My last post as a 26 year old

I promised I would do a better job of updating this blog, but I am already failing miserably!! But nevermind the self pity, let's get down to business.

Violet has had her DOC band for nearly two weeks and is doing awesome with it. The first week she had a red spot that merited an unexpected trip back to charlotte. That was an unhappy surprise. A simple phone call on a monday morning at 9 AM and we were back in charlotte at 2:30. I had to find someone to cover my shift at work and then, find a buddy to ride along. It all worked out though and it was a relatively easy trip.

We had our first normal visit to CT Friday and Violet's head grew 2 mm in a week. I don't know why I was shocked because I know she's growing fast, but actually seeing the difference was cool. We also got to see the model of her head and there is already a difference in her head shape. I thought I was just being hopeful but her therapist, Chalawn, confirmed it!

Friday, Ben was perfect in the car! He's never been that good. It was awesome!! So, I was a little shocked when we got home from dinner Friday night and checked his temperature. I noticed he felt a little warm earlier in the day, but I just assumed it was from the near 100 degree temperature outside. When I was changing him for bed, he still felt really warm. His temperature was 102. He was acting fine and didn't have any other symptoms of sickness. To be on the safe side, I took him to the pediatrician's office Saturday morning. He did a strep test because he said his throat was raw. Negative. He also checked his ears for infection. Negative. The Ped's guess was just a virus. However, he failed to mention that scooping the wax out of his ears (GROSS) could cause bleeding. I guess he didn't want to sound like an alarmist. SO, there was another surprise when he woke up from his nap and there was dried blood all in his right ear and all over his sheets. A quick call to the triage nurse and we felt much better. Apparently, that's not uncommon and perfectly ok as long as the bleeding stops. Ben was not very happy with me when I tried to clean his ears out with cotton balls, but I triumphed when I turned it into a game. I would use a cottonball and let him throw it in the toilet. That kept him coming back for more.

Tomorrow is my 27th birthday and true to my complaints about getting older, we're not celebrating until Thursday. Put it off as long as I can, right? Violet's appt is scheduled for thursday so, David is taking the day off so we can go as a family and do some fun things. I'm thinking Cheesecake Factory, IKEA, and Concord Mills. I'm really looking forward to it and especially excited David will have a 4 day weekend. I also can't wait to see how much Violet has grown this week.

(sorry the picture's fuzzy. I took it with my phone. We haven't uploaded any from our camera to the computer yet.)

Plagio Saurus

One of the most helpful things I have found since we started this adventure in correcting Violet's head shape has been reading other parents' blogs about their experiences. I am hoping that when it is all said and done, our story can help encourage another parent going through this ordeal.

We had our first appointment with Cranial Tech in Charlotte last Tuesday and it went well. It was a long day and a bit overwhelming, but I'm glad we're on the right road. I was happy and blessed to have a friend who was willing to ride with me. Glenna was great company and Her GPS was a great help too!

Right now we are waiting for the preauthorization from our insurance so, we can go back to charlotte and get V fitted for her DOC band. After she's fitted, it will be 10-14 days before her band is made and shipped. The therapist we saw Tuesday told us she would likely need a second Band, but she also said that would be a decision left completely up to us. I asked how long one would last and she said each band allows for 1 1/2 to 2 cms of growth and at Violet's age, that would probably be around 2 1/2 months, give or take a few weeks. At that point, we would need to decide if we were happy with the results from one or if we wanted to continue her treatment. The biggest holdup I could see us having is financially. We are going to be paying cranial tech $2,000 when we go to pick up her band and then, anything that insurance covers will be reimbursed directly to us.

I've decided to have custom stickers made and am very excited. I met a very sweet woman from Arizona online who has her own business making vinyl decals. Her daughter had plagiocephaly too and she has made and sold custom vinyl decals to other parents. Her website is www.blingyourband.blogspot.com. Take a look! The stickers are awesome and have had great reviews. I decided this was the best way to go. I love the way the bands look painted, but from what I understand, it is a lot of upkeep because the paint chips. These stickers are pretty and durable so, I think this is a better avenue than just going to hobby lobby. And since Violet will be in her band 23 hours a day, we want it to be as stylin as possible!

So, that's where we are now. As soon as we here from BCBS we'll make our next appointment with Cranial Tech and I'll have more to share!

It's always something

It's the end of my third Mother's Day and I feel like it has been quite a success. Aside from Ben waking everyone up at 5 AM, it's been a relatively calm day. I guess he decided he just needed to spend all the time with me he could today so, we were downstairs by 6 watching Surf's Up. Well, I was sleeping through it and everytime I'd just start to drift, he would come over and tap me on the head, arm, foot or shake me awake. He then proceeded to be grumpy while David and I were trying to get ready to leave for church. And inevitably, he fell asleep on the way. This meant that I was very hesitant to attempt any restaurant that involved sitting and waiting for food. Plus, since it was Mother's Day, everywhere was slammed. So, we ate lunch at mcdonalds. But it was peaceful and neither of my children were screaming.

That's a brief synopsis of today. The bigger ordeal that we're going through is making the decision to "band" Violet for her plagiocephaly, ie, "flat head". She is such a beautiful baby so, it's hard for me to see anything wrong with her, but we've finally decided that it's time to go ahead and take advantage while her head is still soft and easily correctable. There's a lot of medical bumbo jumbo I could go into, but it's unnecessary. Usually, plagiocephaly starts in utero and is then aggravated by back sleeping. Being a firm believer in following the AAP's recommendations, Violet has ALWAYS slept on her back. They don't say that back sleeping will prevent SIDS, but the numbers speak for themselves. Since the "back to sleep" campaign began in the early 90s, the number of SIDS deaths has been cut nearly in half. All of that to say, plagiocephaly is a small trade off in the grand scheme of things.

I've spent hours the past few days reading and researching everything I could find on which band or helmet is best and how to decorate it and what age is best. I have learned so much and feel like by the end of this I might be an expert. At first, I was SO resistant to the idea. I also came to realize how vain I am. God is doing a work in my heart and teaching me how to love my children in the best way. So, tomorrow I am making the call to Cranial Technologies in Charlotte to schedule her first visit. I am praying that her treatment will only be a couple of months because we are going to have to drive there every 1 to 2 weeks for adjustments. I know it sounds insane, but they are the experts and they deal solely with infants and I only want to deal with the best. I'll have to write more after we go. I also know this 6 ounce piece of medical equipment comes with a hefty price tag of between 3 and 4 thousand dollars. And apparently, some insurance companies are pretty stubborn and see it as cosmetic instead of reconstructive. I'm always up for a good fight though.

This will be an interesting journey, but I think it will all be worth it. There's always a chance her head shape would correct on its own, but the longer you wait to seek treatment, the longer it takes for results. And after 2, the bones in the skull are permanently fused and theres no treatment except surgery. I have to think of the future and how I could not possibly look at my gorgeous daughter and tell her that her head's flat on one side because I didn't want to deal with people staring at her in a helmet for a few months!

So, is our plight to sit and listen to our children cry at night....

Poor Violet is being subjected to the misery of crying herself to sleep. She's four months old and David and I finally decided it was that time. Ben was subjected to said torture much earlier, but I think we thought, being a boy, he should be tougher.

I remember the first night we let ben cry himself to sleep. It was terrible. We did everything we could to avoide just sitting and listening to him. I think we both took showers. I blow dried my hair. David shaved with his electric razor. It was pure torture. Tonight is nothing less than torture.

David has the fortune of getting to go back to Target where we were earlier to retrieve my cell phone which was left in the dressing room. That was the work of a certain 2 year old who is sleeping soundly amidst the bellowing coming from the next room out of his sweet tiny sister. Ben is an excellent sleeper which I would like to think we can attribute to letting him learn to "self soothe" as the experts would call it.

What a brilliant way to spend a friday night. David and I had these high hopes of being able to spend a peaceful night enjoying quiet conversation with each other, but now we are just sitting and waiting to see who gives in first.