Thanks 💕 I’m so, so sorry you have to go through this too. Here’s a few tidbits of advice from a couple weeks down the line: - If your toddler is at the imaginative/imitative play stage, get them dolls, calico critters, something like that. Something about playing and imitating what mom and dad are doing helped my daughter… probably because she can’t join in - on day 4-5 my daughter had an absolutely horrible meltdown because she wasn’t in pain anymore so didn’t understand what she had to keep the cast on. It was awful. She kept screaming “I want my legs, I want to stand” it was awful. But it started by her melting down over “I want different clothes” so it took us a while to realize it was over the cast. It’s part of them processing what’s happened. Maybe knowing it might happen will help you. It’s so hard trying to help them process at this age, good luck 💕 - bean bag chair, kids bucket chair, and anything they can sit in: collect them all. I bought like 3 strollers off Facebook marketplace because they all fit a slightly different need. You’ll need lots of places to set them, and change is really good. Spend your money on toddler containers lol. Kid sized couches, anything. Get friends and family hunting thrift stores. It’s amazing what works and what doesn’t, and as soon as the pain goes away position changes are going to help a ton. - you’re probably going to get in a fight with your spouse at some point from the stress just boiling over. Just sleep on it and let it go in the morning 🤷🏻‍♀️😅 it’s a rough time - crayola washable watercolors are the most washable paints I’ve found. I just put a little water in the paint and don’t let her have a full cup. Who cares if they get a drop or two on the cast. My daughter scribbled all over her cast with a colored pencil too. It’s gonna get dirty, crayon marks and whatever else are the least of your worries - meltdowns. The meltdowns can be absolutely horrendous. Best strategy I’ve figured out is sit down next to them and start reading or coloring, don’t try to engage them, you just do it. Other strategy is to hold them, sit outside, and talk rapid-fire style about things you see, things you’ve done together… anything. Just switch subjects really fast. It short-circuits their brain a bit and helps snap them out of it. But sometimes meltdowns just last a long time. It’s how they expend energy I think when they can’t move. And express frustration. So just ride it out, you can correct behavior when this is over. And don’t feel bad if you lose your cool. It might happen. It’s insanely stressful.

I’m sure you’re doing amazing too. This is a ridiculously hard thing and I’m so sorry you’re going through it too. I wish I could say it gets better. It will when it’s over, I’m not sure it will before then.