thanks for the tip, i'll try that if the opportunity comes up again.
great Great GREAT news! after playing some more, i set one particular peasant's job preference to 'health care' and nothing else. He carried the mother to a nearby empty bed, and the child wandered into my fort and chilled out in the dining room. Kib Asmellacad, the peasant with health care, continued to provide food and water to both the mother and her child. Winter hit, and when i checked to see Nish Ilidonul (the Mom), i found that her leg injury had healed from broken (yellow) to moderate (darker shade of yellow)! within the next couple dwarf days, she recovered completely, got up, and claimed her baby boy!
this is a joyous occasion, and so i will dub those involved with special titles:
for Tirist Mebanedem, the baby boy, i dub thee "Ultimate Survivor" for being such a tough ass baby. Lets hope that arm of yours gets better eventually.
for Nish Ilidonul, The Mother, I dub thee "Greatest Mom" for fighting tooth and nail to protect your child
and for Kib Asmellacad, the one that gave them both food and water and kept them alive during recuperation, I dub thee "Saint", for doing what no one else is this godforsaken hole in the ground would do, show compassion.
On top of that, i declare the 3rd of moonstone to be a fortwide holiday in celebration of this great survival story! hurray!