Happy in a Helmet

We have had a busy past few weeks, which seems to be our norm. The big change is now Dean is wearing his helmet all day, and it doesn't even bother him. Let me just talk about this experience first...

There have been plans on getting the helmet, but we didn't get it for a couple of weeks. It took awhile to get everything figured out with the insurance and his head measured multiple times. The day before he got his helmet I was an emotional wreck. Every time I thought about it, I cried. I tried to find as many times throughout the day to snuggle him and kiss his head knowing that once the helmet is on, I could no longer just kiss the top of his head like I used to. I think my biggest worry was the fact that everyone would stare and not fully understand why he had a helmet on. Thoughts would occur to me like "They will think he was laid down all day", "The helmet will take away from his cuteness", "Others won't know what it is for and think he has something more wrong with him than just a misshaped head", or "It is all my fault." Now I know these thoughts I had are all wrong. He was constantly held living in a household of seven people, he is still just as cute, who cares what others think, and it is not my fault. After lots of research, I have learned a lot about helmets and plagiocephaly. I believe some babies heads are softer than others and Dean had a tight neck which caused him to only sleep facing one side. No matter what I did, he always turned his head to that side. 

The day we got his helmet I met Andrew at the place and was surprisingly calm and just fine. The specialist brought the helmet in and started fitting it around his head. Dean just smiled as big as normal, and it didn't even bother him at all. We chose a clear helmet from the recommendation of the specialist as well as what I learned from my research. The next few days, we worked up to the point where Dean could wear the helmet 23 hours a day. Dean transitioned beautifully.

I am grateful for the power of prayer. I prayed that Dean would do well in the helmet and that I would be able to remain calm so he couldn't feel my nerves. I know that my Heavenly Father heard my prayers and answered them. Dean is wonderful and I haven't had any emotional breakdowns. We go in public and people comment about it or stare sometimes, but who cares?!? It is worth it for Dean to have a normal shaped head, and we are grateful that this is all that is supposedly "wrong" with him. Dean is the most happy baby, so I am grateful for his personality throughout this experience. 

Now for the rest of the update...

Andrew has a week break this past week which was amazing! I love having him around and so does Dean. The day after he was done with finals, we drove down to Perdido Key, Florida for a fun family vacation. Dean loved the beach this time! My cousins, Damon and Karac, met us out there for the last few days and then drove up with us on Tuesday. Dean loved the beach this time, and we did something fun every day. Dean loved the sand and swimming. He also had to slowly get used to wearing his helmet while on the trip. We ate yummy food, played ladder golf, bochi ball, built a sandcastle, and hunted crabs. It was one of the top vacations we have had!

The rest of the week my cousins were still able to hang out with us. We hiked up Kennesaw Mountain, went out to eat, watched the LDS General Conference, and hung out with the family.

Dean is now eight months and seems to have grown so much lately. He is practically out of 9 month clothes and into 12 month clothes. It is fun to buy Fall clothes now that the weather is cooling off. Dean is close to crawling, I can just feel it. He rolls around everywhere getting things. Dean has quite the personality and keeps us laughing. He was dancing, and now he waves his arms around like he is learning music (especially at church after watching the chorister). He talks all the time saying "dada" "mama" "bubba" and more babbling. He also makes the funniest faces. We love our little man!