Quite a few people have come to this site from
spica cast searches over the past 12 weeks -- and I certainly know why -- there's really not much on the topic anywhere. So I figured I would quickly walk through some of the things we did to get by, especially since he will be cast-free tomorrow morning!
First, some key definitions for reference. Recall that Dylan was in two different spica casts over the past 12 weeks, I will reference them as the following:
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| Spica_1 (Weeks 1-6) |
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| Spica_2 (Weeks7-12) |
Now let me tell you, it was no cake walk -- but at the same time, the days go by and somehow you manage. I think the toughest part of all, that most people don't realize, is that you cannot just lay him on the ground and have him play.
- Spica_1 - forget about it -- as soon as you put him on the ground, within a minute, he was unhappy.
- Spica_2 - At first you could lay him on the ground and play for about 5 minutes, however once he gained experience rolling over and trying to crawl -- forget about it. The Dr said to discourage any movement if possible for proper healing. Unfortunately what that meant, was as soon as he rolled over -- you had to pick him up.
So what does it mean that you cannot just lay him on his back and have him play? It means that you have to find ways to keep him upright and entertained... once we found a method that worked, the days for
Dylan (and the parents) became easier. I already wrote about the
Score that Mom found (Buzz Lightyear chair), we used it every day -- and it worked for both Spica casts. On top of that we also found a couple of other methods to keep the little guy happy. Still though, with all the methods you come up with, he still needed to be held for over 50% of the day -- not a tough task when you have an infant that weighs 8-10 pounds -- but when he's a 1 year old and +20lb (without an awkward-shaped cast on), it can get tiring (even for my arms!). I must say though that
Cathy probably held him more than me -- it's that motherly instinct I guess.
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Here are some of the things we did to get by -- note that NONE of these methods are recommended by any of the manufacturers (where applicable) -- we just did what we had to, what else could you do!? They all worked, and 12 weeks later, here we are.
This stroller worked for both spica casts. However for Spica_1 we had to cut a hole in the side of the chair and slide one leg through and have the other one in front. It was a little bit easier with Spica_2 above, we just had to cram a few blankets and towels behind Dylan to keep him propped in place.
The car seat worked for both spica casts -- and for just $95 a month, you can have one too! Similar to the stroller, we had to use blankets and towels to keep him propped in place. This particular car seat was modified by the Medical Equipment Center at the hospital to allow for his legs to fit properly.
Bath time set up -- nothing really exciting here. I just wanted to highlight the fact that we have been giving him sponge baths for the past 12 weeks -- no way around that. This was our 3-towel arrangement which worked quite well. Towel-1 for the base, Towel-2 for a pillow, and Towel-3 for his leg rest.
This was his Spica_2 eating arrangement (much easier than Spica_1). We were able to fit him in a high chair with the common theme of blankets and towels to keep him propped in place. For Spica_1
Dylan had to eat in a bean bag. Part of his Spica_2 eating arrangement was the all-important (as seen on TV!!)
Table-Mate II. Not only was the Table-Mate clutch for Spica_2 feedings, it also served as a key play area for
Dylan for Spica_1. We would sit on an ottoman with
Little D on our lap and simply slide the convenient Table-Mate in front of us (with toys on it for him to play with).
12 week sleeping arrangement -- inclined back with wedge and kept two rolled towels at his feet to keep his legs propped up.
Ah yes, the diaper changing -- this is what we had to work with for the past 12 weeks. Of course you get used to it and it does get easy -- just annoying at times. We managed to keep the cast clean, nights were the only time we ran into some issues.
This little area morphed into his changing station -- there's really no easy place to do it, so we stuck with the floor. Now if you look carefully, you will notice a pink bag sitting there -- those are Poise Pads. Before bed we would put a half of a Poise Pad in with his inner diaper, which worked the majority of the time. There were times though where he was wet on the back on his shirt in the morning.
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I'm sure there are a few typos in this one. But guess what? I'm tired, I'm going to bed, I'm going to get his cast off in the morning, and I'm proudly going to be posting an abundance of cast-free pics in the very near future -- which unfortunately means that my days of talking cast tales are almost over. I do hope that if you're here from a Spica search that you found this post somewhat useful -- or at the very least, it gives a starting point to kick off the methods that work best for you!
