PiElla's New Helmet

[maztec]

What a truly horrible first day. We have had the absolute perfect storm of ugh: first fever (woke up at 38.4, normal is 36.5) on the day of fitting (yesterday), teeth (first teeth are headed in), I had my wisdom teeth out last Friday (owwie) and had a fever, and now Mom is getting sick, and then we stuck the new helmet in to the mix of all of that. First night we said forget it, did not put it back on her, she was just too hot. Was feeling better today, so we used the helmet all day. It is a TIGHT fit. Real pain to get it on and off, and Mom does not quite have it down . . . so our little one gets upset by the extra fiddling. And I cannot always be here, I have to attend to my clients who have been abused by my absence over the last month for surgery and everything. Although they are awesome and understanding. And the helmet never goes quite on the same way twice, always a little off to one side or the other (is that normal?), so we worry we are doing it right . . . but her head is actually almost normal already just from the surgery.

And the crying, oh the crying. An hour of non-stop "Why are you doing this to ME?" Take off helmet, some sobs, some accusatory looks, and she bounces back just in time to be put back in the helmet and repeat.

We only hope that what everyone says about this getting easier is true, because it sure is not easy now...

Photo of the helmet: http://piella.org/?p=306

[maztec]

And possibly the hardest part is she has cried so much that her beautiful voice is hoarse and even her cry is hoarse. She has cried more today, than she has in her entire life so far :(

[BabyGabey]

Poor little thing! Hang in there mama it WILL get easier. The beginning is really really hard as you both get adjusted. Their little necks have to get used to the extra weight and their bodies have to adjust to the added heat. But the helmet should not be a tight fit especially when you first get it.... it actually should almost be able to shift a little bit where it seems to big that way they have room to grow into it. If it seems really tight I would talk to her ortho about it.

The bumbo seat was a life saver in terms of putting the helmet on and taking it off.... it enables you to have both hands free so you have more control over the helmet while putting it on. I also would put the helmet on facing him from the side because it's easier to see while putting it on. There is also probably some fluid/swelling from surgery and the helmet adds some pressure which doesn't feel good... so we were told it was ok to continue with giving tylenol. In terms of sleeping... Gabe slept in his bouncy seat for the first few weeks in the helmet. Laying back on the helmet I think hurts their necks and it also goes back to adding pressure on those areas that have some fluid build up from surgery. I know you want to take it off when she is screaming but the taking it off and putting it back on is actually worse.... it's almost like they forget it is there after a while.... Just dress her a little lighter as she adjusts to the heat... I would give him 10 minutes breaks and put a cool washcloth on top of his head and he would love it..... GOOD LUCK please feel free to message me if you have any more questions I can help you with xo

[Sophia's_mom]

Poor little sweetie!! Those first few days are so tough, but it will get easier.

I 100% agree with Lauren, the Bumbo is a life saver. That is where I had to put Sophie for the first few weeks to get the helmet on/off. I took it everywhere we would go just so I wouldn't have to be without it.

If you question the fit at all, be sure to go back to have it adjusted. I remember Sophie's felt tight to get on, it just had to be stretched a bit. But once it was on her head it was actually a bit big, it would move around a lot side to side but fit tightly front to back.

Good luck!

[coopersmama]

I second everything Lauren said. It definitely is an adjustment, but it does get easier!! We had some fit issues with our helmet at first and it was a rough process, but he's doing great with it now. I was also a nervous putting it on and taking it off at first, but that does get easier, too. Before you know it, she will not even realize it's on and she won't be crying so much. (That's happened with us, too, where he cried so much he was hoarse (it just breaks my heart!), but it WILL get better!)

As another option to sleeping, our orthotist recommended rolling up a blanket and placing it in a horseshoe or rainbow shape across the crib and tucking the end under the mattress. It sort of becomes a pillow for them.

[maztec]

Thank you everyone. Good call on the bumbo, we do not have one, but are arranging to get one in the next day or two.

Our little one has lost her voice from all the crying yesterday. I watch her moving her mouth, trying to talk, and nothing comes out. Then she manages to get a few sounds out that are really low tones, and her crying is so hoarse.

But, we put the helmet on this morning, and after ten minutes of frustration (mostly at us putting it on), she achieved contentment. http://piella.org/
And then a steady moment of happiness:


Seems we are getting there, but boy was that first day rough.
--

The helmet is not tight once it is on; I took the time to look at it really closely today when I put it on. But getting it on is a bit tight. The doctor's decided to use a bivavle helmet, because they are mostly trying to form spots low on her skull that the other helmets were not able to reach. At the same time, they want to provide stability for the top where a lot of bone was removed. Because it is bivalve, it takes a fairly heft pulling to open it up and my wife's armstrength in that direction is not quite enough. I am happy to do it, but she wants to be able to do it also. We tried having my wife put it on her a dozen times this morning, but it kept getting twisted or snapping shut early and just making the process miserable. I finally put it on, and our little girl seems fairly content with it now. On the other hand, my wife is great at getting it off . . .

The tight part is at the temples as it goes down. The front earguards are really tight at the top of her head, but loose at the bottom. Once it is on, it is tight enough it stays in place, but loose enough that there is some play on where that place starts out to be and I can move it around to make some adjustments of positioning.

I hope the rest of today goes this well for SPACE GIRL!

[Janet]

I'm not a helmet Mom, but I just wanted to give you support, I'm sorry that you guys are having a rough time. She looks adorable

[Sophia's_mom]

You know what, I had a really hard time getting Sophie's helmet on her too. It was just so tight, I couldn't pull the sides apart far enough to get it over her head. They were able to do something with the way the helmet opened that made it easier to work with. I know we had a different style of helmet, but you may call back to the Orthist and ask if there is anything they can do. Surely your wife cannot be the only one who has ever had that problem with that helmet.

[Sophia's_mom]

I forgot to mention how happy I am that today seems to be going better. That was exactly how our experiance was too. Day one was living hell and then it was fine. I'm so happy she seems to be adjusting!!

[jjmc123]

she's so adorable in her helmet!