February 10th marks the 15-week anniversary of the day Connor was first fitted for his DOC band.February 10th should be the day Connor graduates from his DOC band.
February 10th will be the day Connor is fitted for his 2nd DOC band.
That's right... the day that should mark THE END of Life With A Helmet, is now going to only be THE HALFWAY POINT.
We're ecstatic, can't you tell??
So, after 15 weeks of helmet wearing, Connor still meets 2 of the 3 criteria that insurance deems necessary to justify treatment.
Honestly, if we stopped this whole train right now, I think we could live with his current head shape just fine. His head looks better than it did 15 weeks ago, and my untrained and subjective eye really doesn't see anything wrong with his current shape.
Enter in Mommy Guilt.
That's the part I can't get over.
What if we stopped after the 1st band?
What's another 3 months (tops, or so they tell us) of helmet wearing?
What if his head was still so misshapen that it caused him grief later on in life... all because we couldn't make more sacrifices?
I'm tired of the 50-mile round trip drive to Cranial Tech every other day in the beginning, then once a week, then once very other week for the duration. I'm tired of Connor's head smelling worse than a dirty bum. I'm tired of fat lips and sore chests because he doesn't understand it hurts when he thrashes around. I'm tired of worrying about the red spots on his head - are they serious pressure points or just his sensitive skin? I'm tired of watching him struggle to get comfortable while he's wearing it. I'm tired of scrubbing the helmet down every night. I'm tired of worrying that helmet wearing is slowing down his gross motor development (because it is). I'm tired of the tactless stares strangers give us. I'm tired of dealing with it, period.
Enter in Mommy Guilt.
...{ pity party over }...
So, we're really happy to announce that Connor will be fitted for his SECOND DOC BAND on February 10th!
Last week, we were at Cranial Tech for Connor's 2nd DSi Scan. If you remember, the 1st one went smashingly well. Connor's a bit older now, so things didn't run as smoothly... (AKA total meltdown during the scan - as evidenced if you look closely at the pictures). But, apparently it's more rare for kids NOT to cry during the scan. It's always good to hear Connor's up to speed with everyone else. ;)
Waiting for the scan to commence - January 27, 2010 
The images that the scan ultimately creates are very cool. They become a life-size version of your child in 3-D (so you're seeing a 2-D version of Connor in 3-D on the left). They then take this image and create a mold (to be pictured on the blog at a later date), from which they create the helmet. See, the creation process is cool... the actual helmet wearing is not. :)
A brief MSNBC spot on plagiocephaly and the process at Cranial Tech:
So, here's to a speedy process the next time around!
We're hoping that the next 3 months will fly by, and since we know what we're doing this time, the whole experience might prove to be a little less painful!
(fingers and toes crossed.)
Wish us luck!
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