Plagiocephaly Appointment #2: Fitting

This is the fourth in a short series of posts about what to expect when getting a helmet. Here's links to the full series.

What to expect when getting a helmet
Appointment #1: Measuring
Appointment #2: Fitting
Appointment #3: Fine tuning

Sorry this post has been so long coming. I had it all written, published, I went to add one more link and the computer messed up and lost it all. It was not the best day already, so I was really frustrated and needed to step back and write about other things for a couple weeks. So I did and now I'm fine.

A week or so after the measuring appointment we went back in for the initial fitting. Between the appointments the company that makes the helmets had taken the 3D computer model of my daughters head and used that to make a styrofoam type model exactly her size and shape. They had then added what looked like plaster over the model to make the model head nice and round. They then used the improved model to make the helmet.

This process makes sure that the helmet is not smaller than the baby's head. Her doctor told me over and over, the helmet works with the baby's growth. It won't squish the too big parts back into place. Instead it sits right up against the too big parts and has extra space inside over the too small parts. When the head grows it will fill in where there is extra space instead of trying to push out everywhere else.

We went in and the doctor had the custom helmet all ready for us. Also that head model for us to see.

The first time the doctor put it on it was way too long over the forehead and down the neck and it didn't have big enough holes for the ears. They do that on purpose. It's much easier to cut off extra than to add more. He made marks to tell him where to trim it and went to the back room.

He repeated the process a few times. He'd try it on, make marks, and trim it down some more until he was satisfied.

During the process my little one was a little annoyed. She didn't know what was going on and a stranger was looking at her and touching her and putting something on and taking it off. She fussed a little bit, but my husband and I worked out a system where one of us would hold her sitting upright out on our knees and the other one would be near her face talking to her and holding up her bottle. That calmed her down quite a bit and gave the doctor space to work and see all the way around her head.

When he was satisfied that it was fitting better he drilled some little holes for ventilation and we were done.

She didn't go straight to wearing it all day. We had a schedule to ease her into it during the day. It went something like this:

Day 1: 1 hour on, 1 hour off

Day 2: 2 hours on, 1 hour off

Day 3: 4 hours on, 1 hour off, start wearing it for naps, but not overnight

Day 4: 8 hours on, 1 hour off, wear it overnight

Day 5: start normal schedule, 23 hours on

We were sent home with instructions to check her head every time we took the helmet off for red spots and to see how long it took to go away while the helmet was off. If anything was rubbing wrong we could schedule an appointment for him to fix it right away, but if things were going well the next appointment would be in a week.

From day 1 she disliked getting the helmet on or off just liked she dislikes getting dressed. She doesn't want someone to hold her still and mess with her.

Once the helmet is on though, she is completely fine with it. We never had a problem. That picture with the title was taken during the first week with the helmet and you can see she is happy with it.

Some kids might have a harder time, but usually the parents mind a lot more than the kids do.

Also the helmet looks great with steampunk costume goggles.

DIY Formula To Go Packets

Enfamil makes these great little to go packs. I got some samples in the mail and I loved them, they are so convenient! I would stick a few in my diaper bag and go. It was great. Once I used up the samples I would buy a box special each time we were going on a trip.

I would fill the bottles with the right amount of water before leaving the house. When there were needed I was ready. I just had to pour the formula in and shake. No measuring, no hunting for a drinking fountain. I had everything I needed right there.

View this product on Amazon (also this picture is from Amazon)

I have not found anything wrong with the Enfamil packets. In fact, i would highly recommend them. They're great, but there are a lot of reasons to DIY.

Maybe you need a specific type of formula or are loyal to a specific brand or want to be able to buy whatever is on sale. Maybe your child needs more or less than the 4oz at a time. Maybe you just like having options. Mostly I got sick of running out of them and carrying extra trash in the diaper bag. I wanted an option that I could refill.

One day I mentioned to a friend that I would love some resealable pouches about that size. A few days later she sent me a link to a site that makes baggies for making your own ice pops. Brilliant!

Ice pop baggies at www.zipzicles.com/

Zipcicles were a good option. ((Plus there are some delicious looking recipes on that website.)) They can be reused, but I wanted something that was specifically made to be reused. Still, this was a big step in the right direction. That got me thinking and searching around looking specifically for ice pop supplies to solve my problem.

After considering different options I chose a silicone ice pop making set from Norpro. The thing that really sold me on this set is that they are dishwasher safe! Hand washing dishes is probably my least favorite chore. Handwashing tiny baggies sounds even worse. Anything that can get me out of that is a win in my book.

View this product on Amazon (also this picture is from Amazon)

These little silicone molds are a little bit bigger than I expected, but not enough to cause problems for me. Each tube holds easily enough powder for a 6oz bottle and would probably hold enough for an 8oz bottle, but I haven't tried it yet. The mouth is wide enough that if I'm careful I can scoop the formula in without having to use a funnel.

The silicone is flexible, but sturdy enough that it makes it really easy to pour powder from the mold into the bottle. Once we are grown out having to bring formula and bottles everywhere, we can make ice pops! This is not another single use item to be packed away with all the other baby things in a couple months. Also dishwasher safe. I'm so excited about that feature that I had to say it again.

The lids pop off really easily and I was afraid they'd pop off in the diaper bag, but I just squeeze the extra air out while I'm putting the lid on and I've never had a problem. I've been using them for a month or two and I've had no powder spills in the bag.

I mentioned this solution to my mom. She told me that when I was little people used to use tubes from Mini M&Ms the same way! Clever!

Image from www.m-ms.com

Whether you use Enfamil, the Zipsicles, the Silicone Molds, or the M&M tubes, you can have the convenience of premeasured powder to go and the convenience of choosing your own formula! Let me know if you have another solution.

Enjoy!

Life Hacks: How to Eat Chips

I like potato chips. I like them a lot. I think I got that from my Dad.

I also like bopping around on the Internet. I think I got that from my Mom.

Those two things do not always go together so well. I wind up with greasy fingers and then worse. I wind up with a greasy keyboard or tablet screen.

One day I was at my best friend's house. Her husband (a charming and clever man responsible for some amazing work including these flash mobs) pulled out a bag of chips and started doing something unusual with them. He was eating them with chopsticks while he worked on the computer. At first I thought it was odd. Then I realized it was brilliant! Your fingers never touch the grease!

I've been copying that idea ever since. In fact, I was eating chips as I began this post and my tablet screen is completely clean! It's a miracle!

Chopsticks can take a little while to master, but it is definitely a skill worth knowing. Not only can you look like a boss eating Chinese food, but you can use them for life hacks anywhere you need finger-like precision but don't want to use your fingers.

Enjoy!

DIY Dorm: Smartphone Projector Flop

Once upon a time there was a pin on Pinterest. It intrigued me but I doubted it would work.

The Pin

The Instructions

I filed it away for a rainy day, and today was that rainy day. Ok, so, It wasn't actually raining... but it is 30 May! The day of The Pintester Movement!

I decided to test instructions for a "DIY Dorm: Smartphone Projector". I've really wanted a projector, even a cheap piece of junk one. My brother-in-law had a little one that he'd point at the ceiling so he could watch movies in bed. It didn't have very good image quality at all, but it was fun. I thought about looking for one of those, but then I found the pin and thought if I could make one for no money out of junk I had lying around the house, even better.

I started by gathering supplies.

- Shoebox - Shipping box is close enough

- Duct Tape - Very Yes

- X-acto knife - I used a steak knife
- Magnifying glass - Borrowed one from a friend
- Ruler - Pfft. (They actually don't explain how to measure anything anyways, so it wouldn't have been used even if I had bothered to find one)
- Pencil - I have a couple of those around here
- Phone stand - Who actually has one of those?

(Just so you know Zhena's Fire Light Chai is amazing with Vanilla Almond Silk)

So I followed the instructions about taping up the box and putting in the magnifying glass.

I rigged up a  hack job  very creative smartphone stand using a notebook, a brick, and a big wad of sticky tac. It worked rather well...

I took the whole contraption into the darkest room of the apartment, closed the curtains, and turned on the iPod. It looked pretty cool with the lens glowing.

To my surprise... something did appear on the wall. A vaguely glowing blob. Encouraged, I pulled up a high contrast black and white image and started messing with angles and distances. I could actually make out the picture! Not in any great detail, but I could very tell it was a guy.

I started to get excited and turned on a YouTube movie (MLP:FIM). That's when the disappointment happened. The super high contrast image looked alright, but regular images were almost impossible to make out. I tried putting an extra blanket over the window thinking maybe a darker room would help. It didn't really. Even with the high contrast image I couldn't even get a photo of anything but a blank wall.

Butterbeer

A couple nights ago something amazing happened. My little one went to sleep easily and I actually had a little bit of energy and motivation left in me. That combo almost never happens. So I was on the hunt for something fun and quiet to do.

Then I remembered. I found this recipe over on indiejane that I really wanted to try. It's a recipe for butterbeer using butterscotch topping, cream soda, and whipping cream.

I checked the fridge and I actually had all the ingredients. The stars were lining up in my favor. Sleeping baby, energy, great looking recipe, and all the ingredients! The soda was even cold! It was a sign. This was meant to happen.

So I got all my things out and got to work. I just made a couple tiny changes to her recipe.

First, when making the butterbeer part, I mixed the butterscotch topping into a little bit of cream soda. Once that was mixed I added the rest of the cream soda. This allowed it to keep a bit more fiz. Or at least that's what I told myself.

Second, I also added a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream to the butterbeer part to make it a bit creamier.

The results were delicious. I've never been to Wizarding World, so I can't say whether or not it is accurate to the Official Rowling-Approved Version, but it was cold, sweet, creamy, buttery, and just plain awesome. It's hard to go wrong with just butterscotch topping, cream soda, and whipping cream, but this surpassed my expectations. So good. I think I'll go make some more right now...

Enjoy!

I didn't make up this recipe. I claim no ownership of it. I just thought it was amazing and wanted to share. Head over to http://www.indiejanephotography.com/2012/01/butterbeer-recipe/ for the full recipe and to give credit where it's due. Also she has much better photos than I do.

Plagiocephaly on Pinterest

We've been dealing with Plagiocephaly for a little while now and gathering tons of information. I am a researcher. I like to get all the information I possibly can before making a decision.

It makes life easier in some ways. When I come to a decision I'm confident in it.

It makes life a lot harder in others. Decisions on the fly are not a strength for me, and if I do have to make a quick decision I keep second guessing myself and regretting it.

But, that's not what I wanted to talk about today. So moving on.

I did all this research. After sifting through a million confusing bookmarks, and trying to remember where I heard what I finally thought to myself 'Self, why don't you just make a board on Pinterest. That's how you keep track of everything else.' and then myself thought back to me 'You know what, that is a great idea.'

So I have created a board where I will be compiling the most useful information I find on that subject.
It will include:

• Repositioning and other Prevention and Early Treatment ideas for those who haven't made it to helmet stage
• Helmet cleaning tips
• Helmet decorating ideas (because that's just fun)
• Amusing helmet anecdotes (if I can find any)
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Basically anything I find amusing or useful as related to the subject.

Here's a link to the board. Check it out! Hopefully it will be useful to some other parents out there.

Enjoy!

Plagiocephaly Appointment #1: Measuring

This is the second in a short series of posts about what to expect when getting a helmet. Here's links to the full series.

What to expect when getting a helmet
Appointment #1: Measuring
Appointment #2: Fitting
Appointment #3: Fine tuning

After the initial consultations and getting approval from the insurance (hallelujah!), they needed a custom model of her head. They send this model off to the shop where the helmets are made.

This model can be either physical or digital. To get a physical model they make a plaster cast of the baby's head (see image below). Eep. No wonder there are so many horror stories out there.

Head Casting Image by Protoflux

Thankfully there is another option: digital models. The process to make a digital model is much less messy and uncomfortable. Basically the doctor will just make a scan of her head.

He started by putting a stocking over her head. He cut a hole for her face and tied it under her chin like a bonnet.

He put a black cape over her shoulders so they wouldn't interfere with the scanner. Then he put little silver stickers all over her bonnet and face. The scanner uses the stickers as reference points.

The end result was comical instead of scary and uncomfortable. You can see she wasn't phased at all.

(It's really hard to take a picture of a baby and hold her at the same time)

Once she was all suited up, the doctor took out his scanner. It basically looked like an oversized handheld barcode scanner. (Next time I'm at the office I'll try to get a picture of it.)

He then began to wave the scanner around her head to scan different angles. Things got a little tricky here. My curious little one kept wiggling to face the scanner making it difficult to get a good scan of the back of her head. With much persistence we were able to get the angles we needed and an impressive 3D model of my baby's head appeared on the computer.

To complete the order, we got to decide which helmet we wanted. We were able to choose between a STARband and a STARlight. It was a tough choice but we decided to go with the STARband. Then we got to choose the color or pattern. Then we were done! The order was sent off.

No mess, no tears (well no more than usual).

-Click here for the full Plagiocephaly Saga-