DNe broke his femur on Sun :(

[BAMFMrsB]

Does anyone have any helpful tips/advice for a toddler/almost 2 year old for the next 6 weeks? DH found a good blog post with suggestions of things like a bean bag chair, buying bigger sized clothes to fit over the cast, and staying ahead of the pain meds. He's in one of these:

(Not DNe)



I goes from his good leg, connects with a bar and over to the broken leg to his ankle and half way up his torso!

He was holding 2 matchbox cars and walking in his living room/play area and he tripped on his soft toys and landed hard. The kid is a walking disaster. He'll be 2 in mid-August. The docs think he'll need the cast for 6 weeks and from reading about this it looks like another 4 weeks to get back to feeling 'normal' after that!

[teatimefor2]

Oh, no I am so so sorry. That sounds painful for all parties. Maybe get some new sitting based toys - maybe toys designed for travel.

I hope he has a speedy recovery.

[Deleted]

omg poor thing. Hope he gets well soon!

[zarapipe]

Poor boy and mama!!! I would take him to the store and buy him some new activities he can do sitting or lying doen, coloring, painting sticker books, etc. Maybe he will get excited about those and won't be missing moving around as much.

Good luck to you.

[holly116]

I just wanted to chime in. I broke my femur when I was three and was in the same type of cast. I have absolutely zero long term issues and hardly remember it. I hope your little guy is on the mend soon.

[shellbear09]

Oh no I'm so sorry

[MadamePresident]

No suggestions, but my husband broke his leg as a toddler and his family talks about how he would stand on his head and watch cartoons. Kids are pretty adaptable.

[greycat]

Hugs!! I hope your little guy has a speedy recovery.

I babysat for a little boy that broke his femur around the same age. He quickly acclimated to the cast and it really didn't seem to bother him.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Is he into crafting activities? My MIL got us a small low table when DD1 broke her leg when she was 2. She only had a one-leg cast, so she eventually learned to walk on it, but at first she army crawled and sat a lot. Her friend (whom I cared for 4 days a week) would push her around in a baby stroller! Do you have a wagon? I bet he will want to go for rides to get out.

Hugs to you and your little one. It was really hard to see my DD hurt and suffering, but she got through it no problem. Now at 4, she has no lasting issues!

[ssmjlm]

OMG, so sorry. Poor guy!

[redheadk]

I'm so sorry Hope the time flies by! Your poor little guy and poor mama, too!

[Pilsy]

I’m sorry I have no good ideas. Just wanted to say I”m sorry!

[lindyanne]

I am do sorry. This just happened to my neighbor. I got him a lap desk and some different toys he could play with on that (silly putty, crayons color wonder, puzzles) with his twin brother.

[pupcake]

I used to work in an ortho office so we would see kids in this type of cast. I have no advise on keeping him busy but wanted to say that kids adjust very quickly to it. My piece of advice is when it is time to take the cast off ask if they have more then one cast saw. Our office had two and we would use both because it would take such as long time to get it off. It would sometimes take two of us over half an hour to get a cast like that off.

[bbonanza]

OMG, poor thing!!! I am so sorry.

[Deleted]

Oh no, that looks so painful. Poor kiddo!  

[mswax]

Poor kiddo! I have no suggestions that haven't been offered already, but I have to ask, how does that cast work with a carseat? Is he house bound for the next 6 weeks?

[kittycatlove]

I'm so sorry.

A friends son broke his femur. She did a lot of apps and shows on the ipad to keep him entertained.

[countthestars]

Oh no!

psst: what is a DNe?

[chickens987]

Jul 9, 2014 9:11:18 GMT -5 countthestars said:

Oh no!

psst: what is a DNe?

I was assuming her nephew??

[countthestars]

Jul 9, 2014 9:49:28 GMT -5 chickens987 said:

Jul 9, 2014 9:11:18 GMT -5 countthestars said:

Oh no!

psst: what is a DNe?

I was assuming her nephew??

That's what I was thinking as well. Anyway, I hope he feels better soon, OP!

[BAMFMrsB]

Jul 9, 2014 9:52:43 GMT -5 countthestars said:

Jul 9, 2014 9:49:28 GMT -5 chickens987 said:

I was assuming her nephew??

That's what I was thinking as well. Anyway, I hope he feels better soon, OP!

yes, he is my nephew. Sis's kid. DS and DNe are 3 weeks apart. I'm pretty sure my sister has an iPad - I'll suggest she start getting some age-appropriate apps for it.

Sis found out she gets 6 weeks PAID FMLA coverage (wow, right?) so she'll be staying home with him for that time. If he needs more time in the cast, BIL and my dad will take vacation time off.

mswax - re: the carseat, I dunno how they got him home in it, actually. I think they had to make sure it was big enough to sit him in/strap him in before he was allowed to be released from the hospital. Between us and my parents, we have 5 carseats to choose from. I think the one in my dad's car was big enough. DNe is pretty much house bound for the next 6 weeks. You can pick him up/move him, but my dad said DNe(30+#)+the cast was really heavy. 

Fun fact, they DID have to explain the situation to DFACS :? My BIL said that was probably the worst 30min convo of his life.

[BAMFMrsB]

Jul 9, 2014 7:34:33 GMT -5 minniemouse said:

How awful. I'm so sorry. Does he like puzzles? I would buy lots of books, puzzles, and finger paints. If you are not opposed to screen time, there are lots of toddler iPad apps too.
How are you going to bath him?

From what I read online, it's all sponge baths for the foreseeable future. :N: DNe likes his baths, too. Poor kiddo. He does like movies, and I got him a tray table for sitting in his new bean bag seat so he can play with his cars.


He's not yet 2, so I don't know how much he knows how to do puzzles just yet. I guess now is a good time to learn!

[mrsjrd23]

They make special car seats for children with broken legs though I don't know if they are big enough for 2 year olds. My friend's son broke his femur at 8 months and the hospital arranged for a rental of a proper seat to use.

I hope he is on the mend soon. My DS enjoys putting things into boxes/cups etc. He LOVES to put those little pom pom craft things into a snack cup and then take them out. I bet if you google toddler activities for airplanes it would give some ideas on things he could do while confined to a sitting position/laying on the couch.