Maybe Kaden needs a helmet, too.

On my last post, I promised to explain about Lexi's newest accessory: her helmet. Everyone asks me why she has it, so I thought I would clear it up. :) Lexi had torticollis when she was born due to the fact that her head was always in the same position in the womb. (In easy English, it just means that she had a very tight muscle in one side of her neck so her head was always tilted.) Kaden actually had the same thing, but it fixed itself.

Apparently I have a very comfortable uterus. :D Way TMI...I know, I know.
So, when we realized that her head wouldn't fix itself the way that Kaden's did, we got her started in physical therapy at about six months old. It took a couple of months, but her neck is completely fine now. However, she still had Plagiocephaly (again, for those of you who skipped medical school, it just means flat head syndrome. The right side of her head was totally flat because of the torticollis.) Both of these are pretty common in infants. Anyway, she needed to get a helmet to fix her flat head before she turned 1. By then their heads don't grow enough to fix the problem.

Another question I get a lot (especially from our Primary kids) is whether or not the helmet is actually squeezing her head. No, it's not. It simply provides a barrier so that her head grows into the open space left on the right side of the helmet. It doesn't hurt her whatsoever. :) She wears it 23 hours a day. I always feel horrible putting it back on after nighttime bath time, but she really couldn't care less. The part that I miss the most?......

*big sigh* I absolutely LOVE her curly hair. I miss being able to style it soooooooooo much! Especially now that it's getting longer. She has to wear the helmet for 3-4 months (depending on how fast her head grows into it....since she is "older" than most 4-6 month olds who get the helmet, it could take up to 6 months......but I am hoping for 3). :)

I love my big girl!

Friday night we went up to Brigham City and ate at Maddox (YUMMMMMMMY) with Shane's grandparents and parents. We don't get to see them enough, so it was good to catch up. As we were leaving, Shane's mom noticed that we had 4 generations there. So, of course, I had to take a pic of the occasion. :)

Kaden is doing the sign for stars. It's his favorite. :)

Speaking of Kaden.......I was putting laundry away today and Kaden was playing on our bed. He decided he wanted something on the dresser...that he had to reach really, really far for. I heard his foot slip. I turned just in time to see his arm slip out from under him, his face bang against the very corner of the dresser, then fall face first to the ground. Yeah. It was horrible. There was blood coming from his mouth and I was horrified that he might have lost a tooth and would need stitches in his lip. Shane came running in when I yelled for him. We took Kaden to the front room and got him calmed down enough to see that all his teeth were still there (although, he would have adult teeth grow in eventually.....), but there was still a good amount of blood. We very seriously considered taking him to the E.R. His bottom lip swelled up quickly. His gums on the top were bloody and totally swollen. After the bleeding stopped, we saw it wasn't serious enough to go to the E.R. They wouldn't really have been able to do anything anyway. I ran to the store and got some popsicles (since he wouldn't let us put ice to his lips and gums) and chocolate milk (the perfect cure).

So sad. See the huge bottom lip and blood? :( My poor baby.

Later today, after the popsicle and chocolate milk therapy. A totally spoiled Kaden is feeling better. :) Still a bit swollen, though. (I also gave him some Motrin to help with the pain. It hurt him so bad when he tried to eat a cracker on that side of his mouth.)

This is what his lips normally look like. Happy boy! :D