Last day in a cast

Today, little E-Bear's cast comes off.  It is hard to believe that it has been a month since he broke his leg.  Whiles we have done far better than I imagined we would, I will sincerely empathize with parents in the future whose child needs a cast.  It is fitting that as we enter into Thanksgiving week, I give thanks for the healing that tomorrow's cast removal represents.  I have learned so much, here are some of my favorite lessons:

~Bathing: How do you bathe a 22-month old with a full leg cast?  This one stumped me for a while.  My trick was to fill the tub with 2 inches of water and lay E-Bear in it on his back, resting his leg on my arm straight in the air and using my other arm to scrub him down.  This works only if 2 conditions are met: 1) your unhappy toddler howls, but does not splash, in distain of the sponge bath, and 2) all necessary bathing supplies are within reach once you plop him in the tub; remember, only ONE free hand!

~Diaper changing: the lay-on-your-side-so-I-can-clean-your-bottom-without-getting-your-cast-dirty method of diaper changing is very effective.  I may look into patenting this new move.

~Resilience:  Family members are often more resilient than we give credit for.  E-Bear became quite content with playing in one spot with our toy bucket.  G-Bear became quite content with shuttling E-Bear toys that were out of reach.  I developed significant upper body tone from carrying E-Bear and his 5 lb cast everywhere we went.  And no, once weekly sponge baths do not mean that you smell by the end of the week :)

~The Walking Cast:  Really, it should be called a Running Cast.  Because when your child starts running in the cast, you know it is time for it to come off :)

The kids and I had the first appointment this morning with the cast room.  E-Bear was showing everyone his cast this weekend and then would announce: "Cast cut off.  Cast cut off."  I think he was ready.

Thanks to all our friends and family who helped us in large ways and small ways to weather the past four weeks!  Let's hope this first Johnson Family cast is the last one :)