Izzy's Helmet

 After Izzy was born, I remember thinking pretty quickly, "Wow!  This baby is so much more fragile than the other 2 were."  She didn't really try to hold up her head at all and sometimes she'd cry when I picked her up, like she was in pain.

After a few months I noticed that her head was REALLY crooked... and then all of the dots finally connected.  She WAS in pain - she probably strained her neck on her way into this world, so then she babied the one side of her neck, those muscles got tight and in turn the back of her head got flat because she was always laying on the one side to protect her neck.

We got her right into the doctor and started physical therapy (mostly just stretching!) for the torticollis (tight neck muscles) and repositioning for the plagiocephaly (flat head).  We had to try and get her to look the direction she didn't want to look all the time, have her sleep on her "bad side", etc.  She adjusted really great and her neck corrected pretty fast.  Her head self corrected a lot too - but not enough.

So... here comes the helmet!!  The helmet basically restricts anymore abnormal growth.  The helmet is the shape her head SHOULD be and her head grows to fit it.  In true Izzy form, she has been a trooper through the whole thing.  Here she is getting fitted for it.

Okay, I know I'm her mom, but really?  Is that not the cutest baby you've ever seen? 

And here she is in her 1st day wearing it.  Already happy as a clam again.

Our favorite thing about it is how it accentuates her little fat cheeks!  Though those have shrunk a lot since she started crawling.

 She wears it 23 hours a day, even sleeping in in.  We only take it off to give her a bath.

And for your enjoyment - Izzy's thighs.  They are a work of art!  (They haven't shrunk with the crawling, thank heavens.)

Izzy gets lots of attention with her helmet.  Lots of people comment on how cute she is - lots of Grandma-aged ladies stop us in the grocery store, though I think most of them think she's handicapped.  Ha.  :)

Some people have just asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why the helmet?", but some people are less tactful.  Some of our favorite questions/comments have been....

• "Does she hit her head a lot or something?"
• "Ahhh, I need one of those too."
• "That's a great idea!" (mostly while out hiking/climbing, etc.)
• "I'm in that club, too."
• Overheard the other day while in a slot canyon, "I think she just wears it to keep her head protected in case her dad falls while he's carrying her in that backpack."
• "Does she have Down Syndrome?"

Usually we explain but sometimes we just say, "She's really safe."  And she is!  It really has kept her safe in this funny crawling, exploring phase she's in.  It's pretty cute.  And kind of convenient, actually.  We can let her crawl around in rocks all the time and not worry about it.  It will be interesting when she gets it off though.  I think her spacial awareness is definitely off.  

She's had it on since end of February and her head is already within a "normal range" for her age.  Which is great!!  She'll probably be in it a few more months to get it as perfect as possible!