The Helmet

A few weeks ago we took Ezekiel into the doctor and he recommended that we get his head evaluated because the shape of it concerned him.  He was getting rather flat in the back and maybe too high up on top.  So the specialist took a look and said that our son would indeed need a helmet.  I was a little in denial because I didn't want to admit that anything was wrong with my perfect little boy.  After talking to this head doctor, he assured me that the cause of his head shape has little to do with me and that I shouldn't blame myself.  Some babies heads are softer than others and they mold differently.  He said that they are getting more and more kids with this issue since society has converted babies to sleeping on their backs rather than their stomachs.  The good news about having babies sleep on their backs is that it has reduced SIDS by 40%!  Can you believe that?  That is huge!  So, take having a flat headed baby over, well, you know, losing your baby.
All of these pictures are taken with my cell phone so they aren't great quality, but you get the idea.
Before:

Here's how it works.  First he was measured with a fancy 3-part head ruler to see where he fell among the normal head scale.  It was pretty high so we were told to come back in 2 weeks to get his head scanned.  The scan is pretty cool.  They put a tight but stretchy nylon sock thing firmly on his head.  The sock has dots on it for the computer to read because hey, babies will move their heads and the dots help the computer understand where things connect.  The scanner is a large hand held machine that uses lasers to read the dots.  He held it a few inches away and moved it all around EZ's head.
He had on his Batman shirt this day which was totally appropriate when they put on that black cape!  Haha, he looked so cute!

   

 The information gets sent to a computer that builds a 3-D image of the baby's head.  They then send that image to a company in Florida where they create my baby's head out of a hard type of foam.  Then they add plaster to the foam head to give it the perfect shape.  Then they build the helmet over this foam head.  The idea is that the places where they added plaster will be pockets for my baby's head to grow into as he wears the helmet.  It gives the head the chance to grow the correct direction.

 He must wear it for 3-4 months, 23 hours a day.  So, it takes a little while.  And unfortunately the helmet's make the baby's sweat a ton and of coarse the timing is all summer long.  You aren't really supposed to wash the helmet because any residue can irritate their heads, so you mostly just rinse with hot hot water.  So, that part is going to suck but it'll be worth it.  They say since he's only about 5 months old, he has a good chance of getting a better head shape because he's so young.  The younger they start out, the better success they see.  He gets check-ups every 2-3 weeks to see the progress and adjust the helmet as he grows.  The helmets are made thick so they can be taken down as the baby grows.  Like, they shave off a layer from the inside, as needed.  I've talked to a few people who've gone through this and they said they would do it again for their kids in a heartbeat, if they had to.  Here's to hoping for a success story!

He doesn't mind it too much.  He mostly hates getting it taken off and put back on.  You can see the strap there, it's Velcro, so it's noisy!  It smushes his eyes a little, giving him a grumpy look a lot of the time.  It's only been a week but John and I feel like it's already making a difference.  The design is pretty snazzy eh?