coledykes.com

By now most of our family and friends already know that Cole needed a helmet to fix the shape of his head.  To recap, at his 2 month checkup the doctor suggested we pay special attention to the shape of his head as it was looking a little flat on the back.  We had to apply aggressive tummy time and keep him off his back when possible.  We went back to the doctors at 3 months to see if there was any improvements in the shape.  Unfortunately there was no improvement. 

The doctors referred us to an orthodics and prosthetics specialist in Santa Barbara.  There Cole was given a full exam which included digital photos of his head, general measurements, and a full 3D scan of his head with a special scanner.  The whole process wasn’t as intrusive as I thought it would be.  Cole was a super trooper too.   Cole was diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly or flat head syndrome.  This occurs when a baby sleeps in the same position repeatedly.  Cole was a good sleeper from the beginning and I guess he loved to look straight up and a little to the side.   The orthotist later told us to return at 5 months to see if there was any change because 3 months was too young to fit for a helmet.  Still no change.

On New Year’s Eve we finally picked up Cole’s new helmet that he will be wearing for the next 4 1/2 months at 23 hours per day.  I ordered a cool camoflauge style so that he can be incognito while wearing it.  The helmet is actually very light weight.  Cole is already used to it after about a week of sweating.  Here’s his first photo of it on with Daddy.  He’s not looking so happy.

We like to say that the helmet looks like its from the movie Tron.  Cole is definitely cuter than this dude.

At night we get to take it off and give him a bath.  And boy does he need it.  I think the worst part of this helmet ordeal is the smell.  Yuck.  And we’re only 3 weeks into it.  I can’t imagine what 4 months will be like. 

The best part so far is that I already see a huge difference in his head.  Even with a helmet on, Cole always has a smile for us. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Photo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.