Yesterday we had our first appointment after getting the helmet. Annabelle had been doing so great wearing her helmet, up until we reached the 6th day. That day her naps were less than stellar, and her night sleep was even worse! She cried and screamed so much. It was strange since she had slept in it the night before with no problems. The next day was the time to start wearing it 23 hours a day. Once again sleep was horrendous. One nap was on me, and the next nap was in the swing (which made her nap a glorious one and half hours long)! When we took the helmet off to give her a bath, we noticed a red spot at the base of her head. It didn’t go away after an hour, so I kept the helmet off (as instructed to do so). I felt so bad for her!
We went in to the orthotist to get the helmet adjusted, and Annabelle’s head measured. Her head grew 7mm in one week! Luckily it didn’t grow at all side to side, so the helmet was doing it’s job (although her head still looks really flat to me). The orthotist also shaved off a bit where the spot was. She also put leather by the ears since Annabelle’s cheeks were a bit chapped. Since she did this, we were able to go helmet free for the day while the glue dried. We put it on a night, but she was still screaming, so I took it off. So far today she has been doing ok, so I am hoping that the spot doesn’t bother her as much any more, and that the helmet isn’t causing anymore pressure on that spot. I will take pictures of her head eventually to note the differences, but if you look at the bottom right picture in the collage below, you can see how the back of her head is kinda flat, making it look like she has a bit of a conehead.
She did not want to look at me, no matter how many times I made funny noises, snapped my fingers or jumped around while singing (the parents picking their kids up from the bus stop probably thought I was nuts, which I am, a little). She was more interested in looking around at the world outside.
I was able to snap a few pictures of her exploring a leaf for the first time. She was pretty interested in it. I loved it!