Bye-Bye Helmet!

After almost a year after we started this journey, it was finally time for Rhett to "graduate" from his DocBand.  After 41 trips to Austin, it was such a great feeling to head to Rhett's final appointment at Cranial Technologies.  If you have not heard Rhett's story, you can read where it started here.  

When we got there, the wonderful staff took some final images of Rhett's head.  They have a super fancy machine in this super fancy room to take the pictures.  Every time we go into this room I am nervous that one of my children are going to break something.  Ha!  

Rhett did great!  He had to wear a net over his hair/face, sit on a stool, and sit still, while the cameras did their work.  I bribed him with some silly songs and a light up toy.

Then we waited in another room while the images loaded.  The twins had a little snack, a quick diaper change, and some time to play while we waited.

This is the expression we got from Rhett when we told him he was not going to have to wear his helmet anymore...  Well, actually, this was the face he made when he saw his snack.  But he was excited to get rid of that stinky helmet, too!

And now, the really cool pictures.  The images on the left side will show Rhett's face/head before he wore the helmet.  The image on the right is the current shape.

This one is amazing.  You can really see how Rhett's head was so prominent on the right side, and it shows the flatness on the left side.  We sill have some flatness there, but it is so much better!

This next one is an aerial view.  You can see how his head is so prominent on the right side.  The DocBand helped the left side (the flat side) to fill out more. So the right side will always stick out a little bit more because that was what we started with.  Even though Rhett's head will never be perfectly round, we are so pleased with the progress.

They also take photos with a regular camera for comparison purposes.  Here are a few of Rhett from start to finish.

And here is Rhett receiving his first ever certificate!  He is now officially a DocBand Graduate!  And we couldn't be happier!

We are forever thankful to the wonderful staff at Cranial Technologies for the special care they gave our baby boy.  In a very scary and overwhelming situation, they offered precise expertise, support, encouragement, and guidance.  

Bye bye helmet(s)!!!

(For those of you who are wondering, we still have all 3 helmets that Rhett wore.  Since they are custom made, they can only be used one time, by one child.  We weren't sure what we wanted to do with them, and I felt weird about throwing them away.  I am not one to keep "stuff" but for now we are just hanging on to them.  I think it will be neat to show Rhett something that was such a huge part of his first year of life!  Who knows....he may even take a helmet to kindergarten for show-and-tell!  I figured we will let the twins play with them on their stuffed animals when they get a little older.)  

New Helmet Design and Update on Rhett

I haven't posted on here much lately about Rhett, and so I wanted to give an update on how things are going.  But first, have you seen Rhett's new look?  We designed his helmet for the upcoming summer months.  I mean, if your head is going to stink.....it should at least look cute, right?  

Tim and I ordered the helmet stickers from our friend Coree with Bling Your Band.  She does great work!  We love how they turned out.

 wave on the side

 back view:  flip flops, palm tree, and crab

 other side: surfer dude on a wave

front view:  Rhett's name on a surfboard and a smiley sun (hard to see in this pic)

For those of you new to our blog, Rhett has been in a DocBand helmet for the past 8.5 months.  He was born with plagiocephaly and torticollis, and his head was flat on one side.  This is our third, and final, helmet.  We have seen great changes in Rhett's head, and are very pleased with the results.  We are still using the helmet to try to correct more of the shape of his head.  Rhett still has flattening on the back left side of his head, and his ears are still misaligned.  He will never have a perfectly shaped head, but we are going to use his band to get as much correction as we can until he outgrows it.  We are driving to Austin every other week right now to get the helmet adjusted.

Rhett was diagnosed with Developmental Dyspraxia when he was 11 months old.  We are still learning about this condition, but know that developmental delays and sensory issues are common.  Because of this, he is in physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Therapy is going well.  It is such a part of our life now.  (Rhett has been in physical therapy since he was 4 months old!)  His physical therapist, Lauri, works with Rhett on gross motor skills like standing, pulling up, cruising, balance, and strength.  His occupational therapist, Kelly, works with him on fine motor skills like poking, pushing buttons, pulling, reaching, and using both his hands at the same time.

We have seen amazing progress, especially in the last month or so.  We are thankful for the support and encouragement of our therapists, family, and friends.  We do not know what the future holds for Rhett, but we do know that we have a healthy, happy little boy who has already overcome so much.  God has given us such peace and we know that He has a plan for Rhett (and Rhys, too!).  

Prayer Requests:

*That Rhett's head shape will continue to improve (we have about 8-10 more weeks in this helmet)

*for Rhett's ankles to get stronger (therapists are concerned with the way he puts weight toward inside of his ankles....watching this closely right now)

*wisdom for Rhett's therapists as they continue to monitor his progress

*motivation for me to continue to do the exercises and stretches with Rhett daily

Third Times a Charm?

We headed to Austin to get Rhett's third Doc Band fitted.  We were so thankful that daddy could go with us this time since it was going to be a long day.  Rhett had 2 appointments....one in the morning to get the helmet, and then another one in the afternoon to do a skin check.

We usually use our Snap N Go stroller with the twins because we can just leave them in the car seats....it is just easy and convenient.  You can literally "snap" them in and go!  But I noticed last week that Rhys' legs were getting really cramped in the stroller (she rides in the back "seat").  I knew it was time to make the switch over to our GIANT stroller.  We usually only use the big one for walks or when we are going to be out for a long time.  We decided it was time to make the switch and we took it to Austin.

When we got there, I noticed that my little babies looked SO BIG in their new ride.  I had to take a picture!

Then we headed in to get Rhett's band.  He was a champ, as usual, and flirted with all the girls in the office.  After they put it on him we had to wait about 30 minutes so the orthotist could see where it needed to be trimmed, where it was rubbing his skin, etc.  The twins played in the room for a while, and then crawled all around the office.  Since we have been there so much, one of the girls was teasing that they need to name one wing of their office after Rhett.  The twins enjoyed playing with all of their fun toys while we waited.

we love these cool toys! 

why are you always taking pictures of me, mom?

After the band was trimmed and adjusted to fit Rhett's little head, we went to meet my sister, Caydee, for lunch.  Caydee is a nanny and keeps a precious little girl named Ava.  Ava was born just one day after the twins, and so they are forever friends.  Of course R&R just adore their Aunt Caydee and were so excited to spend a couple hours with her too!

Here are Rhys and Ava hanging out in the stroller.  Rhys loved having another girl to play with!

girl time

After we ate lunch, we headed outside to the nice playground at Central Market.  The kids had a great time crawling around and tried to eat as much dirt as we would allow.

 Aunt Caydee and Rhett playing a game

 Rhett's new buddy

 Rhys spent most of her time doing this...

 and this...

Caydee and Ava

we love the playground!

After our fun play time, we headed back to Cranial Technologies for Rhett to get his head looked at.  The orthotist had to make one small adjustment and then we were ready to go.  They went over all of the helmet care and "rules" with us again.  I think I could probably give a seminar on how to care for the helmet with all of the practice I have had!  HA!  

The babies were exhausted from our busy morning, but daddy needed to stop by REI on the way home to get some stuff.  So daddy shopped and the babies and I strolled.  They looked like this the entire time we were there.  

tired babies

This will be Rhett's final helmet.  He will wear it for 3-5 months, all depending on how fast or slow his little head grows.  His old helmet got too small about 2 weeks ago, so we have enjoyed cuddling with a soft, plastic free head.  I was worried that Rhett would have a hard time adjusting to wearing the helmet again since he has been out of it for 2 weeks and since he is older now and more aware of it, but he has done fine.  He is a lot more active these days, and so his little head gets SO sweaty.  Rhett even sweats while he naps.  Once every couple hours, I take off the helmet and dry his hair.  Wow....it really stinks.  

Of course we are going to decorate the helmet again, but haven't decided on a design yet.  If you have a great idea, let us know.  We never thought we'd be designing 3 helmets, but third time's a charm, right?

The Journey Begins

Well, today was the day.  The day that I have been both dreading and looking forward to for some time now. Rhett got his helmet today.  And so, the journey begins...

When my alarm went off this morning, I was already awake.  I had been up thinking worrying about how today would go.  I was so anxious.  I was worried for my little boy.  Worried that he would be uncomfortable.  Worried that he would cry.  A lot.  Worried that I wouldn't know how to comfort him.  Worried that he would not understand.

Even though I was nervous, I was ready to begin this journey so that we could begin to help our little boy as soon as possible.  I'm so glad that Tim was able to go with me today.  He was calm, positive, and kept me from freaking out!  He is a rock for our family, and I needed him today.

After bad SA traffic, a bathroom stop, and a stop to feed both babies, we finally made it to Austin!  Here is Rhett getting his helmet on for the first time.

He looks really upset, right?  HA!  It's like he didn't even care!  

The proper name is not actually 'helmet' but rather 'band.'  The fancy, medical name for it is a cranial orthosis.  Many have asked how it actually works.  The band works by applying a mild holding pressure in regions where the head is already too prominent, while encouraging growth in the adjacent flattened regions.  The band is used on infants between 3 and 18 months of age because this is the period of rapid brain growth.  Because each child's head shape is unique, each band is customized to address the infant's specific deformity.

 Isn't he cute?

After the clinician put the band on, we had to hang out in a waiting room for 15 minutes.  They wanted to make sure that Rhett didn't have any skin reactions to the band, as well as make sure that the measurements were correct.  I was really doing okay until they left us alone in this room.  I was holding Rhett and went to kiss his head.  And my lips were met with plastic.  I got a little emotional and frustrated that we were having to go through this.  Tim gently reminded me that it is not forever, and that we are doing the best thing for Rhett.  I kissed his cheek instead, and got a little smile from my sweet boy.

 Rhett showing daddy his band

 Here the clinician is marking the band so that she can trim the inner layer to fit better

Rhys just hanging out watching her big brother

 Waiting while Rhett's band is getting trimmed

 precious baby girl

 Daddy making us laugh!

 "It's okay Rhett, your head will be okay."

 "Just suck on my finger..."

 "You can suck on my thumb too..."

"Or even my arm..."

They were so funny while we were waiting.  The clinician finished trimming the band to fit Rhett perfectly, and then Tim and I both had to practice putting it on and taking it off of him.

 Mommy practicing

They also took measurements of his head again. They will do this every week when we visit. 

Rhett will wear his band 23 hours a day.  We will take it off for one hour a day.  During that hour Rhett will get a bath and we will clean his band.  We will also take it off when he works with the physical therapist each week, and during the day when I do his exercises with him.

Rhett did okay wearing his band in the car on the way home.  It was SO hot today, and he was sweating pretty bad.  He slept most of the way home though.  When we got home, it was time for a little oatmeal cereal and bananas!

YUM!

After a yummy dinner, daddy gave Rhett a bath and I cleaned the band.  It has to be cleaned with rubbing alcohol and then sat out to dry.  He only wore it for a few hours today and it already stinks.  Such a boy already!

Since the band and Rhett's hair have to be completely dry before we can put it back on, I used the extra time we had to snuggle and kiss all over his little head.  And he let me.  He is my cuddle-bug and I just enjoyed every moment of it!  I nursed him and Tim put him to bed.  That nervous feeling came over me again.  I was worried that he wouldn't be able to get comfortable, wouldn't be able to sleep, etc.  He fussed for about 3 minutes, and then....we saw this:

That is a pic from our video monitor.  And yes, he is OUT!  

I am so very thankful that today went so well.  Thank you all for your prayers.  We will keep you posted on Rhett's progress.  We will be going back to Cranial Technologies weekly to get the band adjusted.  They told us today that we should see progress within a week.  That is amazing to me, and I'm truly grateful for modern technology.

And so, the journey begins...