Little Purple Peg Leg

I forgot to write all about our big "Cast Fiasco" in the month of June! As of now we are cast free and LOVING it! But for those who don' t know here's the story:

Our sweet Lu is a wiggly, energetic, on-the-move little bugger and she is Fast!
Don't blink cause she'll be gone.

Well she showed us her true speed as she went flying from a very high bed down to the floor! I got a call at work that Lucy had fallen and probably should see a doctor.

Let me just say... a call at work like that will make your heart drop to the pit of your stomach in one hot second! Thank you LORD that it was just a silly fall!! 

The doctors did a number of checks and a bunch of X-rays. 

We did a lot of waiting.

This girl didn't have a single nap nor any lunch beyond graham crackers and some veggie sticks. 

She was a CHAMP! 

After X-raying the wrong leg a few times the buckle fracture on her left tibia was found. 


I think I was in denial the whole 5 hours at the doctor's office. I assumed it would be nothing. She probably just sprained it or whatever but life would go on as normal... this was just sillyness over nothing... la de da I was calm, cool and collected!
 
But...then the Doctor, after X-raying the correct leg, came in and said:

"Alright, let's pick a cast color"

My heart dropped. And I cried for the first time that day.

Lucy had just learned to walk and now... she wouldn't be able to. And even worse we were SO excited about our upcoming week-long vacation to the beach... but a cast means no water and no sand.

 I was so very sad. Probably more for myself and the memories I had planned on making with Lucy. Lucy really didn't have a clue and she wasn't sad about missing out on the ocean and the sand because she didn't know about it in the first place. But still, I was sad on both of our behalves!

And when your baby hurts it seems your heart bleeds and leaving their side just isn't an option. Daddy and Lucy hung out like this a lot those first evenings. Just being together. Reading. Chilling. 

He's a good dad. I like him. 

We even brought in a cat. We hate cats. The things parents do. 

melt

What was life like having a baby with cast? Well... challenging is the word that comes to mind.

Those first few days were the toughest for sure. We were trying to figure out how to deal with a non-mobile baby when we had just gotten used to a mobile one!

We lowered some of her toys that she had usually stood to play with. The push, pull and action toys we hid to avoid the temptation that would surely come from this active girly! She pretty much just sat in one spot for days. 

Sleeping was hard for her because she loves to tuck herself up in a ball and, well, with that huge, clunky cast she couldn't do it. Poor thing would toss and turn playing the xylophone with that cast on the crib slats just trying to find a comfortable position.

Then there's the trouble of dressing a baby with a massive thing making her leg twice the size. 

Leggings were a wardrobe-staple, for sure. 

And we re-invested in lots of onesies!

We re-visited her newborn days as we sponge-bathed her in the sink; doing all we could do not get that cast wet! One of Lucy's favorite times is bath time... but for those 3 weeks it was miserable.

Eventually Lucy adapted. (And so did we... though I think it took me the longest!) It's so amazing to see how quickly she adapts to different situations/environments/circumstances. She started to crawl and just drag that peg-leg behind her! It was nice in one aspect: we always knew where she was because the sound of the cast dragging on the floor was unmistakeable! 

And in that last week, while down the shore, she adapted enough to be able to walk despite the cast. She just hobbled around everywhere. She really looked like a little pirate with a peg-leg. 

 The dare-devil even climbed the stairs! (I really should have stopped her... but I took a photo instead.)

She was ready to be free of the purple monster! (and make no mistake... so were we!)

So to sum it up... the hardest parts of dealing with a toddler in a cast:

• Diaper changes: I used to just grab her ankles and lift! No longer possible... I haven't changed her diapers so delicately since she was an infant. Then of course the cast turned into a weapon as she learned she could swing it around. That made diaper changes even worse... dodging the purple monster was not always easy!
•  Carrying her everywhere: When she learned to walk it was so freeing! We could go to the store and I could put her down while I did something and not be freaked about her crawling on a dirty, public floor. No longer with the cast - she always had to be held... and that cast added like 20 lbs! (not really. But after holding her while standing in line at starbucks for 15 minutes it might as well have been!) 
• Baths: See earlier in the post. Sponge baths on the kitchen counter are not our "thing". Oh how we rejoiced at the return of TUBBY TIME!
• Denying her what was natural: In those early weeks she still wanted to do what she was so used to doing but we had to keep her from doing it... without explaining to her why. That was hard. But she was sweet, and she adapted. And mom cried. 
• The car seat: ohhh my! Fitting the cast in the car seat was a challenge. Getting her in and out of it was a challenge. Never take for granted the ease with which you put in and take out your toddler! (Oh, you don't think it's easy? Well then... try it with a cast!) And while we are talking about fitting in things: high chairs! All but impossible with a cast! 
• Sun, Sand and Wave: Casts can't get wet - and bread bags DO NOT work. The cast can make her overheat and sweat making her itch and be upset... so no long sun exposure. The sand can get into her cast and make having it on even more miserable. That made our beach trip less of a beach trip and more of a... house-down-the-shore trip.

Bread Bags are not recommended. Just sayin'

Postives from the Experience

• Patience: There's always a challenge and growing opportunity for mom. God always uses these things to teach ME a lesson! 
• Cuddles: She wanted to be held more. She hugged, kissed and cuddled. 
• Books: I think having to be more stationary really helped develop this new-found love for looking through books! I LOVE to watch her "read" through her books!! 
• Lucy's Perseverance: Watching her take her circumstances and make the best of them with really no fight... except bath time! (I have a lot to learn from my her) 

All of those positives were well and good but... But by God's grace and in his great MERCY the day came to have the case removed and we REJOICED!

It was a bit traumatic for both of us. 
Lucy didn't like the sound of the saw. 
I didn't like the site of a saw near my child's leg.
Yeah yeah it doesn't cut skin, blah blah blah. 

But ultimately, it was so exciting and we were on the cusp of truly enjoying summer- 
CAST FREE!

The nurse asked if we wanted to keep it.


Heck no. But thanks.

Two cute, chubby, little leggies again!

And there was no better way to celebrate than allowing this fish to enjoy a swim in the pool, finally! 

Lucy still walks a bit like a pirate; waddling as if she were still lugging around the cast. But slowly she is improving and enjoying the freedom to walk and climb and stand!

Argh
said the pirate.