Casting Begins!

Mom and I drove Icem down to Seattle Children’s today. We were early so I nursed him in the car and we headed to check in. The check-in process was quick, and they called us back on time. Once back in the room Icem was weighed and measured. He was up to 8 lbs 5 oz! Then, Dr. Mosca, the orthopedic specialist came back with his PA and a visiting doctor from the UK. After looking at his feet he let us know that Icem’s were “severe” which meant that instead of 4-6 weeks of casting, they could take 8-10 weeks. We are hoping and praying for less if possible!  We had brought a bottle to feed Icem after casting, but upon the doctor’s request started to feed him in the room.

They ended up casting him while he drank the bottle. Dr. Mosca and the PA stretched his feet for about a minute, then held them in place while a nurse wrapped the casts. They wrapped the bottom of the casts first, holding the feet in place while they dried. Then they wrapped the tops of each cast. Icem finished his bottle just as they were finishing. We changed him and held him, then headed home. He did well on the drive home, only crying twice. Once we got home we changed his first casted poopy diaper (he hasn’t been very regular so we were worried about the casts giving him issues, but apparently not!) We also quickly discovered the usefulness of the baby leggings. They protect the casts from poop and pee. Also, they are helpful in creating a soft surface for those of us holding him.

Overall our first experience was positive. We are hoping for a shorter casting time than predicted. There weren’t any tears from Icem or myself during the casting process which was more than I could hope for. We were very thankful to have Gigi there to help! We talked to dad soon after. Now to see how he does this first week with casts. Dad will be back in town on Sunday and will get to go to the second appointment with us. We get to unwrap the casts before heading down. The plan is to remove them and give him a bath. Wish us luck!