The Big Day!

I am FINALLY getting around to posting about Noah's big day of getting his DOC band on!!! :) Life has been crazy busy to say the least & am happy to be sitting down writing it all out.

On August 1st Noah was scheduled to get his DOC band fitted! To tell you the truth the night before I was having a lot of nerves & anxiety about the whole thing. I felt a lot of mommy guilt that he would have to be spending the next 4 months straight with this thing on! Noah hasn't been the easiest baby, so I was really worried about how he was going to react to it & just praying that somehow it wouldn't effect him too much.

My alarm went off at 6am that morning. It was ROUGH! I didn't sleep the night before due to my nerves -- looking back on it now I shouldn't have stressed out AT ALL! :) That morning I may have kissed his sweet little misshaped head more than ever before. I got ready, got the kids ready & headed out. On the way I picked up my mom. I always need my mom when something big is happening - I know I'm not the only one. ;) Once we arrived at Cranial Tech. the technician started with the fitting right away.

Here is my mom & Noah right before the technician came in - he had no clue what was about to happen.

First they placed it on his head to see where it needed trimming -- it needed a lot of trimming! He wasn't to sure what to think. 

They made him lay all sorts of ways to see where it would hit his neck & if it would come over his eyes ect. 

They also had to trim all around his ears. 

We were so impressed with how well Noah did!!! The tech was messing with his head, touching him & figuring out what was best & Noah sat there with his hands folded just waiting for them to finish up. He was an angel! 

From there the tech described how to clean it, take care of it, the rules & guidelines on how to wear it ect.  When we left that appointment they told us just to hang out in the area for a few hours to see how he does with the band & make sure there was no irritation. We said "NOT A PROBLEM" & off to Cheesecake Factory we went. ;) (it was delicious) 

After lunch we went back to the office for them to check on how his head was taking it. We had to follow a schedule for a few days since he was having "holding spots" - or red spots from the band that weren't going away. They didn't want blisters or a rash to form or we would have to postpone wearing the band until it cleared up which would then be a couple weeks.

It took a good week to get the band to fit just right. I had to go back to Cranial Tech a couple times for adjustments but eventually it fit perfect & his "holding spots" were fading. YAY!

He didn't love the DOC band at first! He would get very frustrated, hot, & was only comfortable if I held him... That's NOT okay when  you are a stay at home mom with a 2 year old, laundry, cleaning, cooking, errands ect. but I made it work & he was 1 happy little boy - my back though, not so much.  Have you seen this kid?!?! He's huge! 

Night time was rough & honestly even 4 weeks later still is a bit rough. During the day though he doesn't seem to even notice that it's on & is very use to it.

On August 11 we had another follow up appointment to get the band shaved out to make more room for his head to grow. By this appointment it was already amazing to see the difference only  a week and half made! They showed me the mold of his head before the band & put it next to his head to see the progress. (it was a little creepy seeing your kids head on a stick!) The tech was SUPER happy & amazed with how fast it was already taking shape. 

We had another appointment today to get the band shaved out & again the tech was super pleased & happy with how quickly everything is moving. So far so good & couldn't be more happy with Cranial Tech in Lombard. 

Visit #2: Noah - the little bank robber

Today's appointment for Noah at Cranial Tech. was short & sweet. We were there all of 10 minutes to get his pictures & measurements done for the DOC band that will be fitted next week Friday. They placed a nylon type sock over his head & face to be able to get a good picture of the shape of his head so they can mold the helmet just right -- if that was me I would have been completely claustrophobic but he was a CHAMP! He stuck his tongue out the whole time to feel the nylon, & was giggling & smiling at the techs who were getting a kick out of him. We are now enjoying our Noah "helmetless" for the last week before he gets his shell for the next few months. :) Here are some pictures from today's appointment. 

The Beginning of our Plagiocephaly Journey

When we had Noah it was one of the most amazing gifts - obviously. We had our little boy & couldn't be any more thankful. He was perfect as could be, healthy & happy -- for the most part - sorta. He grew FAST. As he grew Steve & I started noticing at around 2 months that his head was a bit flat in the back…part of me just brushed it off & the other part of me was FREAKING out & trying to ignore it. When we went to his 2 month appointment I asked the pediatrician what she thought and she told me she was a bit concerned but to wait until his 4 month appointment to see how it was looking. Well his 4 month appointment quickly approached (I WAS DREADING IT) & we were referred to Cranial Technologies in Lombard. I didn't know much about the DOC band or helmet so I started doing A LOT of research (I mean A LOT). To be honest with you, I was scared about what people would think & say. My kid was in a helmet & I was worried about people talking about him or making fun of my sweet precious baby boy – let’s be real – people can be MEAN.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous any more but I still am. I’m warming up to the idea & becoming “OK” with it. I just pray that he adjusts well & it doesn't bother him too much. (Momma likes her sleep!) We were relieved to hear that it is mostly just a cosmetic thing for now & wasn't effecting his development or brain. PHEW. Bad news of all of this is that he will have to wear it 23 hours a day! Left untreated without a helmet,  we would have no way to know what the extent of his facial asymmetry would be.

After leaving Noah's first appointment & learning everything that was involved, it was hard, but I had to remind myself that I was so thankful that we were dealing with a just a cosmetic & “minor” issue as far as medical issues can go, and that Noah is a sweet, happy & loving little man… he just has a bumpy head! It was such a wonderful experience aside from the news. The people were so sweet & Noah was in a great mood. Everyone answered all of my questions & made me feel a bit more relieved about the whole “helmet thing”. We were told that he has a severe case of Brachycephaly with Plagiocephaly – which pretty much is where his head is wider and taller than normal (which is clear, have you seen his head?!?! Haha), forehead has an incline/slope, ears and eyes don't match up, & he typically favors one side. We will have to do some physical therapy exercises at home due to him favoring his left side – they don’t want him to only lay on his left side or the muscle in his neck and shoulder can tighten & cause him to not be able to turn his head the other direction. We also learned that a lot of this could be the cause of his TERRIBLE acid reflex & colic...I would be 1 happy lady if this fixed both of these problems. I'm a bit sick of changing his & my clothes 4 times a day, and the whole colic thing is REALLY teaching me to have patience which is great … buuuuuut really – I’m over it. ;)

We left feeling very well informed & thankful that we went at the time we did since it sounds like he will only need it for about 3 months due to his age. Next step-getting insurance to cover this (which should be fine) & then getting more pictures of this head & getting his band fit to this head just right. From there we will be travailing out to Lombard every week for adjustments –which could be dangerous since Oak Brook Mall is RIGHT there – probably should just leave my debit card at home those days!

I have been spending WAY to much time looking at the adorable vinyl wraps that they have for these bands! I can’t choose which ones to pick! ;) He could be a watermelon, a robot, a football player --- ahhh it’s just all too cute! 

Here are the images that Cranial Technologies took of Noah yesterday to see the severity of his Plagiocephaly