Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I think it's harder on me than on him.



That's the leg that I had to cut off of Jack's pajamas last night. I had to snip the right leg so the cast would fit. What cast you ask? Oh yes, Jack has a cast on his leg.

So I neglected to mention one little detail from the doctor's visit. Jack took a fall last week out on the pool deck. At the time, he cried a lot and then fell asleep (it was bedtime). The next day I noticed he wouldn't put weight on his right foot so I went straight to the pediatrician. She took x-rays and told me that nothing was broken and that he probably just bruised or tweaked his ankle. She thought he'd be better by his 8 month checkup on Monday. Over the few days, John and I thought it was getting better. He finally would put a little weight on it and started hobbling around. But at his checkup the doctor was concerned it wasn't 100% better and sent us to a pediatric orthopedist. He took more x-rays and detected a teeny tiny fracture in his upper ankle bone. My poor little boy has a broken bone. When the doc said he needed a cast I was floored. And so sad.

Apparently, according to the doctor, it's such a small fracture that if Jack was older, he'd just put a walking boot on him and tell him to take it easy. But because he's a baby who can't control his movement, he needs a cast. So, I picked out the color blue for his cast and held him as the nurse wrapped up his foot and he cried his eyes out. As we left the office, I noticed that a baby with a cast gets a lot of looks. I'm sure the looks are all judging me but that's okay. I can handle it.

All in all, he seems unfazed by the cast. He can scoot around, he can go in the Bjorn, he can bounce in the jumperoo. He still squirms out of my arms to get down and walk. Only now he seems perplexed by the weird sensation when he walks on that leg. Of course, he is intrigued by the loud thud it makes on our hardwood floors. Last week his new favorite activity was throwing his toys and cups on the ground to him them crash. Today it was banging his cast against everything to hear the loud noise. As they say, I think it's way worse for me than for him. The cast stays on for four weeks and I just hope we both survive. I'm praying that his sleep doesn't regress and that his physical development isn't too delayed. I was (and am) pretty down about it but, as John says, the cast is kind of cute and makes him look badass.









12 comments:

  1. Aww! Poor guy and poor mommy. Glad it's not bothering him too much. He does look pretty bad ass in the cast though!

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  2. He totally looks like a bad ass. You need to make up a bad ass story to go with it for those accusatory staring people.

    Something like, "Don't give me that look. He got a broken ankle when I grabbed to his leg and pulled him out of a would-be kidnapper's grasp. We have a house alarm now."

    Or, "Yeah, I was walking with him in the Baby Bjorn when a dog came out of nowhere and grabbed his leg. I had to punch the dog in the face to get him to let go."

    Or, for the drama-lovers out there, "He was born with a congenital ankle defect. The doctors are hoping he'll be able to walk someday." ::cue teary-eyes::

    It'd be fun to see the looks on those people's faces... but I'm cruel and unusual to strangers. :) He'll be fine, Lisa. You're a great mommy to Jack and you'll make sure he develops normally when he's back to normal. Hugs!

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  3. P.S. This may sound awful, but baby casts? Adorable.

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  4. Those bad ass stories are totally hilarious. I'm laughing just trying to imagine Lisa saying the congenital ankle defect line without any hints of irony or sarcasm.

    And I agree - he DOES look bad ass. Somehow totally adorable and bad ass at the same time.

    I also like the picture of the pj foot. Very poetic.

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  5. after we emailed yesterday, i ran to pick up violet at daycare, and she had just taken her first real fall, cracking her forehead on the (rounded) corner of a wood table. yeah, she has a forehead shiner. the dcp was trying to put ice on her goose egg, and you can guess how that was going. kids fall, and no one who's quality is judging.

    my continued sympathy for you and your little thug! and now with the one pant leg shorter than the other? ladies love cool james, i'm just sayin'. i hope he has 'mama said knock you out' on his ipod.

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  6. Oh, no! Poor lil guy, and poor mama!! I would have cried like crazy, too!! It looks like he's taking it like a champ, though. He's totally bad ass! Four weeks is nothin, I'm sure he'll bounce back in no time flat!

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  7. Oh no!!! Poor little guy :( And poor mummy too, I can only imagine how you feel. At least he's not phased by it, which makes it a bit easier on you! I hope the 4 weeks flies by for you all. xo

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  8. thanks for all the nice comments everyone! made me feel better. jack is doing just fine. and kelly, i'll have to try one of those stories on the next unsuspecting mom at the grocery store.

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  9. Wow, step away for a day and look what happens. :p. It's amazing broken bones don't happen more often considering the number of falls babies take daily. Don't feel bad. If he can learn to walk with a cast on, he's going to fly once it comes off!

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  10. Poor kid - sounds painful. But glad to hear he's adapted to the cast so quickly. Wish I could be there to sign his cast. Does anyone do that anymore?

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  11. Uncle Bobby, I was just wondering the same thing. I'm too old to know what's hip so I'll have to ask your kids. :)

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  12. Hi Lisa - just asked Evan...yes, they definitely sign each others' casts here in NJ. Patty and the kids say hi and hope Jack heals quickly.

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