Ive Decided to Keep Blogging

I enjoy writing. I like how it makes me feel. So ive decided to keep blogging.

You can find me at http://sunshineapocalypse.blogspot.com.au/

Hope to see you there. xx

A Graduation Tribute!!

Caitlyn Elizabeth McLean....

Congratulations!! You are officially helmet free...for good.....forever and ever more!!!

Friday week, on the 27th of November Caitlyn wore her helmet for the last time.

It also marked her turning 8 months old and it was the day before our first holiday as a family of four!! What a relief it was that she could experience it all, each and every part of it. Even the part where she has figured out it hurts like allgetup to fall over onto tiles without a helmet on...OUCH.

Each morning and each night we went for a walk on the beach and she laughed and kicked and waved her arms about in that Baby Bjorn like a mad women. She loved feeling that wind whip her hair around.

But what her mama loves is this........

 

Seeing this amazing little girl sleep peacefully, unencumbered for the first time in so long. Being able to stroke that sweet little head, nursing her in the crook of my arm without bits digging in, having her nestle her head on my shoulder and not smash my face with a helmet. Not having a head that smells like a sweaty gym sock.

Don't get me wrong, Caitlyn isn't the best sleeper, nor is she the easiest going baby in the world, she isn't overly snuggly and doesn't like to be held too tight or too much and she has allergies that are frustrating me no end. But, walking along that beach with the wind in her hair, watching her brother run and jump and chase birds, she would laugh so hard that she would snort and its those moments that make all this worth while.

In 3 short months we went from this....

 

 

To this....

 

 

And Finally to this...

 



I couldn't be more pleased how this all turned out. The anxiety you feel at first quickly washes away. It becomes a just another part of each day. In saying that, I am so grateful though that this little journey has come to an end.

I know that when we are out and about now, if people smile at her or watch her, its for no other reason than just being Caitlyn and that its not about her helmet.

So it will now go to the back of the cupboard as a keepsake and reminder. Maybe one day she will ask about it. That tiny little butterfly helmet that has made things so much easier for her now as she grows. 

xxoo

So Close I can taste It.

Just a quick update.

Friday was a day of so many things but first and foremost it was another helmet review.

After 11, almost 12 weeks of helmet wearing our wonderful Dr Charl at GB Orthopaedics has given us the ok to go ahead and start weaning Miss C off her helmet!! He gave that mostly round little noggin of hers two thumbs up and said he never needs to see us again! Ive never been more pleased to hear that in my life!

We are allowed to go helmet free during the day but need to wear the helmet at night for the next two weeks to give Caitlyn time to adjust to not having it anymore and help her along as much more as we can. Due to the kind of flattening she had and where it was and the fact that it had started to shift a few things out of alignment facially, she will never have a totally round head. But the improvement she has made is absolutely incredible. If you were'nt "in" on everything that had gone on you would never even know, and that is exactly how i want it for her.

Charl said that since she has learnt to crawl and roll about with the helmet she may actually be a bit clumsier and have to get used to the fact that banging your head into the floor without a helmet on really does hurt. But hopefully she will adjust quickly. All things considering she is a pretty resilient little girl. She not the cruisiest critter but when she smiles and laughs she makes my heart melt.

Underneath her helmet is quite a mop of hair so now I'm actually going to have to do something about tying or clipping it back. It was the craziest windiest day on Friday and her hair was blowing every which way. She looked a bit stunned, feeling the wind in her hair and all that.

So in two weeks time we will be fully graduated and i plan to celebrate as such!

8 Week Helmet Review

We had our 8 weeks helmet review this week.

i spent the morning un-psyching myself up. At our last review i was told that is 4 weeks time we may be able to start the weaning off process already.

So i had to keep telling myself, "don't get excited self, as long as its improving, it doesn't matter if we need to wear it for a bit longer." That's a hard idea to get excited about, but i talked myself round to it.

For good reason too it seems.

Our appointment went well. Even ace, perhaps. We saw the big man who puts the G (maybe even the B) in GB Orthopaedics. What an incredibly lovely, intelligent, caring man G is!!! He was very impressed with Miss C's head improvement. In fact he told me that if she turned up with this head 8 weeks ago they would have turned her down for a helmet. i was smiling so hard inside at that point!!!

But then we discussed her age and what a critical growth period her head was in and that although her head is looking good, it is still improving and while we still have the opportunity we should roll with that (well he didn't say roll with it, men like G do not use terms like "roll with it") and continue to let her head grow and fill out the voids in her helmet.

I agree. If another 4 weeks of helmet wearing will continue improving my baby girls head, then I'm all for it. In fact that's a splendid idea.......can we just do it without the helmet. Its starting to get hot and being headbutted by that lil helmeted head is starting to put dents in me. Plus i miss stroking that head of hers.

So we are officially back on for another 4 weeks and we will see where we are at that point.

Here is a before (its the best i could find - but still doesnt do it justice) and current head shots to show the improvement of Miss C's Plagiocephaly.

BEFORE:

 

CURRENTLY: 8 weeks in.

Sneaky Side Eyes

I drove into Brisbane to help my mum run some errands last Friday since her wrist is currently broken. We had to go to a few different shopping centres so by the end of it, it was easier to pop Caitlyn in the baby bjorn pouch and let William walk (they were both very over being in the pram)

I must say i was a little overwhelmed at the amount of side eyes i got. You know the look. Staring whilst trying not to be seen staring.

Now of course this happens all the time, and I'm a'ok with it because, dude, my child is wearing a helmet so of course people will have a looksee. BUT, please don't pretend you aren't looking. Please acknowledge you are checking it out. Nod, smile, talk to me, but please don't quickly jerk your head away and hope i don't notice. That is what is making my "mummy heart" a little bit sad.

Now i cant be cross at anyone who does it. They don't know me, they don't know how ill react. I might get cross if they speak to me. Caitlyn might be really sick. But i wont...and shes not. Id like to teach people about it. I'm happy to answer your questions. I'm happy to smile back at you because my sweet little girl will usually return that smile too if you just be generous enough to give her one.

I think I'm getting far to used to living in a smaller town where everybody smiles at everyone else whether you know them or not, and its not just crazy people to stop and have a chat to someone they don't know. Lol.

Sometimes people are in the same boat and its nice to discuss it with them. Some people just chatter away to Caitlyn without mentioning the helmet. Some people ask exactly what its for and some have far different ways of asking about it!

On seeing my double pram an older lady asked me if it was a special medical pram because of my baby. I thought that was sweet of her to be that concerned.

Another old man asked me if it was life threatening and was very pleased when i exclaimed "oh goodness no!"

All of these ok. I just wanted you all to know that. Heads up though, Mr William is king at sneaky side eyes around here so he may just give you a run for your money!!!

4 Week Helmet Check Up

First of all, i need to apologise for this post being almost a week late. Ive been a bit preoccupied this week. My poor mother broke her wrist the morning of our clinic appointment whilst babysitting my son and then later in the week Miss C had another allergic reaction so it was back off to the Dr's.

So even though i could write a whole post on those two topics alone, i will stick to our 4 week check up!!

Our brilliant Dr Charl, didn't take any measurements as its still quite early on and either way she will need to wear it for at least another month, but visually you can already see the difference. I need to take some photos for comparison and pop them up.

He was really pleased with how much she has progressed and you could even see where her hair was being rubbed a little by the helmet in the new growth areas, so it was pretty exciting.

He also said that if she continues to progress so well, after our 8 week check up we should be able to start weaning her off the helmet already!! SAY WHAT.

We thought it would be approximately 3-4 months minimum. But apparently not, which is really fantastic news.

So i could be looking at this pretty little head of hair for more than an hour a day far sooner than i thought!!!

But shes pretty stinkin cute with it on too

The other thing Dr Charl did was heat up Miss C's helmet and adjust the side wings which had started to be a bit too firm on face due to head growth.

The only unfortunate/frustrating thing that keeps coming up which is hindering this whole process is Caitlyn's allergy to..........something. When she has a reaction i need to give her more helmet breaks so as to not irritate the rash too much. Thankfully due to her wearing the cotton cap under the helmet now there is no damage or broken skin on her wee little head.

We have a few culprits and the Dr thinks its dietary as I'm still breastfeeding and that where the signs are pointing. So I've tried to eliminate what we think may be causing it but i accidentally lapsed and the next day Miss C was all rashed up, so i think I've got it figured out but don't want to congratulate myself too soon. So I'm just being aware and cautious at the moment.

But heres a cute brother sister moment to share before im off - Have a great week!!

Putting A Cap On It.

I talked briefly in my previous post about the fact that the helmet makes Miss C sweat and that we had made a little sweat band to go under the helmet as per the instructions for her helmet.

Miss C has terribly sensitive skin. She gets itchy and dry eczema and if you factor in winter plus a dribbler you get one uncomfortable baby. If you then further add a helmet onto said baby's head which makes her sweat and irritates her already dry, sensitive skin.....you get....well it ain't pretty (even if the overall package of Miss C is incredibly pretty).

The sweat band we originally created was just like a grown up persons sweat band. not very wide and basically sat around the rim of her head. Well that was just silly. The sweat band mopped up the area it covered and left the rest to be irritated.

So we made it wider. This was far far more efficient except that because it is made from a singlet cut across the chest, it was prone to slipping down and again left a very small area to be irritated immensely.

So we went wider again....in the form of a little cotton baby hat, which we cut off the seam band so it sat smoothly on her head. Its perfect!!!!

The irritation in itself was really frustrating because we had gotten through almost 3 weeks without any problems. But due to the weather and the constant sweating there was a slow breakdown and irritation.

But suddenly in the space of two days, those rashes....they were spreading.

This was not just a sweat rash, something else was going on. It was down the backs of her legs, from her chin, down her neck and onto her chest and in her nappy area a bit too.

We went straight off to the Dr. Our very wonderful family Dr looked that baby of mine over from head to toe. No, this was not just a mild sweat rash and sensitive skin issue any longer. My baby had had an allergic reaction.

Dr Maria put her on an oral medication for a few days to help the reaction as it was fairly significant and a cream to rub into the still affected areas for another week. It looked like it was causing her a fair bit of pain too.  But the oral medication worked wonders in those 3 days and now she only has a few small areas of affected skin.

Unfortunately due to bubs age they cant do any tests to see what caused the reaction. It could be environmental or it could be dietary from what shes getting through me. So i have to go on an anti allergen diet, just to be sure. That means cutting out the big reaction foods like eggs, peanuts ( id eaten both of these the 2 days previous to the rash so that is sticking in my head like glue) and preservatives too. But it could be anything. Could be pollen or dust or horse hair.......

Our Dr said that it showed up in her neck and head most because those areas were already affected by the weather and the skin was already mildly irritated.

Miss C thankfully is a trooper and besides a few cranky days, she just gets on with the game that girl. Shes incredibly awesome and for that I'm grateful.

Whilst swinging is entirely serious business, you can see the evolved sweat cap sticking up through the top of her helmet. I do miss that crazy tuft of hair sticking out but her lil face is just as good for kisses.

Two Weeks In & A Sweaty Situation

On Wednesday Caitlyn had officially had her helmet for two weeks. Wednesday was also her first full non helmet day due to a sweat problem with her head. Yup, sad faces all round ok, but we shall get to that.

Overall adjusting to the helmet hasn't been a problem at all. With practise i have become pretty efficient at getting the helmet on and off. Caitlyn plays, naps and feeds as well as she did before. Which, in itself, is a weight off my mind. And also far less complicated than i thought it would be.

The helmet does shift to the side a little, but we were told to expect that. It is due to the gap which has been left for the flat area to grow into. So as her head fills out, the helmet will sit more firmly. So we just have to readjust the helmet throughout the day a bit at the moment. The helmet fastens with a Velcro strap on the side, so tightening, shifting and readjusting it isn't a drama for us or her.

The first few days of helmet wearing were pretty nerve wracking. But Caitlyn wasn't fazed at all, so the actual helmet process has been going great.

Our first adventures to the shopping centre went smoothly as well. I must say that i had Caitlyn in our double pram where she is in the bottom seat and therefore not that easy to see and i tried not to pay attention to see if people might have been looking as we passed by. Ive had a few people comment that she looks comfortable or unbothered by the helmet, a few people ask what its for, one or two have had experiences themselves and then others just interacted with her like she was just sporting a head of hair and not a helmet. The only helmet comment i heard was "hey, that baby is wearing a helmet". So not bad at all. I think having positive interactions first up gives you the confidence to not be bothered as much by any negative feedback you are bound to come across as some point.

Wednesday not only brought the two week mark, but it also brought the first full day of not wearing the helmet due to a sweat rash. The helmet makes Caitlyn sweat a bit and I'm still trying to figure out how warmly she should be dressed and blanketed at night so i believe that this is all my doing. So she has gotten a sweat rash on her head, poor little sausage. But its about all cleared up and as per the instructions from the clinic they have told me how to make a sweat band to go under her helmet which should absorb the sweat and stop her little head becoming irritated. I also need to go with the less is more approach and just use blankets to warm her up instead of always trying to cool her down or putting on extra layers of clothes when she is a bit cool.

This week we also got the decals we ordered for Caitlyn's helmet in the mail. I was pretty excited. Although since Caitlyn's helmet came pre-decorated i haven't got need for them all currently. But that's ok, I'm happy with what we've been able to use.

I think it turned out great. Have a great weekend!!

Whats a Girl to Wear?

This is something i give a fair amount of consideration, far more than what i would have if Miss C was in fact a boy and not the little girl that she is.

Babies need to be dressed and redressed and sometimes re-redressed during the day and night. Babies dribble, spit up, have bottom explosions, get bickies/rusk everywhere (including ears/hair/helmet), and have a tendency to blow raspberries whilst you are feeding them mashed veges.

There are all manner of things to take into account when dressing a helmeted baby, both the practical and...well...the superficial too.

The Questions:

1.Will it fit over their helmet? And if not, do you really NEED them to wear that particular outfit right now?

2. Is this outfit going to cause your helmeted baby to overheat?

3.Will this outfit clash with your baby's helmet?


The Answers (So Far):

1. Ive found that jumpsuits are most practical but not always super cute or sunny day appropriate. So what also works incredibly well are envelope neck shirts/snapsuits (those necks stretch super wide), jumpers with snaps across the neck, jackets of all manner of course; and those irritatingly cute outfits that always have a gazillion buttons running down the back, well my friend now is the perfect opportunity to use them. If after all these options you have decided your baby NEEDS to wear a different but difficult outfit, remember taking that helmet on and off, over and over is probably irritating for them and babies are cute no matter what they are wearing!!

2. An overheated baby can really be a serious problem if you leave it go on. Helmeted babies don't need to be dressed quite as warmly as us, but its also important not to under dress a baby. So i always have a back up in my nappy bag of a lighter jumpsuit, a jumper, singlet and socks, as well as all those other baby and toddler essentials for her and her older brother. I feel vaguely like a pack horse. Older brother, by the way, also has spare sets of clothes with us as he gets motion sick. Hooray! I also have a tendency to dress Miss C as warmly as the rest of us but more lightly layered so i can remove them as the day warms up or as she gets warmer.

3. Ok, i know i know. This is the bit i shouldn't care about, but do. Nobody wants their child (possibly) to look like a toddlers tummy after a birthday party. If you do, i apologise. But Miss C still has lots of very bright funky outfits! So, the only thing i try and do is what you would do without a helmet anywhere. Colour coordinate the outfit and don't make it about the helmet. Caitlyn's helmet is pretty, simple and fairly quiet looking (if a helmet can indeed look quiet).


Heres a photo i attempted to take with the kiddies to brighten up your day!!

As well as pretty the Miss C who stopped to watch cartoons instead of rolling all the way over.

A Perfectly Caitlyn Helmet

On Wednesday, the 25th of July at 9:30am i met my helmet baby for the first time......and she was gorgeous!

We got our second choice of colours which was pale butterflies and flowers and I'm so pleased. It suits her to a tee!

Our Dr showed us how to put the helmet on and off, made some final adjustments and ran through all the instructions and the weaning process. We asked any questions we had and made our follow up appointment for four weeks time. And with that we were sent on our way.

After collecting Mr William from my inlaws and making Miss C cry with my abysmal first attempt to put on her helmet, we made the drive home.

My first attempt - The tears started when i tried to get the helmet off again.

We arrived home, unpacked and it was not even 2pm in the afternoon. Plenty of time to begin weaning on the helmet. 30mins on, 30 mins off. 1hr on, 30 mins off. Double the time on as we progressed and checking for rubbing during the "off" periods. Once she could wear it for double the length of a nap, she could attempt to nap in it. Once she could wear it all day, we could attempt to have her sleep in it all night. The whole process would take just over 2 days.

Those first moments, oh those first moments. I was so nervous, but excited. This was the beginning of a process which would unwonk the wonky and make my babys world a better place.

I must say, i was downright no good. I was awkward and halting with that helmet. This tiny helmet perfectly made for my daughter. A helmet that weighed just over 100 grams. An apparently indestructible 100 grams at that too.

But she was fine, she wasn't bothered at all. She played, she laughed, we went on with our day. I felt my whole body sigh with relief! She didn't hate it! The next few months of her life weren't going to suck and be downright miserable!! That in itself was a success, and I'm going to count every little helmet success like gold, until that day we are helmet free for good. xx

Caitlyn happily playing on her first helmeted day.

Just look at that happy, chunky, squishable baby head!!!

Just because shes so stinkin cute!!

When You Know.....

Due to the 'Back to Sleep' Campaign over here we have reduced SIDS by 98% but the cases of Plagiocephaly and other related conditions, including more general flat spots is on the increase.

So, when is it that you realise that that flat spot your kid had, has morphed into something a fair bit worse.

For me i think it came at about 3 months old. That OMG, this isn't getting better no matter what feeling. It was when i noticed that Caitlyns ears seemed to be different. I remember asking my husband if he'd noticed Caitlyns ears. I told him i think maybe one is bigger than the other. Maybe she was just born with a little quirk. Then, the more i stared at her sweet little head the more i realised that they were actually in different spots. And when i looked at photos of her front on and looked at her in the mirror, the right side of her face all looked a little "out of place". I felt like crying...i probably did a lot. 

Now that's not to say we hadn't been trying to correct the flatness before this. We had. tirelessly. From 5 weeks old when the Physio pointed out the Torticollis, i tried to encourage her to look the other way and we did very soft turning of her head to the left side, to help stretch out those muscles.

Then at 2 months old, our GP noticed what i had started to notice too. She was forming a flat area. She suggested the sleep positioning and trying to keep her off her head a bit more and to see what improvements were made.

So we then used a sleep positioning, we wedged, we baby wore, we slept her the opposite direction and placed toys on that side we needed her to look at. We tried and tried and tried. I became a bit paranoid when other people held her, i could feel them noticing the strange shape of her head. I felt like i had to tell them everything i was doing to try and fix it. To say, see I'm trying!!

So at about 3 months when i noticed the asymmetry, i felt like i had failed. That i had done it all wrong.

Off we went back to the Dr, where she noticed it instantly. Before i even spoke. I could see her looking over Caitlyn, looking from above, feeling the area with her hands, looking at her beautiful little face.  I told her, that's why we're here, that's what we need to discuss.

My Dr said, She's got Plagiocephaly, she will probably need to wear a helmet. I will write you a referral.

I was a bit stunned. I mean, i knew it wasn't great.... but this? I think i felt sorry for myself for all of a few minutes and then thought, ok, this is what we need to do. I need to make this better.

It was after reading more about Plagiocephaly (i read and read for hours), that i learnt that it wasn't due to a parenting failure on my part. It was this darned Torticollis. I knew that i had done everything i could, and this was the next step. We would be fine, we would be great, we would fix this the best we could. We were noticing it as early as possible and were seeking treatment.

For me, that was the hardest part. Worrying about what people thought. What people think when we go out. Thinking that i did this to her, when i didn't.

But my family know and we have their love and support. My friends know and we have their love and support too. And now you know as well. I hope you can be supportive too. xx

A Journey Must Begin Somewhere.

Caitlyns journey started before she was born.

It started in my womb where, from what the Dr said prior to her birth, she was not surrounded by very much amniotic fluid.

That in turn resulted in squished accomodation for the duration of her stay and led to her being born with minor Taplies of one foot and Torticollis in her neck causing her to favour looking one way.

The Talipes was noticed straight away and we worked on physio to help correct and strengthen the foot. But it wasnt until Caitlyn's 5 week Physio check up that the Physio noticed her inclination to look mostly to her right. That brought about finding ways to encourage Caitlyn to look to her left.

At her 2 month well check with our GP she noticed that the right side of her head was beginning to flatten and suggested sleep positioning and said we would see how she had progressed in another month.

At about 3 1/2 months there had been no significant improvement and Caitlyns right ear had become misaligned due to the contsant pressure on that side of her head as well as her cheek being more prominant on that side of her face. Our Dr diagnosed her with Plagiocephaly. The problems with the facial assymetry were directly related to the Plagiocephaly.

 

Our Dr (bless her heart, she is incredible) referred us on to the specialists and told me that Caitlyn would probably need to wear a helmet. And after deciding to go privately due to the back up in the public system we booked our first appointment with our specialist.

The above photo shows the Plagiocephaly somewhat.

We drove the hour down to Brisbane the day before and stayed at my inlaws home so that we would be in time for our early appoinment the next day and that our 2 year old, Mr William, had a babysitter.

Oh how nervous i was!!! But the people at the clinic were wonderful.  My father-in-law drove me and Miss C in, as hubby was not able to take time off work.

We met with the Dr, he measured, felt and made calculations......Caitlyn had a 1cm discrepancy between the two sides of her head. I was mortified. This measurement still only placed her into the moderate category and they recommended the helmet.

I didnt hesitate in that regard, i knew this is what was right for us.  So in the same appointment we had Caitlyn casted for her new headwear.

She fussed a little, as Caitlyn is a child who does not enjoy being fussed over. I gave her her dummy and she promptly fell asleep. I was gobsmacked!! The Dr said that due to the warming effect of the plaster cast it often sent the little ones to sleep. WOW. This photo was taken moments after she had woken up, so she is still resting her head on her shoulder. lol.

We then got to pick two preferences for the colour/pattern of her helmet. We were then handed all manner of information to read up on and sent on our way to be back in two weeks for the fitting. Caitlyn would be 2 days shy of turning 5 months old the day she got her helmet.

Here is a pic of Caitlyn the week prior to getting her helmet, to me this photo really makes the prominance of the right side of her face stand out.

Miss C the week before her helmet

My Cheeky, funny little girl

The Little Miss & I

 

So thats where it all began...Ive still so much to say but feel its best to break it down into smaller posts, otherwise this will become a rambling mess!!! I look forward to recording this journey, for us, for Caitlyn and for those of you either working through a similar journey or just for those who want to understand better. xx