The roundest head you ever saw!

Geoffrey completed his helmet treatment on the same day that Maddie started preschool - exciting day in our household?  Absolutely!

15 weeks have finally come and gone (well, that was the case a few weeks ago, anyway :) ).  The world seems to think, and they are sure to tell me, that the "time just flew by!"  Ha. I don't ever recall a moment during those 15 weeks where I felt that time was flying by.  Regardless, however you look at it, we made it. And for that, we are overjoyed!

Getting ready for his final head scan.

Waiting for the doctor to give us the results from the scan.  Look at those baby blues!

What a good lookin' noggin!

Doc says we're all done!

Goodbye old friend.

Check me out, Mommy!  I don't have a helmet on!!

Ha Ha Ha!  See ya!!!  :) :) :) :) :)

Helmet Adventures - week 9

9 weeks down, 8 weeks to go (give or take a little). I guess we can officially say we are "over the hump."

There isn't too much to say this week...things are progressing and moving along as usual.  I guess the biggest thing that happened regarding the helmet this week is that Geoffrey has managed to release the velcro strap twice in the past two days.  It was actually kind of amusing.  I was driving home from work yesterday, when I hear this slow velcro-releasing sound, only to look back and find Geoffrey in his carseat, gripping the loose strap with his hand, smiling at his enthusiastic sister, who was cheerfully exclaiming, "Look, Mommy!  Geoffrey's taking his helmet off!!" :)  As a result, the specialist had to add an additional strap over the existing one today, to keep him "locked in."  Poor guy.  Now the velcro reaches halfway around his head.

I think the other thing I've noticed this past week is how much hair our little man has under that helmet.  As if you hadn't noticed, the hole on the top of the helmet gives way to a delightful tuft of blonde hair, which tends to stick straight up.  Of course I have seen it getting longer, but haven't really thought much about it.  However, when I've been drying his hair after a bath, I notice how much more hair he has and how long it is getting.  I know that sounds so obvious, but trust me, when all you see day in and day out is a plastic shell over his head, the moment you get to run your hand over all of his blonde hair, it can take you by surprise.  At least for me.  In a way, I kind of feel like I am missing out on a part of his growing up, by not being able to watch his hair grow over time.  As silly as that sounds, it's true!  But on a side note...how adorable is he?!?

So, as we wait for another 8 weeks to go by, we will continue to enjoy life as a happy little family, one day at a time.

Helmet Adventures - week 7

7 weeks, come and gone, although it still seems like time is ticking by slowly, and we are never going to be done.  It particularly feels this way as we are in an uncomfortable heatwave down here.  As a result, poor little G is probably suffering the most, and his heat rash is a true testament to this! :(Yesterday, we had our head scan appointment for Geoffrey, to see how much he has progressed since day 1 (statistically speaking, since we can see the physical changes taking place with his head shape).  It was a very short and successful appointment, determining that everything is working the way it should, and his head is growing and re-shaping in the correct ways.  Yay!  We were given an approximate end time of 8-10 weeks from now.  That puts us roughly in the middle to end of September.  I think we might just make it.  Geoffrey agrees...

Helmet Adventures - weeks 3, 4 and 5

Time has gotten away from me, and my personal goal to post about Geoffrey's helmet adventures on a weekly basis.  I will use this post to try to rectify that and get back on track (Maddie's birthday events, family vacation, and a hectic time getting back into our normal family routine are all to blame!). 

The past three weeks have certainly moved a bit quicker than the first two, again, due to all the exciting activity we've had going on around here as of late. The heat rash comes and goes in waves, and we continue to do our best to keep it at bay.  The clear helmet has definitely been helpful in that capacity, allowing us to see what is going on, or at least to note when his head is sweaty and could use a breather. 

Maddie has figured out how to pull the helmet off, once without even unstrapping the velcro.  Needless to say, although it is not okay for her to do this, and we made ourselves quite clear, it has happened out of concern for her little brother's comfort.  She will tell me, "Mommy, Geoffrey wants his helmet off.  He doesn't like it!  He's sad."  How sweet is that?  I think she has overheard my conversations with other people, when I have been exasperated and exclaimed how much "he doesn't like it." (It's probably a bit more accurate to say that I am the one who really does not like it).  I had to explain to her yesterday that his helmet is like a band-aid, and we have to keep it on to help his head feel better (this seems to be working, as she is BIG into band-aids at the moment). 

Speaking of Maddie and the helmet, it is kind of cute how she thinks "the helmet" is its own being as well.  For example, today we went to the park.  Maddie started to swing, and after a few minutes, I put Geoffrey into the swing next to her.  She laughed and said, "Look, Mommy!  Geoffrey is swinging and the helmet likes to swing, too!"  :)  I love her.

It continues to amaze me how different Geoffrey looks when the helmet is off his head.  It may sound so obvious, but truly, his entire person takes on a completely new look when the plastic comes off.  Our sweet baby boy forms a grin out of the corner of his mouth, as he realizes that his head is free, giving us a glimpse at the happy baby that will *soon enough* be like this 24 hours a day.  I can hardly wait.

I will end this post with a few pictures that capture Geoffrey and his helmet over the past few weeks.  Our next appointment is in 2 weeks from today, where they will conduct another head scan, giving us exact measurements and statistics as to where we stand.  We might possibly be given a loose ending date at this point, too - I can only hope!

He sure is a handsome boy, even with the helmet on! :)

Helmet Adventures - week 2

Well, today marks the completion of 2 full weeks of helmet adventures!  I don't know if that exclamation point indicates more of excitement that 2 weeks have passed, or exhaustion that its only been 2 weeks...

Geoffrey is hanging in there, to be honest.  It has been a rough week for him (and all of us), as he has really suffered from a bad heat rash on the back of his head.  We knew this was going to happen, so we are not surprised, however, the foreseen knowledge of this side effect has not made it any easier to handle.  We are in a trial and error sort of stage, figuring out the best ointments to apply to his head during the blasted 1 hour window we have to take the helmet off.  It can become quite stressful and frustrating, to say the least.

I hate being in this position: watching my baby in so much discomfort, and lately, pain, knowing the cause and (rightfully) not doing anything to stop it (i.e. taking off the helmet).  Ugh.  I'm trying, but each day I get worn down by the time the end of the day comes and we are all exhausted with the process.  I'm personifying this, I know, but I feel like his superhero when I remove the helmet, and then I feel like his worst enemy when I put it back on.  Geoffrey is scratching at the plastic throughout the day with no relief, and the moment we take the helmet off, his hands find the large red spots on his scalp and just start scratching (which of course doesn't exactly relieve his discomfort, it only makes it worse).

I sound pretty negative I suppose, but I am just writing out my honest thoughts of the past week.  This is hard.  I think I will do SO much better when I actually have an ending date to look forward to.  Unfortunately, I have no idea when that will be given to me - at the very earliest, I still have to wait 2 months to find out any date at all! 

Maddie insists on getting her picture taken while holding Geoffrey, probably because we don't let her do it enough! :)

I think its pitiful and funny at the same time...especially the fact that the flash actually reflects off of his "shiny head."

Geoffrey has been so tired, mainly due to the fact that he doesn't sleep very well anymore.

After having put Little G to bed 35 minutes prior to this picture, he woke up, only needing someone to comfort him.  Standing in front of the fan also helps, as his head gets so sweaty when he sleeps! I love this picture.

And, yes.  Even through all the trauma and discomfort, I can still get my blue-eyed boy to smile for me. :)  This was taken this afternoon, marking 2 weeks!

Little helmet man.

It's like they were laughing at some hysterical punchline to a joke. :)

I love their joy!  This is what sustains me.

2 weeks down, and counting!!

Helmet Adventures - week 1

 Here are some pictures, documenting Geoffrey's helmet wearing days over the past week...

Look at him!!  This is during the one hour of "freedom." His head has already made so much improvement in this first week!

The right side of the skull, which is where a bulk of our focus for treatment is.

Sweet baby cheeks!

We introduced him to a sippy cup, since he is teething.  Although he is not drinking any of the water, he loves to chew on it.  He also tried sweet potatoes and bananas for the first time...not such a hit as the sippy cup was. :)

I left the room for just a minute, and when I came back, this is what I found.  Poor, sweet baby boy is so sleepy from his rough nights with the new helmet this week.  This just melts my heart.

Week 1, check!  Thank goodness, we finally have a week behind us.  Here we go into week 2!

Little Man's Helmet

My little man, prior to getting his new helmet.

A week ago, Geoffrey officially started wearing his new helmet.  I'm going to try to periodically post pictures on the blog to document his progress.  I've been running through a wide array of emotions over the past week, but I think I'm starting to get settled into this new routine.  Every evening, I give Geoffrey a bath, allowing his head to not only be cleansed, but also to air out the skin.  His head temperature has yet to adapt to this new contraption that is on his head 23/24 hours a day, and just recently, he started to get a heat rash. :(  As you can imagine, this is affecting his sleep, both at night and during the day, causing our solid sleeper and content little boy to become a bit more fussy and distraught.  It is challenging to watch him struggle through the moments of discomfort, knowing exactly how to fix it, but not doing it.  I know it is for the very best, and that is what keeps me pushing through this day in and day out.  One week down - we will make it!

Waiting for the doctor to return with his newly fitted helmet.

Maddie, checking out the new look.

Geoffrey, repaying the favor.

Entering uncharted territory...for us

It's time for me to bring my faithful readers into the light of what is going on with our family.  Let me back up and say we are all happy and healthy, so please continue reading, without a heavy feeling in your gut in response to my first sentence. :)

Our little Geoffrey Patrick turns 5 months old tomorrow - 5 months!!  I can hardly believe that we are nearly 1/2 way through his first year!  Unbelievable.  He is our handsome little charmer, full of wet, gummy grins, flirtatious giggles, and kissable cheeks.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can hardly get enough of this little man - he is a heart breaker! We have been profoundly blessed to have him in our family for 5 glorious months.  There is not a day where we have thought otherwise.

Within the first 2 months of Geoffrey's life, I began to observe the shape of his head, curiously taking note from the bird's-eye-view, the asymmetry I was starting to see.  I pointed it out to Brant, but sort of left it casual, inwardly feeling the emotions warring and bubbling up inside me, anticipating what this could mean.  We kept our observations quiet from everyone, and for awhile, didn't really talk much about it together, hoping it would sort of "work itself out."  At his 2 month appointment, I immediately addressed my observations with Geoffrey's pediatrician.  She was quick to agree with the asymmetrical features his head was displaying, and said that we will want to work on that because "he's a California boy, and we want his sunglasses to fit on his face!" 

Let me pause and explain more in-depth what we were looking at at this point.  The medical term that we quickly became experts on pronouncing is plagiocephaly, which is a fancy way of saying the head is flat.  In our case, his head is flattened on the back/right side of his skull.  This early in an infant's life, their skull is quite malleable and we were given a few ideas on how to aggressively reposition the head, so the weight of his skull, along with the help of gravity, might mold the head shape back in the other direction. 

For two months, we aggressively worked on repositioning that sweet little head, and I mean aggressively.  Every time we would walk past him sleeping with his head turned to the right, we would turn it to the left.  Naps have been, and continue to be, while upright in the front pack baby carrier, or laying on his tummy on my chest, so as not to have any weight on the back side of his head.  Tummy time had its challenges to begin with, and now he is rolling over, so it is not as relevant.   You get the picture.

You may ask, why the big concern?  Is there any internal damage occurring with the growth of his brain?  On the contrary, no.  There is no internal damage going on, however, there are several other external things occurring, which we feel need to urgently be taken care of.  The right side of his face is pushed forward; his right eye is every so slightly drooped, as well as the right side of his mouth.  The right side of his forehead is protruding forward and his right ear is at least one ear length forward to that of his left ear.  Because of the severe asymmetry of his head, he could experience jaw misalignment issues and/or ear infections throughout his life, to name a few.  It is not purely cosmetic.  But, to be honest, we also are looking ahead into his future and do not want there to be any preventable reason for him to be made fun of by his peers.

Come back to one month ago.  We were increasingly aware and concerned that his head shape was not making any improvements.  Some friends of ours went through this exact same scenario with their daughter 4 years ago.  It has been incredibly helpful for us to have people in our lives who have walked in our shoes and experienced the same challenging emotional feelings one is bound to experience with this.  Through their recommendation, we set up a free consultation with a local company in Pasadena, who specializes in cranial remolding.  It was a fantastic meeting, leaving us feeling very informed and ready to move forward with the next step, which is getting Geoffrey fitted for a cranial helmet.  As is true with most complicated medical procedures, insurance had to get involved and it took us another month to get lined up with the correct facility.  God has blessed us tremendously by giving us health insurance that will cover the cost of everything.  We are truly grateful. 

And now we wait.  As it stands today, we are awaiting an appointment to be set for some time in the next 2 weeks for Geoffrey to be fitted for his little helmet.  After the fitting, it will likely take 7-10 days to create the helmet before he has to wear it.  And when I say wear it, I truly mean live in it - 23 out of 24 hours a day, he is required to have it strapped on his little head.  We won't know for sure until we see how well he is progressing, but it looks like he could have the helmet for roughly 3-4 months.  I'll be the first to admit I'm dreading the long, hot summer days, with that helmet on his head the whole time, but we will persevere.  I'm going to keep my eyes on the finish line, knowing that we are doing what is absolutely best for him in the long run.  What a gift we are able to give him, and what a blessing it is something that can be fixed short-term, and not something he has to deal with for the rest of his life.

So, as we move forward into this uncharted territory, we would appreciate your continued prayers and support.  As right as it is for us to be doing all of this, it is still a bit unnerving and emotional for me.  I have such a beautiful, sweet, gentle, content little boy, and I just want him to stay that way, and not let some durable medical equipment get in the way of that.  In the meantime, I will just cherish the moments when Maddie first discovers her baby brother has a helmet on, and she insists on wearing her princess bike helmet out of the house and everywhere we go. :)  You can count on it!