A lot has happened since I last updated the blog last fall! I think it is best to take it one kid at a time starting with the youngest and the one who has kept us the busiest! Here is Beckett!
Beck did not always look like this. Beck's head used to look like this -
You can see his left side of his head isn't at the same angle as his right.
In this picture, Beck is laying on his flat spot that was on the back of his head. Once he was on it, it was hard to get off it.
Beck had what is called positional plagiocephaly. What that basically means is the head will become flat on an area that has constant pressure on it and will grow in the areas that do not have pressure on them. Once the flat spots develop, it is hard for the baby to get off the flat spot because the muscles just gravitate toward that position. Beck's flat spots were on the right side of his head and on the right back corner.
Beck also had another mild condition that contributed to his positional plagiocephaly - torticollis. This is a big word for a tight muscle in the neck. The tight muscle would pull his head so that it his head would lay on the flat areas. This was treated with repositioning therapy.
Beck was seen at Cardinal Glennon by a plastic surgeon who did a CT scan to be sure that there were no sutures closed in his skull which thank our Lord, there weren't! He sent us at an orthotist that fitted him with a cranial orthotic device (ie - helmet) to reshape his head.
This pic is of him getting a mold of his head for his helmet. If you have ever worked with plaster, you know that it gets hot and sweats as it sets. I think it was starting to warm up in this picture because he is looking very uncertain. And then after the picture, he had a good fit :)
We left that day and went back the next week to pick up his helmet. We got to chose what color or design we wanted which was really neat. Plain black was our choice so we could decorate it as you will see in later pictures.
Here is Beck the day after he got his helmet.
Here is Beck a week and a few days after he got his helmet. He was wearing it 22-23 hours a day by this time and adjusted with no problem. This picture was from his dedication service at church.
This picture is a few weeks later. His head is straighter but still not there yet.
Beck and his Daddy at about a month into helmet wear. He was also getting several teeth in at this time hence the drool.
I love this picture! This was about 1 month into helmet wear and before he started fighting his "mancave" on his car seat.
Here is Beck after Christmas. He had a huge growth spurt in this time and since his head was in the round helmet, his head grew more round! Looking better!
And here is Beck officially helmet free! He spent 4 months in the helmet and even though his head isn't absolutely perfect, he looks normal now and should be able to wear hats and helmets just like all the other kids!
And this is Beck just this last week!
That is not the only issue with Beck though. He fought ear infections since fall. We went down this path with Cait and knew we were headed for tubes. We love our ENT at Cardinal Glennon - he does a wonderful job! Beck had tubes placed in March and we haven't had an infection since!
Here he is in pre-op. Pink whales for a boy???
And he fell asleep before he went back for his surgery! Crazy boy!
Aside from all that, Beck is wonderful! He will be 1 year old in less than a month and is so hard to believe! In the midst of all the trips to St. Louis, time seemed to drag on but now that we aren't headed up there every other week or so, it seems like this first year has passed so quickly! Beck eats strictly table food now when he is at home. He is a fast crawling machine and cruises too. He isn't walking yet but he will stand up without holding on to anything for several seconds. He will say "dadadada", "mamamamama" and will say peek-a-boo but it sounds more like "beeboo" or "deedoo". His loves to be sang to and will dance. His song that we have sang to him in several different renditions is "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. I could write a whole blog on our versions of that song that are baby appropriate but I will spare everyone. With that all said, Beck has been such a blessing to our family and is the element that completes us!
Beck did not always look like this. Beck's head used to look like this -
You can see his left side of his head isn't at the same angle as his right.
In this picture, Beck is laying on his flat spot that was on the back of his head. Once he was on it, it was hard to get off it.
Beck had what is called positional plagiocephaly. What that basically means is the head will become flat on an area that has constant pressure on it and will grow in the areas that do not have pressure on them. Once the flat spots develop, it is hard for the baby to get off the flat spot because the muscles just gravitate toward that position. Beck's flat spots were on the right side of his head and on the right back corner.
Beck also had another mild condition that contributed to his positional plagiocephaly - torticollis. This is a big word for a tight muscle in the neck. The tight muscle would pull his head so that it his head would lay on the flat areas. This was treated with repositioning therapy.
Beck was seen at Cardinal Glennon by a plastic surgeon who did a CT scan to be sure that there were no sutures closed in his skull which thank our Lord, there weren't! He sent us at an orthotist that fitted him with a cranial orthotic device (ie - helmet) to reshape his head.
This pic is of him getting a mold of his head for his helmet. If you have ever worked with plaster, you know that it gets hot and sweats as it sets. I think it was starting to warm up in this picture because he is looking very uncertain. And then after the picture, he had a good fit :)
We left that day and went back the next week to pick up his helmet. We got to chose what color or design we wanted which was really neat. Plain black was our choice so we could decorate it as you will see in later pictures.
Here is Beck the day after he got his helmet.
Here is Beck a week and a few days after he got his helmet. He was wearing it 22-23 hours a day by this time and adjusted with no problem. This picture was from his dedication service at church.
This picture is a few weeks later. His head is straighter but still not there yet.
Beck and his Daddy at about a month into helmet wear. He was also getting several teeth in at this time hence the drool.
I love this picture! This was about 1 month into helmet wear and before he started fighting his "mancave" on his car seat.
Here is Beck after Christmas. He had a huge growth spurt in this time and since his head was in the round helmet, his head grew more round! Looking better!
And here is Beck officially helmet free! He spent 4 months in the helmet and even though his head isn't absolutely perfect, he looks normal now and should be able to wear hats and helmets just like all the other kids!
And this is Beck just this last week!
That is not the only issue with Beck though. He fought ear infections since fall. We went down this path with Cait and knew we were headed for tubes. We love our ENT at Cardinal Glennon - he does a wonderful job! Beck had tubes placed in March and we haven't had an infection since!
Here he is in pre-op. Pink whales for a boy???
And he fell asleep before he went back for his surgery! Crazy boy!
Aside from all that, Beck is wonderful! He will be 1 year old in less than a month and is so hard to believe! In the midst of all the trips to St. Louis, time seemed to drag on but now that we aren't headed up there every other week or so, it seems like this first year has passed so quickly! Beck eats strictly table food now when he is at home. He is a fast crawling machine and cruises too. He isn't walking yet but he will stand up without holding on to anything for several seconds. He will say "dadadada", "mamamamama" and will say peek-a-boo but it sounds more like "beeboo" or "deedoo". His loves to be sang to and will dance. His song that we have sang to him in several different renditions is "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. I could write a whole blog on our versions of that song that are baby appropriate but I will spare everyone. With that all said, Beck has been such a blessing to our family and is the element that completes us!
Up next - Cait and her issues. Needless to say, it was a very busy winter...
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