I'm sure we have lots more to learn before we become experts at this whole casting thing, but I've picked up a few tips and and tricks so far.
- a rolled up blanket under the bent knee of the casts seems to make some things more comfortable. For example, that swing that was lava the first day? He happily sat in there and laughed while the rest of us had dinner tonight, and the only difference was the blanket under his knees. I was also advised to put a blanket under his knees in the crib for support, and I have been doing that--but he seems to have mastered the baby sleep spin, so it's never under his knees by the time he wakes up. (Seriously, how do babies do that? He's swaddled and in casts and his head is always at the other end of the crib when I go in there!)
- I had read that most people like to keep the casts covered up for aesthetic reasons, but with the fibreglass casts it's more of a necessity. I spend a few minutes a day handling them uncovered and it's enough to make me itchy--I would want to be carrying and cuddling a baby all day with them uncovered. Fortunately, we had a large collection of Baby Legs already, and they fit nicely:
Added bonus? At a first glance, most people just assume you're trying to keep your baby's legs warm, so you get a lot fewer questions about the casts.
- we had been advised that cloth diapers might make it harder to keep the casts clean. And it's true, our regular cloth options (prefolds and fitteds) are pretty bulky and come too far down the thigh to work with the casts. But we do have a few trimmer options, so I tried them on just to see. Our Thirsties pocket diaper and Grovia All-in-Ones were both trim enough to work with the casts. We don't have enough of them to make worth using, and since we already have a large diaper stash we aren't buying more--but if you're a new parent buying diapers and you know baby has clubfoot, that might be a consideration.
- the casts have some soft material under the fibreglass, but the part at the top can wear thin, leaving the cast digging into baby's legs. Get some adhesive-backed moleskin to stick over any parts that are rough or sharp.
M gets dragged out to lots of festivals, activities, and outings because that's what happens when there's a big kid in the house to entertain--someday I should put together a list of our favourite area festivals and outings. Today we spent the morning at TheMuseum in Kitchener, which is an old favourite. They've had a dinosaur exhibit on the third floor for a while now, and for the summer the fourth floor features some returning exhibits (like the balloon room, although I think the new version is an improvement--larger balloons in more colours) and some newer ones. One that was new to us was the Dot Room, an all white space in which kids are given bright coloured dot stickers to place on any surface:
There is even a piano covered in dots! It's a really neat effect, and was apparently mesmerizing for baby eyes as well as delightful fun for bigger kids. I thnk the dot room will be gone when new exhibits come in the fall, so you may want to check it out soon!
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