Bath time!

Oh, the joy of getting a young one squeaky clean!  You can pretty much kiss those days good-bye when the little one is wearing a cast that takes over his entire lower half.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I like things clean.  I'm a big believer in bathing every day.  None of this every-other day crap in my house.  No, you live here, you get a bath every day.

Evan normally loves bath time.  He loves playing and splashing in the water, and just hanging out with all of his cool little bath toys.  His Spica cast has thrown a bit of a curve ball in the bathing front.  At first, I was just "sponge bathing" him.  Basically, I filled up a bowl of soapy water and just wiped down what I could.  The first few times, Evan handled it.  But by day 4, he was losing his mind.  Steve and I were bathing him and changing him and trying to get his cast dry, all at the same time.  The combination was enough to make Evan want to lose his mind (and takes our with it, too).

We had to switch things up.  We needed to figure out a way to make bath time fun again.  Plus, we needed to log in some serious air-drying/naked time for his cast.  So, here is how Evan's bedtime/bathtime routine is going now:

6:00-7:00pm: Hang out/play without a diaper on {we cover his goods with a towel because spontaneous peeing occurs on a regular basis}
6:45pm: Bathe Evan right by the kitchen sink {refer to our lovely pictorial documentation below}  Be sure to keep that cast covered and protected from the water!

7:00ish: Baby powder, Desitin, lotion, and diaper Evan for bed

This sequence seems to be working for us for now.  I must stress how important it is to let the cast breathe for at least an hour a day, without diaper or clothing interference.  It really helps with the odor and moisture control.  Plus, it gives you the opportunity to check for rashes and skin irritations.  Sadly enough, we found a pretty nasty patch of skin irritation on Evan tonight.  It's on his right leg (the good one!).  The cast is rubbing just the right way for it to bother his poor sensitive skin.  We managed to get some dry wash cloths in between the cast and his leg to protect his skin.  Here's to hoping that works!

Every baby is different.  What works for one might not work for the other.  Keep in mind you will always be adjusting and trying new things to keep your little one happy.  Everyday brings us new hurdles to overcome.  That's probably the hardest thing about this cast!  Well, that and diapering (oh, that is gonna be SUCH a fun post).

~Nikki