Jameson's Helmet

Jameson got his helmet on Wednesday. He was diagnosed with plagiocephaly about a month ago due to torticollis. That basically means that the muscles on one side of his neck are extremely tight, making him only want to look to one side (to use the muscles that are loose). Because of this, he developed a severe flat spot on the back left side of his head. The left side of his forehead protrudes farther out because of this and his left ear is pushed VERY far forward. When we went for the initial helmet fitting last week they took a digital scan of his head to make the helmet and to track his progress. On a scale of 1-5 of severity, she said she would rate his head a 4. So this isn't a mild case or something that would correct itself in a few months; it's a serious flatness on his head that has already affected his ears and could also affect his other facial features (which I haven't noticed it's done yet).

I equate this helmet to getting braces. We are not talking about a life or death diagnosis and his health would most likely remain fine if we didn't fix this. But we are talking about his head. We are not talking about a body part that is kept covered, we are talking about a body part that is always viewable. We are talking about a little boy who will have short hair, making it impossible to cover the flatness in any way. We are talking about the way he will look FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. Not just now as a baby, but as a child who might get picked on in school or an adult who has a lopsided head. So it is a serious matter to us. Just as it is extremely common to get braces for our children to fix their crooked teeth, I am getting a helmet for my baby to fix his crooked head. And in about five months when he gets it off and has a round head, I will be grateful that we have something like this to turn to to fix the problem. I am sure that Jameson will never thank me, but without even knowing it he'll appreciate having a normal shaped head.

So on Wednesday his helmet was ready and we went to go get it. The process took awhile because she kept having to try it on him and trim some spots to make it fit better. She created holes for his ears to poke out and cut some off the top so his eyes weren't covered. She told me that he would cry when she first put it on, but you know what? He didn't. He was extremely fine with the whole process. And I have just been holding my breath ever since waiting for him to snap and to realize he doesn't like this helmet. But we have had smooth sailing so far and it's been an okay experience. As I type he is taking his first nap with his helmet on and has been asleep for an hour and a half, after going down with no problems. We have to break him into wearing it slowly so by the time next Wednesday comes he will be wearing it twenty-three hours a day. He doesn't wear it at night until Monday and that is the time I am most nervous about. I keep trying to tell myself that I will look back someday and this will be just a blip on the radar. Just as his NICU stay was. Just as everything in life is. Time passes. He should have it off before his first birthday.

So I figured if my son had to have a helmet he was going to have the COOLEST helmet I could manage to create. I ordered a plain white one with the intention of painting it. I gathered my acrylic paint, paintbrushes and sealant at Michael's. I ordered my stickers off the internet. So when Wednesday night rolled around and the helmet was in our possession, I went to work. I put on several coats of gold paint and let it dry overnight. When I saw it in the morning I thought it looked really great! I cut my stickers to fit and put them on and VOILA: a 49er fan was born! It was the one thing I could really get excited for in this whole process and I'm happy with how it turned out. It won't make it any easier on Jameson (he doesn't know what the heck is on his helmet!) but it makes it a little easier on me. He is the cutest little five month old football player ever!!

These are the before shots of his head. I can't wait to post the afters!! You can see how the left side of his forehead is pushed forward and the left back is flat (I don't think the pictures even do it justice, it's more noticeable in person).

This pic shows how much his ears are out of alignment; the left one is pushed forward

Here is a side shot of the flatness
Jameson in his helmet for the first time. We had just come home from the orthotist's office and he fell asleep in the car. I took it as a good sign that he was able to fall asleep in the helmet.

Jameson's helmet after I painted it and put the stickers on

Jameson wearing his 49er helmet for the first time

Getting ready to take sister to school. Still full of smiles!!

Losing the Baby Weight

I've always been a slim person. I think I had a pair of size 0 pants in high school. I played soccer and even though I ate like crap, I was just lucky to have physical activity (and good genes!) to keep me skinny. Being pregnant three times has not been kind to my body; I don't think it's kind to any woman's body! But I have struggled with it the last four years and I've often felt trapped in a body I didn't feel like I belonged in. It wasn't me! I hung onto ten pounds after having Calli and that stuck around until I got pregnant with Serena two years later. I was able to quickly (and unhealthily I will admit!) get back down to that weight, but then I got pregnant again. And let me tell you; having two babies in a year does absolutely NOTHING for your figure.

So this time I got serious. I have been going to the gym four times a week and trying to eat better. But I am not going to go down paths that I have been down before with food and I'm trying really hard to maintain eating habits. I will not starve myself. I will not deny myself the big family dinners I make. If I cook something for my family, you better believe that I am going to sit down and eat with them. I'm not going to cook myself some low fat crap and eat it at the counter while they all enjoy the good stuff. So it's a given that I'm not going to lose the weight as fast as I might like. But you know what? I have been losing it. I weigh less than I have in years and am just two pounds from what I was pre-Calli. I have seven total pounds I want to lose to get to my goal weight and I will celebrate. It is so close I can taste it. I am proud of myself for doing it, for sticking with working out and for being successful. It's a good day when your size 6 jeans are feeling loose. For me, it means I'm almost there.

Busy Busy Busy!

I feel like I've been so crazy busy lately that I haven't had a chance to even stop and take a breath. I keep saying "next week things will slow down" and you know what? They never do. I don't know what it is, but having the third kid just throws you over the edge. I keep thinking back to when I had just one or even two (although that was for such a short time) and wonder "what did I do all day??" I know I had them both home with me, but it was seriously so much easier. Now I am running from activity to activity constantly; Calli's preschool, soccer practice, games, doctor's appointments, the store, the gym, etc etc. All my friends have been falling by the wayside and I haven't been having many playdates. That's been hard because it's nice to have the support of friends and the time to socialize with other adults.

The funny thing is that I kind of like being busy. And I know I'll only be adding more to my plate in the next few months. The holidays are coming up and that just screams "CHAOS". After we get through those we'll be putting our house on the market and moving (HALLELUYAH!!). I'm hoping to go back to school sometime, as well as getting Calli started in kindergarten in the fall. The years are quickly slipping by me and I'm just trying to hold on.

This is my IOU BLOG

I have some major blogging to do. Life has been crazy busy and the last few weeks have flown by. Between Halloween, Kendra's visit, going to California for my grandfather's funeral, going to the gym four times a week, coaching Calli's soccer team and tending to sick kids, I feel sometimes like I barely have a moment to breathe. So until I can grab hold of that moment, here are a few recent pics to tide you over.

Here are a few photos from Halloween

This is my best friend Kendra and me (Calli too!)

My little boy with his mohawk

And my favorite recent photo of the kids. They are all wearing new pjs (Serena's aren't technically new, but they are new to her so that counts!). If I'm feeling overwhelmed, this photo reminds me of what I love about my life.