It has been too long since my last entry but with me serving as primary orchestrator of our current remodeling project of the game room (soon-to-be girls playroom) I have just been too dang pooped to post. :)
But the past week has been an interesting one for it was the week that Maya received her cranial molding helmet. I know this might sound like a contraption used to address a serious brain condition and to the outside observer it might look that way. But really her little helmet is designed to help correct the little flat spot she got on the back of her head after having had the privilege of spending her last trimester head down in my pelvis...poor little thing...
When we first determined that she would probably need the helmet I will admit that I was mostly focused on what people were going to think when they saw her in it. But that concern clearly became dwarfed when I found out that this sucker might cost about $2,500 because they are often not covered by insurance...YIKES! So needless to say, I was delighted to learn that the orthodist who submitted the request (who also happens to be my brother-in-law's prom date...small world...) received approval for full coverage...HOORAY!!!. So now at least the only main inconveniences will be scrubbing the helmet twice a day and going for bi-monthly adjustment appointments. Fortunately we will not have to also put up the big bucks for such fun!
Surprisingly the MYPIE has adjusted to her new head apparatus rather quickly. I think it is much harder on her parents to see her in it. But I am quickly warming up to her new look (sort of brain injury patient meets Superbowl linebacker :) ) And I have even purchased some cute pastel paisley and heart stickers to decorate it after her next adjustment appointment. With all the pink the girls still wear from all the shower gifts, her helmet will most likely make the perfect matching accessory.
As I already mentioned the least entertaining part of the whole ordeal is the cleaning of the thing. It must be scrubbed twice a day with rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush. And because my little cherub tends to be on the sweatier end of the baby spectrum, I also get to air dry it out in the sun for 30 min a day and place a couple drops of vanilla extract in the back of it to avoid it taking on the aroma of an overworn gym shoe. Who would have thought to put vanilla extract into an orthodic helmet??? But so far so good... Maya seems to be relatively happy and uneffected by the new gear... she can even do solid tummy time and practice rolling over...bless her little heart. The orthodist predicts she will get to wear her little hard hat for about three months. Which in the scheme of things isn't very long. And fortunately she will hopefully be out of it before the heat of summer hits.
All in all, I would say this has been one of my more emotionally challenging tasks as a parent thus far. Even though I know that it is the right thing to have her wear the helmet for the long run, no one wants their kid to be the one who is different or made uncomfortable in the short term. But I am sure that this endeavor will serve as good practice for the countless other fun parental challenges that are still in store for me down the road.
Now I must put a word in at the end about Zoe (baby sans helmet). She is doing great as she begins to assert her ever increasing bold and confident personality. She is a little one who clearly knows what she wants when she wants it and just loves to roll all over the place like a little Tootsie Roll. She is going to be the one to make me get a jump start on baby proofing this house for sure.
And so it goes...
