This is the Day

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

I won't lie to you. I have been dreading this day for a long time. When Carsten was just days old we noticed that he always tilted his head one direction. Eventually we also noticed that he always slept with his head turned the same way as well. And when he was two months old we noticed a pretty significant flat spot on one side of the back of his head.

So of course we took him to the doctor right away and they referred us to a craniofacial specialist. Carsten has Toticollis - weakened muscles in one side of his neck due to how he was positioned before he was born. And that caused plagiocephaly - the fancy word for a flat head.

The specialist referred us immediately to physical therapy (and by immediately I mean his first appointment was 15 minutes later), and he's been doing that for two months now. We have seen drastic improvements! Originally the specialist told us that his flat spot was worse than most that he sees. Awesome. But it has changed a lot just from learning to turn his head the other direction. And his muscle strength has improved so much that he has actually over-corrected and now we are working on getting back to a happy medium. He's a bit of an over-achiever. :-)

They can't start helmets until babies are four months or their heads are a certain size. So two weeks ago when Carsten was four months we went in to have him fitted for one to correct his head shape. And today he had physical therapy at 8:45 and then his helmet appointment from 10-11:30. It was a busy morning. But both boys did great, thankfully.

Getting measured for his helmet.

I wish I would have tried to get a picture of him smiling, because it was adorable!

So for two months I have alternated between dreading this day and just trying not to think about it. I was worried about how he would adjust to wearing it. I worried that it might hurt him. I worried about how he will sleep with it on. I feel so bad for him. I know people will stare at him and wonder/judge. And I can't kiss his little head with a helmet on it! I'll be honest, I'm still worried about those things. But I can't pretend it's not happening anymore.

People have asked me how I feel about it all. And there are those little worries. Some are worries for him, others are selfish ones, like worrying about what people think. And I was pretty sure I would cry when I saw him wearing it the first time. (I didn't, but it was close.) It's not going to be fun. I don't want him to need a helmet. it breaks my heart a little bit to see him in it. Okay, it breaks my heart a lot. But here's the thing. I have two amazing, healthy boys. He has a flat head. He doesn't have cancer. He doesn't have any serious disability. He's not sick. He is healthy. Compared to all of the thousands of medical issues he could have, I am thankful for his flat little head!

And so while I dreaded this day this process, I also rejoice in it. God made this day. He made my little boy. There is a treatment for his head and it started today. And so I rejoice.

My sweet little love.

As my friend Katie pointed out, he got it just in time for football season. He looks ready to play, doesn't he? I asked Tyler how he thought Carsten looked in his new helmet and without even stopping to think he said, "Fantastic!" I agree. :-)