Jackson's Helmet

Wednesday we went to Jackson's final fitting for his cranial helmet. 

Sleeping in the waiting room before the fitting

Sitting with Daddy between fittings.

Jackson and Mommy

Maybe if I hide they won't make me wear this.

He has Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) babies develop positional plagiocephaly when movement in the uterus is constricted for some reason – because their mother is carrying multiples, for example. Plagiocephaly shows up most often in babies who are reported to be "good sleepers," babies with unusually large heads, and babies who are born prematurely and have weak muscle tone.
Babies with torticollis can also develop a flat spot on their skull because they often sleep with their head turned to one side. Torticollis occurs when a tight or shortened muscle on one side of the neck causes the chin to tilt to the other side. Preemies are especially prone to torticollis. (taken from www.babycenter.com)

Poor kid didn't have a chance-he is a twin, a good sleeper, has a large head, torticollis and was born almost 6 weeks early. We noticed early on his head seemed to be asymmetrical and have been watching this and consulting with his doctor on our plan of action to correct. Below are some pictures of his head where you can see this abnormal shape on the back right side of his head. Since it has flatten that means that it has had to push somewhere else. The front right forehead protrudes a bit and if you really look in the below picture you can see a slight protrusion on the back left.

Top view

He did so good during his fitting. I have to admit I was expecting him to scream the entire time-well he proved me completely wrong he was such a big boy. We will go back every week or two for them to adjust the fitting and then every 4 weeks he will have a new scan that they can overlay with the previous ones take to see the improvement. Currently he has a differential of 18mm. 0-5 is normal, 5-10 is mild, 10-15 moderate and over 15 is sever. While we would love to see him get to the 0-5 range we think a more realistic hope is around an 8.

We think we will have to wear it for 3-5 months for 23 hours a day. I am so thankful we caught this early and are able to take the steps needed to correct his head shape at an early age. Over the next few days he will gradually step up his wearing time until he is wearing it full time at 23 hours a day. So far he has done great with the little bit he has worn it. His mommy and daddy could not be more proud of him.

His view on the way to PT-I am sure he is a little confused by his new reflection.

First trip out with the helmet on in the car seat. Does it get any cuter?