Helmet FREE is the way for ME!!

GUESS WHAT?!  Tatem is helmet FREE!!!  That's right, look at my baby and her beautiful, symmetrical head!

Oh, I just love her!

"Silly, stinky helmet, I don't need you anymore!"

"You see, at first my head measurements were not symmetrical.  They were 6.3mm off.  It's called plagiocephaly.  Our goal was to get the difference down to 3.1mm.  After 8 weeks, it was only down to 6.1mm."

"But 3 SHORT WEEKS later, and after LOTS of prayers, it's down to 1.8mm difference!  I blew right past that goal they set for me!"

My head looked just like this.  They carved out the inside of the helmet to hold the parts that stuck out too far and let the flat parts grow.  It worked!

Here's Tatem just a few days earlier.  Never again!  :)  Of course she's SO cute with or without the helmet, but it changed her face so much!

"Whew!  These pictures wear me out.  I think I'm going to play with my hair (yay!) and suck my thumb.  Ahhh...this is the life."  :)

I cannot even begin to tell y'all how GREAT it is to be able to snuggle without plastic in my way, to be able to touch and kiss my baby's head, and to be able to see her precious face without the helmet. :)

PS- We are already 1.5 weeks into Tatem's hip dysplaysia treatment!  At 6 weeks, we will start weaning off of it, and at 12 weeks we should be through!

Harness Day!

Tatem got fitted for her Pavlik Harness today!

What a happy girl!!

If you're counting, that's...

-23 hours a day in a helmet

-23 hours a day in a harness

-one baby having a hard time getting comfortable to sleep in a harness that pulls her legs up and out :(

-only a few months (hopefully weeks!) until one head is round and two hips are perfectly formed!

-3 sleep sacks that will get lots of use, since sleepers are a thing of the past!

-10 little piggies that won't need to be painted for awhile!

-A closet full of cute dresses that are going to get lots of wear!  No shorts, leggings, socks or shoes around here for a few weeks!

-ZERO full body casts on my baby girl  

Wordless Wednesday

(Okay, I realize it's actually Tuesday, but I think these pictures speak for themselves!)  :)

I'm 6 months, Y'all!

Hey, y'all!  I turned 6 months old last week!

My mommy tells me I'm SUCH a happy baby!  I get SO excited when I see someone I love I just can't help but grin from ear to ear. :)  When I realize that I can't see a friend, sometimes I have to cry so they will come running back.  It works every time. :)

Guess what?  Last week I started scooting on my belly across the floor.  It is amazing!  I've been trying to figure out how to get those toys for ages, and I am SO proud of myself!  I wonder if other babies know about this...  My mommy has me practice sitting up each day, and I'm getting really good at that too.  My helmet protects me when I fall over.  There's even a scuff on it!

I have the most hilarious big sister!  She loves to blow raspberries on my belly and is constantly bringing me toys.  I just love her so much!

I still don't have any teeth, and I still LOVE to eat!  I drink milk every 3 hours with my mommy, and after I'm awake for about an hour, I start sucking my thumb.  Then Mommy grabs my swaddle, and I'm happily off to bed for a 2 hour nap.  I really, really love eating and I really, really love my mommy.  I love them SO much that rarely make it all night without seeing Mommy and eating!  

Our cousins had a birthday party at an indoor swimming place, and I looked too cute in my baby bikini!  I'm still wearing that pink helmet 23 hours a day.  It's been 6 weeks now and I got another scan to see if it's working!  My mom was pretty sad to hear what that lady said.  I'll just let her explain!

They take 2 measurements of Tatem's head.  They measure how wide her head is from one temple diagonally to the back of her head.  They do the same from the other temple.  If they are a match, her head is symmetrical!  Her head started at a 6.3mm difference, and we'd love for it to be a 3.1mm difference.  Well...after 6 weeks she's only down to a 6.1mm difference!  Some of the other measurements were much better, but I was hoping that she would have faster results.  

I wear a size 3 diaper and I've started wearing some cute 6-12 month clothes!  My doctor said I weigh 15 pounds and 4 ounces.  I've only gained a few ounces since my 4 month check up.  I guess all my rolling and scooting around has slowed down my weight gain!  

My doctor also said I have RSV. :(  It's my first official time to get sick.  Daddy and Mommy do breathing treatments for me and Mommy slept in my room for a week.  I haven't been able to go to church or any friends' houses in ages!  I think I'm getting better though!  

My doctor shocked my parents with some other news.  I got some special x-rays, and they show that I have hip dysplasia!  We have a trip planned to see a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist this week to see what he says.  My mommy says I may have to wear a brace on my hips for awhile since my leg doesn't stay in my hip socket very well.  My favorite physical therapist said we may have to work on my hips and my neck now.  Will you please pray for me?   I'm not so sure about wearing another thing that makes me all sweaty!

Tatem Rose, we LOVE YOU SO MUCH!  You light up the room with your huge grin and sweet kisses!!  The past 1/2 year has been so precious!

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

We were laughing as we celebrated Mark's birthday with a family dinner at home.  Things sure change!  Tatem didn't feel well and slept in 5-15 minute increments most of the night during the night before Mark's birthday, so he surprised us by coming home at lunch!  I got to grocery shop alone.  What a sweetie to think of me on his day!  Guess who picked out Mark's wrapping paper??  She was SO EXCITED about Mark's birthday!!

After dinner, Landrie helped her daddy blow out his candles!  Mark requested Boston Creme Pie.  I had never had it before, but it was really good!  I used this recipe.  :)

Tatem had some gifts for her daddy too!  She started giving kisses!  They are the open- mouthed, full face plant variety, and they are so sweet!  (Tatem's helmet has been causing a few skin problems, so she's had some extra time out of it while her skin heals.)

Do you know what her really, really big gift was??  She learned to roll from her back to her belly!  We've been practicing this in PT for awhile, and we were so proud when she finally did it on Mark's birthday!

The next day someone got a tad bit jealous and quickly rolled all over the floor too (and of course got lots of praise for her beautiful rolling skills!) and then insisted I take a picture of her doing a trick!

A few days later Tatem was sitting in my lap and got a hold of my drink.  I thought it was so cute that she was chewing on the straw.  Then she started drinking!  This baby may need some extra help in some areas, but she sure doesn't mess around when it comes to eating and drinking!  She's a pro. :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!  We love you so much!!

Sister shirts

I saw some matching sister shirts with initials and knew I had to make them.  Please don't come over this week, because while I did manage to make these adorable shirts and feed my family, I did not manage to clean my house!  haha!

Oh I love how they turned out!  Yup, this is the best shot I could get!*  Tatem's eyes are closed because she scratched her cornea this week.  That was 2 trips to the doctor and one trip for PT this week for Tatem.  Oh, and there was a trip to urgent care this week for Landrie because she spiked a 104 fever and couldn't stop shaking.  The corneal abrasion and ear infection are all healed now, but Landrie's great at sharing, and she passed on her cold to Tatem and me!  

Oh, and because everyone's favorite part is the bloopers, here are the ones that did NOT make the cut. :)

Oh my!  I can't even think of a caption for this one!

"Come on, Mom!  Are you done yet??"

Who is she glaring at??  I'm just glad it's not me!!

A little TOO much sister love here!

I took a few of just Landrie while Tatem napped.

In case you want to attempt this for a little one you love, here's a little tutorial!  I got the iron-on adhesive at Walmart in the fabric department and directions on exactly how to use it are on the package.  That stuff is amazing!! I just cut the girls' initials out of the polka dot fabric and used the iron-on adhesive on the back.  After doing this with a few projects, I found that I can get a much fatter letter if I just free hand it!  I've tried printing out a letter from the computer, but they are always too skinny.  

I ironed the polka dot letters on to a square of brown fabric, then ironed some adhesive on to the back of the brown fabric too.  I cut around the letter so a tiny bit of brown shows.  Then I peeled the paper off the back of the brown, ironed the whole thing to a shirt, and stitched around the edges with my machine.  It'll fray a bit as I wash it.  

Then I just sewed a little ruffle on the bottom!  I've made them before for baby gifts using a onesie.  I just just a little skirt instead of a ruffle and put it at the waist of the onesie.  So fun!

Whew!  It's been a crazy week this week.  In addition to all the illness and injury, Tatem learned how to roll on to her back while swaddled!  Ahh!  Then she just lays in her crib like an overturned turtle screaming until we flip her back over.  As I flopped into bed last night, exhausted, I couldn't help but think back to a time not too long ago.  I used to sleep any time I wanted, and I hardly ever went to a doctor.  Back then, I used to lay down for bed and dream of having a crazy life with a bunch of babies.  You know what? I wouldn't trade this craziness for anything!!

*I went back and looked on Pinterest, and that clever girl took individual shots of her daughters and put them side by side.  Pretty sneaky!  I'll have to remember that one!

It's a GOOD thing my baby has a helmet, really it is!

Well, it's been almost a week since Tatem got her cranial remolding helmet.  I have to admit, it was quite an adjustment for me!  On one hand I know she needs it medically, but on the other, I want to see and touch my baby unhelmet-ed!  When we were at our (2 HOUR LONG) appointment to get the helmet, the lady put it on Tatem and left us alone for a bit to see if it was putting too much pressure on spots.  Tatem was tired and crying, so I faced her towards me and tried to snuggle with her little head under my chin.  Instead of sweet, warm, soft baby skin I was met with cold, hard plastic.  I started bawling.  She wears it 23 hours a day, and she's wearing it for 2-5 months, so I've just decided that I need to embrace it and make the best of it.  I can choose joy or choose to cry everyday because this was not what I had envisioned for my baby girl.  I chose JOY!

SO, here it is.  The

"Top 10 Reasons why Tatem's Helmet is a GOOD Thing!"

10.

When Tatem's doing her tummy time and Landrie is dancing around the room, I don't worry nearly as much about Tatem's head getting stepped on!

9.  

I remember from Landrie that Tatem's about to enter the phase of pulling her bows/headbands off.  I'm attaching bows to her helmet now, so they are nearly impossible to pull off!  

8.  

The stink that comes from her plastic-covered head is sure to keep the boys at bay a little while longer.  She's awfully cute, so Mark won't have to get the shotgun out quite as early. :)

7.  

We met our out of pocket maximum for Tatem this year during the 2nd week of January.  A year of free medical treatment will be great!!  (Especially for all those expensive physical therapy sessions!)

6.  

When we are out an about, I'm pretty confident that the pink helmet will prevent any strangers from accidentally calling Tatem a boy!

5.  

Tatem will learn how to sit up while she's wearing the helmet.  I'll still rush across the room when I see that slow-mo classic baby fall start, but I'm glad she'll have extra protection for her noggin!

4. 

 It tastes great!

3.  

Even if her name tag falls off in the church nursery, they won't have any trouble remembering her name!

2.  

As my friend said, "After this, she'll have a ponytail-perfect head!"  That will be one less thing for us to worry about one day when I've got 2 teenage girls getting ready each morning!

1. 

 Her brain can grow correctly, her jaws won't be misaligned, her ear canals will be in the correct position, her eyes will be able to work together and a long list of things like these!!

Often I'm reminded of how to act by kids.  When Landrie saw Tatem in the helmet, it went something like this:
"TayTay helmet?"
"TayTay helmet PINK!!"
(lots of touching of the new helmet)
"TayTay CUTE!"
Then she promptly leaned over and kissed the open spot on the top of Tatem's head, as if wearing a helmet was the most natural thing in the world!  Well, then later that day she did lick it.  So maybe I should say I'm reminded of how to act by SOME of the things kids do!  haha!

Is there something in your life you've learned to embrace?  I don't know about you, but when things don't go according to MY plans, it really can throw me for a loop.  I'm constantly learning to trust God and rely on the fact that His plan for our lives is perfect!

Fixin' my Melon!

Well, from the time Tatem was a few hours old, the on call pediatrician told us her head was not symmetrical and she might need a helmet.  We assumed the doctor was referring to the same asymmetry that most newborns have, and that it would even out on its own.  4 months later, it looks like he was right!  We've been to three different appointments at two different places, and all confirmed that Tatem needs a helmet to reshape her sweet little head!

Tatem has two factors making her head uneven.

#1  My uterus was always about 5 weeks behind in size, and Tatem's head was waaay down very early.  Both of these caused her to be more squished than an average baby.

#2  Her torticollis (neck tightness on one side) means that it's much more comfortable to turn her head in one direction all the time.  As her brain grows so quickly, it grows in the direction of least resistance.  She's sleeping with her head on one side, so as her brain grows, it pushes her skull out in the other direction!

Here are some pictures that Cranial Tech took that really show it.

The left one was when she was 3 months, and the right one was at 4 months.  You can see it getting worse as she grows!  See how the right side of each picture bulges out more and the left side is flatter?

Again, the first column was at 3 months and the 2nd one is at 4 months.  Look how much better her torticollis is!  The bottom picture shows how her head is flatter on one side and much "curvier" on the other. 

This shifting of her skull can cause many different problems for her, so we are thankful to get it taken care of at this young age.  

The good news is that  we live in a big city and we were able to find a company that takes our insurance who makes these!  Each case has to be sent in for approval, so please pray that we have favor with our insurance! They said that ours is usually a good one. :)

By the end of next week, Tatem should be decked out in her her helmet (of course I ordered a pink one!) and I'll post pictures.  They said she'll wear it for 23 hours a day for anywhere from 2-5 months.  Hopefully she'll be done before we hit our usual 100+ degree days!

In case you happened to land on our blog looking for info on this, or in case you're just curious, check out this website a lot of families use to "Bling their band!"  They have some pretty funny phrases you can put on yours!

Squished little head!

While we think Miss Tatem Rose is absolutely perfect, her doctor says otherwise!  When she was first born, the on-call pediatrician at the hospital examined her.  Do you know the first thing he said?  "Well, her head, nose and ears are pretty asymmetrical, but they might even out over time.  If not, you can always get her a helmet."  What?!  We just laughed about his obvious lack of tact and went on with things.  Yes, her head was squished, but aren't most newborn's?

Fast forward to Monday's 2 month appointment.  Tatem's head is still "squished," and it's causing our sweet baby some problems!  Remember how my uterus always measured small?  When I delivered at 40 weeks, it measured at 35 weeks.  Tatem didn't have the room she needed, so her little head grew while it was tilted over to the side.  There's a dent where her shoulder was in her ear.  She's not the only baby who experienced this, and it actually causes a unique set of problems.   We were on info overload this week as we got diagnosis 1,2 and 3!

1.  Tortocollis- Because her head was tilted while she grew in the womb, her muscles are short and tight on one side of her neck and weak on the other.  Her head tilts to one side.  We started physical therapy this week and have a few little exercises that we need to do 6-8 times each day.  She also needs a total of 2 HOURS of tummy time a day!  The good news is that this is correctable, and with the therapy, she should be fine by the time she's walking.

This picture shows what she must have looked like before she was born!  See her little shoulder pushed up there?

It's hard to see the dent now with her pudgy cheeks, but you can see it when she was still skinny!

Of course she can hold her head up now, but when she's relaxed it's always tilted to her right.  It doesn't go to her left side.

2.  Plagiocephaly- It simply means an asymmetrical skull.  Her whole skull (including her face) is shifted.  There are 2 treatments.  Since babies' skulls are not yet hardened, they can still change shape.  We are going to be very careful about not letting her lay one way too much.  Hopefully as her brain grows, it will press on her skull, and it will fix itself.  Our therapist said we are going to try that first, but she will most likely need a helmet to reshape her head.  If she does, you can put all your money on the fact that I'll be decorating it like these DocBand Calendar babies!  :)

Normal Head Shape Mild Plagiocephaly Moderate Plagiocephaly Severe Plagiocephaly

images from here

3.  Eyes that don't work together- Part of the plagiocephaly that she has means one side of her forehead sticks out more than the other.  So one eye is further forward, and they are actually looking at two different things!  We go to a pediatric ophthalmologist next week to see what treatment for that might be.  UPDATE: I am finally posting this today, and we just got back from the opthamologist.  THe good news is that it's a simple muscle problem that makes her eyelid droop, and it should correct itself!  Babies' eyes often don't work together, but the opthamologist said our doctor referred her because of the combination of things that were going on.  We are so thankful for this answer to prayers!!

While no parents want to hear that anything is wrong with their baby, I am thankful that everything is correctable since we caught it so early.

In other news...

Remember how we all prayed for Tatem to GROW before she was born?  At one point she was in the 7th% for weight.  After she was born, she was still in the 10th%.  Not anymore!  At her 2 month check up she weighed 10 lbs, 10oz and was in the 47th% for height and weight!  She's growing like a weed!  Other than the things above, Tatem is a picture of health!  Here are some things I want to remember about my precious 2 month old:
-You are finally wearing 0-3 month clothes!
-You grin and coo all the time.  Every time you coo, Landrie gasps and says, "Oh!!!  Her talked!!"  You love talking to your sister. :)
-You are a great eater and eat 20 min. every 3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night.  Since you've turned two months, you've started stretching your night time feeds a few extra hours.  I am excited! :)
-You still LOVE to be held and snuggled.  You sleep on your tummy with an Angelcare Monitor (it sounds an alarm if you stop breathing) so Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep.  Some nights you sleep in a moving swing all night long!
-We have lots of fun things to put you in, but you really protest if you're in anything other than our arms or the swing. :)
-Your smiles and dimples light up the room and melt our hearts!