Things have been so busy around here that I forgot to share the good news: Will "graduated" from his helmet!
He was officially done on Monday, July 11 after five months of wear. To say we were ready to be done was an understatement. Will was getting really uncomfortable in the summer heat, and he was becoming more aware of the helmet on his head, tugging and pulling at it often. Needless to say, it was time.
If you want the measurements, Will started at a cephalic index (head width to depth ratio) of 100%. Normal is 83%, but our orthotist only recommends treatment for kids above 92% (three standard deviations from the norm). Will ended at 90.5%, so below the treatment threshold, but still worse than the average kid.
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| Side view (January 2011 - 5 months old) |
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| Side view (July 2011 - 11 months old) |
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| Top view (January 2011 - 5 months old) |
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| Top view (July 2011 - 11 months old) |
Man, when you look at the top view, you can really see the difference. I can't believe we ever told ourselves that it wasn't a serious problem. Moreover, I can't believe our pediatrician ever believed that it would fix itself. Will's case was bad, and given that treatment is more effective the younger the baby is, I'm so glad we pushed for a referral when we did.
After $2,800 and five months, Will's head isn't perfect. It's still flat. Not so flat that most people notice it, but flat nonetheless. Sometimes I struggle with whether or not we should have kept going, but I didn't want this to be about the pursuit of perfection. Will had a severe condition that needed treatment. We got it for him. He saw significant improvement. And that's a victory we can be proud of.
Yay! Congrats Will! I think you guys chose the perfect time to be done. Sounds like it really helped him a lot. Mike and I thought pictures with the helmet were beyond adorable, but yeah, I can't imagine having an extra item of clothing to wear on my head during this heat!
ReplyDeleteAnd as soon as he has some more hair, you'll forget his head is any flatter than anyone else (and he can rediscover it when he goes bald as a happy old man who never cared a day in his life about the shape of his head).
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