We are currently on our fourth cast and boy have we learned a lot by now. Much of it I wish we had known sooner, but isn’t that often how life goes?

Nora adjusted pretty quickly to her first cast. It really wasn’t holding her back from doing anything. In fact, she was developing some serious baby muscles. When we would remove her knit-rite shirt, that’s worn underneath her cast, and she would flex and pull herself almost into a crunch and you could see a six pack muscle outline. I kid you not. Carrying around that extra 2 to 2 1/2 pounds on such a little body is making our baby buff!

Speaking of the shirts, changing these little suckers is not fun nor is it easy but we feel it’s a must with a busy toddler who’s into everything. There was one changing episode where I didn’t think I was going to be able to get a new shirt on. The cast was so tight and it was so hard to dig and squeeze my fingers in between to try and pull it down and into place. After about 20 minutes and a few breaks I finally got it.

We’ve figured out a sponge bath routine that to this day, eight months later, is still a dreaded task. She simply hates just about every aspect of the sponge bath and hair washing. No matter what distractions we have or how many pieces of bribing candy we have on hand, it doesn’t matter she hates the whole thing and screams and cries. She just wants in a big full bathtub. But even though she hates it and fights it, she has, in a way, come to terms with it. As soon as we are done she, all on her own, happily applauds herself and smiles and typically does her happy dance.

Having the cast trimmed or removed is an absolute nightmare. Unfortunately, after four casts we’ve had to have 3 trimmed for various reasons. Being too high under her arms, too low on the hips so she can’t move about normally. The sound of the machine and the way it shakes her entire little body while it’s doing its job is simply terrifying for her. The techs felt so bad one time they went to the hospital gift shop and brought her back a couple of stuffed animals to keep.

We’ve taken her to a closer branch of Children’s hospital just for trimming and removal and it got to the point where she was crying and pleading as soon as we walked into the hospital – she just remembered. Holding your child while they try and cut and tear away at the casting material while she’s crying… No, not crying – screaming, screaming sheer terrified help me screams is just awful. I’ve broke down crying right along with her.

But once she’s settled down after having her casts removed, every time she points to her belly and pats her ribs and has a look of wonder, joy and confusion in her eyes. These casts have become a real part of her and suddenly they aren’t there anymore. It’s almost awe inspiring to witness. With each removal we’ve spent a few minutes afterwards just taking it all in…And that includes endless hugs.

The cast removal appointment is a roller coaster of emotions. I can’t tell you how amazing and incredible it feels to be able to wrap your arms around your baby…Around her body, touch her skin, feel her body expand and contract with each breathe after two months of wrapping your arms around a hard plaster cast. It’s like Christmas morning to me. I can picture it and I can feel it right now as I write this…I long for it and I miss it so incredibly much. It’s one thing I often find myself jealous of. I see parents pick up their little ones and give them a quick hug like or a big huge snuggle. They don’t think twice about it usually, why would they? But I do.

So after a long hug and squeezing session in the doctor’s office our routine is to go get milkshakes on the way home as a reward. In fact, it’s become our routine for just about any doctor visit now. And once we get home its bath time. The excitement on her face when she’s in the tub and realizing she can actually splash and play is infectious. It’s impossible not to grin ear-to-ear.

These breaks from her casts are filled with more baths than you can imagine, almost daily trips to the pool, ooey gooey messy crafts projects, more hugs and snuggles. I’m beyond grateful for these breaks where we have a few days to live life like normal.