will not approve of this and I need to inform them of the second best option!

Thank you everyone!
 

cupcakepirate11

Active member
When I imagine this and hold my arm like you described it sounds like the problem is her arm interfering with the belly area of the harness? If I hold my arm across her shoulder is still free for the harness to go over. Loosen the harness as much as you can to get her in and tighten as best you can. Doing the pinch test at the shoulder to make sure its tight enough. I don't think this would put too much pressure on her arm.
 

SynEpona

New member
I sent her here to ask. Its like the baby is wearing a swaddle around the one arm and torso. Can't get between the arm and body at all.
 

tiggercat

New member
Is this a long term placement? A snugride with a rear adjust harness would allow for tightening of each side independently. Perhaps a continuous harness (true fit, scenera, or the link) would allow for similar uneven-ness in harness length.

Whatever you do, make sure the straps are over both shoulders, not tucked underneath.

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org
 

osumoose

New member
so you can see that with her arm wrapped in front of her body, not only can it not be as tight as it should be, it could slide off one shoulder fairly easily.
 

osumoose

New member
I believe it will take about a month to heal. Not sure how long she has to stay completely wrapped though. The ER doctor was unsure. We see the orthopedist this week (again, another appt where I have to drive her! We're very rural!)
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
I would get a rear adjust seat and adjust the straps accordingly. I know rear adjusts are good recs for shoulder dystocia. Could you talk to someone at the hospital about it? An assura would work, but it would be more work. At least with a rear adjust seat, her one good side would be appropriately fitted and the other would be as close as it could be.

I do not have my sn training yet, but this would be my suggestion from where I currently sit.
 

aeormsby

New member
Re: How to secure this child??

I would think a seat with a continuous harness will be her best bet. I'm not sure if there are any infant seats that have that. I'm pretty sure the Scenera does which is inexpensive and should fit a newborn.

Not ideal to have the strap over the arm, that could cause injuries but should be better in a RF seat than FF. At least she will be able to get the harness tight on both sides.
 

osumoose

New member
She has a rear adjust seat (an evenflo) and I adjusted the good side as tight as I could. It still seemed pretty darn loose though. This is so frustrating!
 

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