getting there

Leo has had his cast off for 11 days now.  it's been easier than when it was on, but we're still not back to where we were.  it's like learning to walk again except it hurts :(  but he's getting stronger and as long as we make a super huge deal about how well he's doing he seems to try harder and not be as frustrated about not being able to do what he used to.

on our way to get the cast off!

he did so good when they sawed it off :)  he was pretty sore after, but did well with the pain from being stiff.  the orthopedic doctor told us to bicycle his legs around everyday to help lessen the stiffness, but he makes a big fuss about that, so I just tickle his feet and try to be silly with him so that he moves it on his own, which seems to be better than if we move it for him pain-wise.  warm bubble baths help, too.

we had a scare the first night when he tried to stand on his own and because of the lack of muscles fell.  his thigh swelled a little and he was very upset and we couldn't touch it without him screaming.  we thought he broke it again!  Matt took him to a small 24 hour ER clinic down the road to get an x-ray and make sure he was okay.  it was fine, thankfully.  they think it was a sprain, but he'd be okay as long as he stayed off of it for a bit.  he was fine the next morning.  it took him about a week to try to walk on it himself without help so I don't know if the fall delayed him trying or if that's just when it stopped being quite as sore.

we were still having to carry him around to begin with and he just wanted to lay on the couch like he had been doing for the past 6 weeks, but after a couple of days we started making him walk while we held his hands to get around the house so he builds that muscle back up.

he's excited to sit in his highchair again instead of us draping a towel over his chest and eating lying down.  I think he's missed drinking from an open top cup, too, because that seems to be a really fun thing for him to do again.

shoes are a big thing now, too.  it's nice to have them on him again when we go outside, and he seems to like to wear them.  he's in-between the sizes we have for him, so when I put shoes on him that are too big he thinks I'm putting my shoes on him and says "momma's shoes" :P

we were unable to do a lot of things for a while - blow bubbles, eat from a spoon, ride upright in the wagon, wear pants, go somewhere besides the doctors office -  so we're doing as much as we can now!