tips for recuperation - 3yr old with broken leg =(

[purpledub]

hi, i'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for getting through the next 6 weeks - my very active dd has broken her leg and it's in plaster from toes to just above the knee =(

practical recommendations - like how to get her on the toilet without her screaming blue bloody murder (don't blame her - if i broke my leg and all i was given was calpol think i'd scream too!), bathing, and getting out and about - luckily she's my only so i don't have to go out in the day - and also entertaining her - we don't watch tv/have tablets etc, so anything you've found invaluable like crafts etc that can be done on the sofa without too much faff =)
we usually go out walking every day to the park/river/library whatever the weather, and to toddler groups too so being sofa-bound is going to be a challenge =s

also - what to wear? i know it's early days but she gets hysterical if she even thinks i'm going to pull anything over her cast. i feel like skirts and dresses would get rucked up behind her, but at the moment she's sitting bare-butt - she won't care but there'll be a stream of visitors and i'd like her to maintain some dignity =D also our house is freezing!

thanks in advance x

Aw bless her :(
Can you get or borrow a buggy? Then she could maybe sit in that for a walk?

As for clothing, buy some cheapo jogging bottom type trousers....cut all the way up the leg which corresponds with the broken one....from the cuff to the waist and through the waist elastic.

Then sew ribbons...about three or four inch long pieces...down both cut edges...so you can put her good leg through the uncut jogging suit bottom...and her bad leg can simply be tied together with bows.

Does that make sense?

It's like you're making an open leg on one side of the pants...fiddly if you're not a sewer but you could ask someone you know who can?

How long is the cast on for?

I would be more than happy to alter some joggers for you.

Could you get her nursery/playgroup to send her a card?

Crafty things...she's little for beads but if you find some bigger ones, she can make necklaces, then there's playdoh....you could help her make a tray garden.

That's when you get a tin tray....line it with moss...and make all the details of a real garden....create a pond by sinking a jam tart dish...make a path from tiny stones....add trees which are twigs....her smaller dolls can play in there.

Help her make peg dolls...draw faces on with felt tip and glue scraps of fabric and wool.

How hard for you both!

I should have said...when you cut up the leg, cut the OUTSIDE seam...follow the stitch line...the elastic will "ping" when you get to the top...but the ribbons will hold the waist together as long as the elastic in the pants you choose is stitched into the waistband.

Poor thing :( My DD broke her left and was in a full leg cast for a month. It was no fun :(
For the toilet, we put a chair in the bathroom opposite the toilet. I would put her on and sit down so she could put her hands on my shoulders for balance and I could hold the cast up. Not elegant or fun.
Bathing, sponge baths on the living room floor.
Is it a walking cast or does she have to be non weight baring? We tried to keep DD moving as much as possible even if it was rolling around on the floor. I am afraid she watched a lot of TV, we read and talked a lot. Face painting, manicures. But nothing too messy as it was hard to clean her up.
All normal rules were suspended. It was exhausting as she really couldn't entertain herself a lot and slept badly.

Ds fractured his femur last year when he'd just turned 3 was in traction for a week and then in a spica cast up to his tummy for 6 Weeks. so I feel for you and your dd. He went back into nappies so am no help with toileting, but it may help to cover top of cast with plastic bag when toileting.

We carried on going out and about he has A very lively younger brother so I would have gone mad at home I bought a side by side 3 Wheeler pushchair could you borrow a single 3 Wheeler so you can get out? (seat is usually bigger)

We went to all the usuall toddler groups and he went to nursery apart from the day they did p.e. After a day or so in his cast he was moving around the floor a lot and piling himself up to standing (his consultant agreeded we couldn't stop him) I remember lying in a bean bag playing with his train track was a favourite activity.

Clothes wise I just pulled his usual jog bottoms etc over the cast.

If you google waterproof cast covers you can get ones that allow you to bath normally. Usually have a tight band at the top and you just slip it over cast
Track suit bottoms with poppers up the side are good and extra large sock for over foot with cast on to keep warm

Bad luck! DS1 broke his leg when he was 5. After about a week he didn't have any significant pain (they heal fast!) but he was in plaster - toes to hip - for 4 weeks. I dug up a couple of threads that I started/contributed to at the time, which are full of practical advice:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/1204042-4yr-old-with-a-broken-leg-add-in-a-3yr-old-with-SN-a-newborn-any-tips-for-the-next-few-weeks

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/1155123-Help-5yo-with-leg-in-plaster

I wish I could post pictures of (1) DS1 riding his balance bike with one leg in plaster (2) On top of a large play frame at a soft play place, but it would be too identifying. The point is that children adapt very fast to having limbs in plaster. The first week or two is grim, but then you all find ways round.

thanks for all the tips/reassurance! after my initial panic things have settled down a bit - dd's taken to the sofa like a natural-born couch potato, but i have a feeling that will be pretty short-lived (don't think i'll ever be ready for soft play place tho =D and maybe not even after the cast's off!!!).

xxx

For activities I would recommend sticker dolly dressing books from usborne

I broke my ankle last year, and the first week or two was really painful and then it settles, so hopefully it won't continue to be so bad.

Once it had settled I could sit at table with my leg sideways on a chair, which helped.

Also I was very tired that first week, so lots of cuddles and reading books

poor you and poor dd, hope she is better soon

mrsmushroom - thank you for the offer re jogging bottoms, it's a good idea that i think my sewing (well, cutting anyway) skills are just about equal to, but you're very kind, and i LOVE the tray garden idea - that would never have occurred to me but she has a 'fairy' garden outside which she decorates with shells, pebbles and moss - you are a genius!

it's non weight bearing, they said she'd 'find her own way of getting around' - eek! - and already she's sitting herself up when she forgets and is absorbed by something, and waving her other leg around - does this mean she would be ok on the floor?
last night (second night home) she rolled over onto her tummy, the way she always sleeps, so her leg was off the pillow we use to elevate it. she slept thru without any pain relief, so i'm guessing it's ok to leave her be?
x

The mosaic packs that you can get are good, something like this

What about growing things that grow fast - cress for example?

For bathing you need a limbo

As for getting out and about, could you afford to hire a wheelchair?

Hope her pain is under control and that she remains happy on the sofa for a while longer!

Hi again! You can get a wheel chair for free from the red cross - but we found that an ordinary buggy was fine (ds was a small almost 6yo).