Ta-Daaaaaa!
Stella has a new lid.
She got her helmet yesterday.
She's got a mild flat spot on the right side of her head
that needed a little rounding.
It's pretty common for preemies to get a little flat spot because their neck muscles are not strong enough
when they are born to move their head around.
We were still supporting Stella's head when she was almost 4 months old,
so it has just taken her a long time to build up those muscles.
We also noticed a few months ago that this was her preferred position for sleeping.
Always on the right side.
We tried positioning her differently but it always came back to this.
After a visit with a physical therapist we learned that she has
torticollis, which is why she leans her head in this direction.
She starts physical therapy for that on Monday.
So back to the helmet...
We visited the Helmet Clinic at Children's Hospital in Omaha
and met with some wonderful Doctors and their Occupational Therapist, John.
John is kind of legendary there.
He has been doing this work for 20 years.
He knows what he's doing.
And it's very obvious that he loves kids.
He likes to make nicknames for the children he works with.
He calls Stella "Poodle Doodle"
Here is John measuring Poodle Doodle for her helmet.
They put this stocking on her head
and the dots in her ears for the scanner.
It's a pretty slick system that only took a few seconds.
No more plaster casting.
Here is a link to a news story done a couple of years ago on the
It shows the scanner that Stella was in.
So far she has done great with the whole thing.
We are easing her into wearing her helmet, but by the end of the weekend
she should be in it 23 hours/day.
They're telling us 3-6 months of wearing it.
We're hoping it comes off before her 1st birthday.
We think she looks adorable in it.
It highlights her cheeks nicely!
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