Let me tell you a little story about Penny's journey + a growth in my journey as well...
It all started when Penny was about 4 weeks old. I had noticed that Penny only held her head one way...to the left. Always. Not center, not right, always to the left. I expressed concern to Blake & we decided to ask Dr. Brown about it. Sure enough, my mama instincts were right & we got referred to physical therapy. Turns out, Penny had developed Torticollis while in the uterus. Torticollis is a condition in which the neck muscles are shorter on one side, causing the head to twist to that side. Because of Penny's toricollis, she also developed plagiocephaly. Plagiocephaly is a lopsided head. Since she would only lay on the left, her left side of the head was extremely flat & her right side was protruding more than normal.
With anxiety overruling me & a sad heart, I packed up my tiny 6 week old & took her to her first physical therapy appointment. At her appointment, we found out a few key things.
1. I learned a special way to stretch her neck. I needed to do it 5 times a day + 3 times each stretching session.
2. A 'normal' range for a babies head to be lopsided is 0-3. Penny's was 14. Brain damage can happen at 15. Jaw problems happen at 10.
3. Physical Therapy is first used to try to get a baby's head in the normal range. Along with the stretching 5 times a day, Penny would be sleeping in a positioner for naps & bedtime. The positioner positioned her to the right. With the pressure on the right during sleep....and if she had a growth spurt during sleep, the growth would go to the left side...resulting in a rounder head.
4. I learned how to nurse, hold, & put her in her carseat to always maximize the pressure to the right.
I cried for probably a week straight. It was hard learning + knowing something was wrong with my perfect baby. It was hard to swallow that Penny could potentially have brain + jaw issues because of all this. My heart + soul hurt for my sweet baby girl.
So, for 51/2 months, she slept in her positioner, we did her stretches, we met with the physical therapist every 3-4 weeks, & we prayed a WHOLE LOT. I prayed that we could get the results we were hoping for, I prayed that Penny's neck would be strengthened, I prayed for myself to accept the outcome. Each appointment gave us greater hope, her neck was strengthening & her lopsided head was slowly going down. When Penny was about 4 months old, our physical therapist informed us that if her head was still lopsided at 6-7 months of age, we would need to potentially think about putting her in a helmet. The positioner is only good until they can kick themselves out of it, & 6 months is about the cutoff for that. I prayed harder + more fervent that she would go through growth spurts while sleeping in the positioner.
At her 6.5 month appointment, I handed my baby over to her physical therapist to get her head measured. I sat in sweaty anticipation as I waited for the Physical Therapist to say the dreaded & much anticipated number. As I heard the number 8, my head slumped, I let out a slow breath, & looked back up with teary eyes. With thoughts swarming in my head like how could this happen after I prayed & worked so hard with my baby for 5 months & why does my baby have to go through this. The physical therapist gently reminded me that although Penny's head was not in the 0-3 range that we were hoping for, she did come from a 14 to an 8. We were out of the scare of brain damage & I was absolutely thankful for that.
Within the next two weeks, we met with Penny's new orthotist (Greg), Penny was casted for her helmet (a crazy process that brought lots of Penny cries) & my anxiety levels reached new heights. I didn't want my Penny Pie to have to wear a helmet. I didn't want people looking at her in public & thinking something was wrong with her, I didn't want to watch her go through this. But, in my heart & through prayer, I knew this was the right path for us to take to help our sweet Penny Pie.
The day finally came. The day Penny would start wearing a helmet. Greg slipped it on her head & I held back tears. She immediatly started crying & I just kept thinking she hates it. Take it off. Can't you see she's uncomfortable. But, I kept those thoughts to myself because he had already warned us that the first week would be extremely rough for Penny + extremely rough for us. Almost immediatly, little sweat droplets started forming on her head & I looked to Greg with a plea. He kindly informed me that because her head is not accustomed to a big plastic thing, she will sweat an extreme amount for the first month until her head & sweat glands can get more accustomed to it.
The first week was torture. I couldn't bare to watch my baby sweat so bad. She was drenched ALL THE TIME. She threw up bc of the heat. She cried so much. She squirmed & rotated her head like she was utterly uncomfortable. My heart broke for my Penny that week. I cried with her. She got 1 hour a day with it off. It was so beautiful + so heart breaking to watch the smile & light that came back to her during that no helmet hour. How are we going to get through this for 3-6 months? About a week into it, Penny turned a switch. It was just as Greg said. It was like she didn't even have a helmet on. She turned back into our sweet Penny. The helmet didn't bother her at all. My friend Ashley helped me make some sweet little bonnets to go over the helmet. For the first 2 months, I didn't leave without a bonnet covering her helmet. I didn't want to have to go through the awkward stares & unasked whats wrong with your baby questions. As time went on, I began to realize that Penny is Penny & it didn't matter what people thought or how long they stared. I didn't need to pay attention to them. I was sure of one thing. I loved Penny & that was that. BUUUUUUUUUT, the response from people was that of love & adoration for Penny. People at church couldn't get enough of Penny in her adorable helmet, my friends cooed over her, my family loved her the exact same & strangers smiled & waved. It was truly a touching + heartwarming experience for us (me) to go through.
The impossibly happy + contagiously smiley baby in a helmet was my baby Penny. I was/am so proud of her. She sure taught me a life lesson that I will always hold close. I can always look to Penny & find the positive + light in the negative. She taught me through example that smiling through tough days makes a HUGE difference, she taught me that it's ok to be different, she taught me the importance of relationships, & most important she taught me that we are all children of God.
Penny wore her helmet for 5 months. She traveled to North Dakota for the summer in her helmet & charmed all. Although, the sweating never stopped entirely, it did get better. It was still rough to watch her sweat in her helmet especially during the entire summer--but, we made it through. She was able to get her helmet off 2 days before she turned one. Happy Birthday to us + Penny. What a crazy 10 months of physical therapy + helmet wearing it was. But, what a beautiful 10 months it was. I learned more about myself than ever before. I am so thankful for the advances in the medical field so that I could get my baby the help she needed. Greg was so sweet to work with.
I can look back & see all the divine intervention with all of this. I am a different person than I was before this all happened. I am a better person. I wouldn't trade any of it. We called her our little astronaut & rollie pollie ollie. Cutest helmet baby in the entire world. ANNNNND, I bet you would never guess that I actually missed the helmet once it was off.
It all started when Penny was about 4 weeks old. I had noticed that Penny only held her head one way...to the left. Always. Not center, not right, always to the left. I expressed concern to Blake & we decided to ask Dr. Brown about it. Sure enough, my mama instincts were right & we got referred to physical therapy. Turns out, Penny had developed Torticollis while in the uterus. Torticollis is a condition in which the neck muscles are shorter on one side, causing the head to twist to that side. Because of Penny's toricollis, she also developed plagiocephaly. Plagiocephaly is a lopsided head. Since she would only lay on the left, her left side of the head was extremely flat & her right side was protruding more than normal.
With anxiety overruling me & a sad heart, I packed up my tiny 6 week old & took her to her first physical therapy appointment. At her appointment, we found out a few key things.
1. I learned a special way to stretch her neck. I needed to do it 5 times a day + 3 times each stretching session.
2. A 'normal' range for a babies head to be lopsided is 0-3. Penny's was 14. Brain damage can happen at 15. Jaw problems happen at 10.
3. Physical Therapy is first used to try to get a baby's head in the normal range. Along with the stretching 5 times a day, Penny would be sleeping in a positioner for naps & bedtime. The positioner positioned her to the right. With the pressure on the right during sleep....and if she had a growth spurt during sleep, the growth would go to the left side...resulting in a rounder head.
4. I learned how to nurse, hold, & put her in her carseat to always maximize the pressure to the right.
I cried for probably a week straight. It was hard learning + knowing something was wrong with my perfect baby. It was hard to swallow that Penny could potentially have brain + jaw issues because of all this. My heart + soul hurt for my sweet baby girl.
So, for 51/2 months, she slept in her positioner, we did her stretches, we met with the physical therapist every 3-4 weeks, & we prayed a WHOLE LOT. I prayed that we could get the results we were hoping for, I prayed that Penny's neck would be strengthened, I prayed for myself to accept the outcome. Each appointment gave us greater hope, her neck was strengthening & her lopsided head was slowly going down. When Penny was about 4 months old, our physical therapist informed us that if her head was still lopsided at 6-7 months of age, we would need to potentially think about putting her in a helmet. The positioner is only good until they can kick themselves out of it, & 6 months is about the cutoff for that. I prayed harder + more fervent that she would go through growth spurts while sleeping in the positioner.
At her 6.5 month appointment, I handed my baby over to her physical therapist to get her head measured. I sat in sweaty anticipation as I waited for the Physical Therapist to say the dreaded & much anticipated number. As I heard the number 8, my head slumped, I let out a slow breath, & looked back up with teary eyes. With thoughts swarming in my head like how could this happen after I prayed & worked so hard with my baby for 5 months & why does my baby have to go through this. The physical therapist gently reminded me that although Penny's head was not in the 0-3 range that we were hoping for, she did come from a 14 to an 8. We were out of the scare of brain damage & I was absolutely thankful for that.
Within the next two weeks, we met with Penny's new orthotist (Greg), Penny was casted for her helmet (a crazy process that brought lots of Penny cries) & my anxiety levels reached new heights. I didn't want my Penny Pie to have to wear a helmet. I didn't want people looking at her in public & thinking something was wrong with her, I didn't want to watch her go through this. But, in my heart & through prayer, I knew this was the right path for us to take to help our sweet Penny Pie.
The day finally came. The day Penny would start wearing a helmet. Greg slipped it on her head & I held back tears. She immediatly started crying & I just kept thinking she hates it. Take it off. Can't you see she's uncomfortable. But, I kept those thoughts to myself because he had already warned us that the first week would be extremely rough for Penny + extremely rough for us. Almost immediatly, little sweat droplets started forming on her head & I looked to Greg with a plea. He kindly informed me that because her head is not accustomed to a big plastic thing, she will sweat an extreme amount for the first month until her head & sweat glands can get more accustomed to it.
The first week was torture. I couldn't bare to watch my baby sweat so bad. She was drenched ALL THE TIME. She threw up bc of the heat. She cried so much. She squirmed & rotated her head like she was utterly uncomfortable. My heart broke for my Penny that week. I cried with her. She got 1 hour a day with it off. It was so beautiful + so heart breaking to watch the smile & light that came back to her during that no helmet hour. How are we going to get through this for 3-6 months? About a week into it, Penny turned a switch. It was just as Greg said. It was like she didn't even have a helmet on. She turned back into our sweet Penny. The helmet didn't bother her at all. My friend Ashley helped me make some sweet little bonnets to go over the helmet. For the first 2 months, I didn't leave without a bonnet covering her helmet. I didn't want to have to go through the awkward stares & unasked whats wrong with your baby questions. As time went on, I began to realize that Penny is Penny & it didn't matter what people thought or how long they stared. I didn't need to pay attention to them. I was sure of one thing. I loved Penny & that was that. BUUUUUUUUUT, the response from people was that of love & adoration for Penny. People at church couldn't get enough of Penny in her adorable helmet, my friends cooed over her, my family loved her the exact same & strangers smiled & waved. It was truly a touching + heartwarming experience for us (me) to go through.
The impossibly happy + contagiously smiley baby in a helmet was my baby Penny. I was/am so proud of her. She sure taught me a life lesson that I will always hold close. I can always look to Penny & find the positive + light in the negative. She taught me through example that smiling through tough days makes a HUGE difference, she taught me that it's ok to be different, she taught me the importance of relationships, & most important she taught me that we are all children of God.
Penny wore her helmet for 5 months. She traveled to North Dakota for the summer in her helmet & charmed all. Although, the sweating never stopped entirely, it did get better. It was still rough to watch her sweat in her helmet especially during the entire summer--but, we made it through. She was able to get her helmet off 2 days before she turned one. Happy Birthday to us + Penny. What a crazy 10 months of physical therapy + helmet wearing it was. But, what a beautiful 10 months it was. I learned more about myself than ever before. I am so thankful for the advances in the medical field so that I could get my baby the help she needed. Greg was so sweet to work with.
I can look back & see all the divine intervention with all of this. I am a different person than I was before this all happened. I am a better person. I wouldn't trade any of it. We called her our little astronaut & rollie pollie ollie. Cutest helmet baby in the entire world. ANNNNND, I bet you would never guess that I actually missed the helmet once it was off.
No comments:
Post a Comment