Tiny Tim or a Pirate with a Wooden Leg

We had an eventful yet relaxing weekend at home. That is we stayed home after we had a new parent adventure. 

Friday night was a normal night we went out to eat as a family. When we got home Roan was abnormally fussy. It was way past his bedtime and he has been teething so we gave him ibuprofen and put him to bed figuring that would do the trick. It was a rough night and he was up more than usual until we gave him more ibuprofen then he was out again until 8:00 am. Our morning routine was normal, he would wake us up and then we would bring him into our bed to play until we are ready to wake up for the day. He was still a little fussy which is not like him. After further examination we noticed that he didn't want to walk or stand up. If we tried to have him stand up he would keep his right foot off the ground and lean on his left. Then it dawned on me, the entire night he wouldn't stand up, he would only sit up in his crib, something he doesn't really do. There was no apparent bruising or swelling. We put pressure on a few spots but his crying remained the same pitch. 

I called the doctors office and we went in for a check up figuring he may have just twisted his ankle. The doctor was able to locate the point of pain in his tibia. She made a splint for him and sent us to the hospital next door for some x-rays. He was pretty good through most of it. An hour later she calls and says they cannot say there is anything there with confidence. They were going to have a radiologist that specializes in pediatrics look at it on Monday and get back to us. In the mean time we are to leave the splint on and give him ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. Lars looked at the x-rays while he the hospital and felt that there was a very small hairline fracture. 

A few hours went by and the doctor called me back with good news. The radiologist happen to come in on Saturday and looked at it. They said there was nothing absolute there but because of the pain he is in they were confident to say it was a "Toddler's Fracture"-- when children under the age of 4 injure themselves, the bones are still kinda soft and quick healing. They'll gimp around for a couple of days and then be fine. Then when they are adults, having an x-ray for some totally odd reason, a healed fracture line will show up. (But it won't show up when they are toddlers.) You treat it with limited activity (yeah, right) and ibuprofen. She told us to leave the splint on and play it by ear and to follow up with them by Friday. If he is still limping then they will do another x-ray. 

We are leaving the splint on for a few days and then will see how he manages with out it for a few hours. He hates the splint. We try and keep him occupied on the floor but he gets frustrated when he tries to play like he used to. I believe he is feeling a lot better because he is getting more confident in his attempts to move with it. He will crawl with it out and slide around on the floor but now he is trying to stand on it. This has us concerned as we do not want to further injury his leg so we are being mean parents and keep him on the ground at least for another day. When he is given the chance he tries to take off the bandage so we put a large sock over it. The splint is just fiber glass on the bottom and then aced bandaged around his leg. He and I are twins now since I still have my sprained ankle wrapped. 

This injury is a common accidental injury, and usually the child's parents are unable to provide a clear history of trauma. The new parent in me came out for a few hours. I kept replaying in my mind what we could have done wrong here. I even thought for a minute how I suck because I may have weened him too early (at 1 year old) and his bones are brittle because he is drinking Vitamin D milk rather than my super powerful breast milk. But the doctor assured us both that this was nothing we did and it just happens and they are fine in a week or so. 

The injury can be hard to explain to people. The splint looks worse than it is and strangers keep asking "What happened?" When I tell them it is "Toddler's Fracture", they go off about how their mother's cousin's kid broke her arm. HUH completely different but okay. I guess they are expecting me to come up with a dramatic story about how he fell down the stairs and then catapulted into a pumpkin patch with alligators. OR that Tonya Harding  time traveled from the 90's to now to whack his leg to keep him from becoming a professional ice skater to break all records. He is a toddler and has stumbled and fallen here and there but every time he gets back up and keeps going. I am not gonna lie and tell you that I didn't freak out and cry and then call a few girlfriends and cry some more. I did. I hate seeing my son cry in pain, I know it is life and probably won't be the last time. But after I gave Roan a bath, which is my favorite time because it is fun and he is giggly and baths just wash away trouble, I was normal again and dealt with it. 

We are getting creative with way to keep him entertained. He loves musical toys and sitting at the piano. I took him on a long walk yesterday. I feel like he is a few months old again. He just sits there and plays only he gets frustrated when he gets bored or when he stares at his splint. I miss him running around but I kinda like not being stalked throughout the house at times. He is resilant and will be back to his active self in no time. In the mean time he is still a normal fun loving kid and has spurts of hilarous energy and gladness. He has such a good attitude I love it. He is teething on top of this so the mood swings have been very interesting to say the least. We appreciate your love and prayers. Any idea of additional fun floor activities?