Week One is Done!

We've made it through the first week with the helmet! How was it? Well it was... easy. Seriously! I can't believe how fast little Missy adjusted to it. If someone would have told me how smooth the first week would go, I would have never worried so much! Here was the rundown on our week:

Tuesday, Day 1: Wear the helmet for 1 hour on, 1 hour off, no naps, and no overnight time
Wednesday, Day 2: 2 hours on, 1 hour on, no naps, no overnight time
Thursday, Day 3: 3-4 hours on, 1 hour off, begin wearing it at nap time, but not overnight
Friday, Day 4: 4-8 hours on, 1 hour off, wear during naps, and wear overnight
Saturday, Day 5: Full time use

Friday was the first night she had to wear the helmet to bed, so I was prepared for the worst! But Makenna was a total champ. She didn't wake up once. Not even a little fuss! I actually got up 3 times just to check on her and make sure the helmet hadn't rolled over her face and sufficated her. (Which, I'm quite sure would never happen, but my mind goes to weird places in the middle of the night.)

So now that we're on to full time, here's kind of our schedule:

Take the helmet off for 15-20 minutes in the morning to give her a little break from overnight. Her poor little head sweats quite a bit so this helps to air everything out (Cuz let me tell you, that helmet starts to STINK after a while. Pew!) and then we put it back on until after her afternoon nap when we take it off again for a 15-20 minute break. Then it's back on until bath time in the evening when we get to leave it off for a whole hour before bed. During the hour, she gets a bath and we rub the helmet with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol to try to keep it clean. And then it's back on until the next morning.

When we first learned of the helmet, we were told she would need to have it on 23 hours a day, and that seemed like a lot! But at the appointment they told us we had to leave it on for 20-23 hours a day, so she has it off for about 1.5 hours a day. And the day goes by so fast, it doesn't even seem like she's wearing it that much! See? Easy! Who knew?

As one last note, I had to share a pic of her wearing it this weekend. We're (still) redoing the bathroom so this tool bag of Cory's is a popular attention-getter.

[Hmm... I think I'll help dad with his tools :) ]

So, now we wait until her next appointment on March 10th. But so far, so good!

Cookies

Ah, Peanut Butter Patties... my arch nemesis. I may seem like a healthy eater, but don't let that fool you. I've definitely over-indulged a time or two on these babies in the past.

Here's how it used to work during Girls Scout season: I would convince myself that I could go without eating these decadent delights. You can do it, I would tell myself, It's just a silly cookie! But let me tell you, after two straight days of "convincing myself" and constantly remembering that they were in my cupboard begging to be eaten, I would inevitably give in. And before I knew it, the box was more than half gone and I'd only be 10 minutes into my recording of the The Bachelor. 15 minutes into the show, I was in remorse and guilt. I can't believe I ate all those cookies!

It took me a long time to figure out that by completely restricting myself from sweets, I was actually setting myself up for failure. I didn't want food to control me and I should be able to indulge in Girl Scout cookies every now and then, right? So, I decided to make a change. Why not enjoy a sweet every now and then and quit beating myself up about it? Seems so simple... I can't believe it took me so long to figure it out!

Now I actually make it a point to keep chocolate in my house. Seems backwards, I know, but it actually works for me. If there's no chocolate, I crave it. And then crave it so bad that before I know it I'm in the drive-through at Dairy Queen ordering a large Chocolate Extreme blizzard.

There's no harm in balancing your diet with some chocolate every now and then. Or, in my case, every day. :) My favorite is to eat a Dove Milk Chocolate candy every night after supper. It's so delicious and melts in my mouth... it cures any craving I have and keeps me from going overboard. Plus, who doesn't love an inspiring quote with every piece! Thanks, Dove! :)

Here's to chocolate eating!

Helmet Day

Today was the day. Our 4:30 appointment at Children’s Hospital in Omaha would mean that from now until 6 months from now (potentially), Miss Makenna would need to wear a helmet for 20-23 hours a day.

Let me begin with a little history: At Makenna’s 4 month check up at the clinic, my Dr. and I discussed the flatness on the back of her head. It wasn’t bad, but still noticeable.

The child slept on her back all night long and didn’t move! And she wasn’t sitting up enough yet to let it round out. We agreed to take a picture from the top looking down on her head, and then another one on her 6 month appointment to see if it had rounded out at all. 

By her 6 month check-up, it really was looking better. She was sitting up completely by herself at this point and we thought for sure it would finish rounding out by itself. 

That brings us to her 9 month check-up, when we realized we would need to do more. It really wasn’t rounding out, and she still slept all night on her back, not moving at all, which continued to put pressure directly on her flat spot. 

Our Dr. recommended a specialist. Fast forward a month and here we are. Talk about an anxious Mom! My stomach was doing flips all day. I was ready to get to the appointment and get it over with. 

It's going to be an adjustment at first, but I'm confident she will do just great once she's used to it. Let's pray I do the same! Why is it so much harder for Moms?

But I do have to share a couple of pics to document the day. Here's a pic of her in the bath with wet hair. It's the official "before" pic. You can really tell that she needs the helmet in this one! 

[Naked baby]

And here's a pic with the new helmet. She still looks sweet to me! ;) 

[New accessory!]

I'll be continuing to update throughout the process in order to document the whole thing. This first week should be interesting... :)