Helmet

Well Dominick had his first evaluation today at Cranial Technologies. He definitely needs the DOC Band. The evaluation went pretty well and I am feeling a lot better about this. I was having a very hard time excepting the fact that my son needed to wear a helmet. I have known since he was 2 months old that this could be a possibility due to torticollis. I just figured that it would fix itself and there was no way my son would have to wear it. Well another month would go by and it wasn't getting better but I just kept thinking it will get better. I started putting Dominick to sleep on his tummy because I figured the more time he had off the back of his head it would get better (not to worry he was already rolling over). NOPE!!! We went into the pediatrician because of a tummy problem and Dr. Flicker recommended we see Dr. Garri and Dr. Flicker seemed pretty concerned about the flat spot. I still felt like once Dr. Garri saw him he would say that it wasn't that serious and it will fix itself. Wrong again! Dr. Garri felt that it was a pretty severe case and sent us to Cranial Technologies. I was still holding out hope that they would say Dominick was perfect (which he is but he will be even more perfect after the helmet). Wrong yet again! It was all starting to really hit me yesterday and I just could not stop crying thinking about my poor baby being in a helmet. I kept thinking it would be like when I got braces and they tell you "oh you will have them on for a year and half" but then in reality it was like 3 years. The helmet is a big commitment. Dominick will have to wear it everyday for 23 hours out of the day. The only break he gets is for bath time and we have to clean it everyday during that one hour. Wow if I have to commit my family to this helmet for 2 years 23 hours out of a day I just don't think I can do it. Hello we live in Florida and love going to the pool or beach this means my kid cannot enjoy swimming or anything. I was also really struggling with the fact on how people will stare and react to the helmet. I know I shouldn't care what other people think but I DO. So now that the initial evaluation is over I am feeling a lot better. It went really well today. They have a very friendly staff and explained the process very thoroughly. Today they took pictures and measurements to make sure Dominick medically needs the helmet. He does! Big time according to the numbers they got. I should be receiving a call from them within the next 24-48 hours to go over insurance, payment options and setting up the next appointment. They told me to expect his next appointment to be next week. That appointment will include a scan of Dominick's head to get precise measurements to do a molding and a fitting of the helmet. Dominick should be in the helmet within the next 2 weeks. Once we have the helmet we will be going every week for an adjustment. The process should be anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks. They told us they really like to go 12 weeks to get the best results. The inside of the helmet is made of foam and the outside is a plastic piece and at every weeks adjustment they shave a little bit of the foam off inside as his head starts to change in shape. They really like to keep the helmet on until the get all the foam shaved out and its just the plastic piece left. There is a slight possibility that Dominick will have to have 2 different helmet sessions (8-12 week ones which means possibly 24 weeks)because the shape of his head but they do believe that just one round will do the trick. Lets keep our fingers crossed for just one round! Now to the fun part. The helmet is an all white footbally looking thing and we can decorate the outside however we want. So I am really looking forward to doing that. I need to find some positive (besides the fact that my kids head will be normal)thing to look forward too. Mike and I have been discussing different ways to decorate and are debating between a Marlin's Baseball style or maybe a Nascar style. But once we decide and get the helmet we will definitely post pictures.

Doctor Appointments - February 23, 2010

Ok so not so good news from either doctor appointments. Dominick has an ear infection in his left ear :( He is on antibiotics and hopefully this will clear up fast. I really hope he doesn't get them like I used to get them they were terrible for me.

Dr. Garri is the doctor he saw about his head. He has positional plagiocephaly which is the flat spot on the right side of his head. Well the good news is he doesn't need surgery WHAT!!! I didn't even know I should have been concerend about surgery. The bad news is... the doctor thinks it is severe enough that Dominick will need to wear a helmet. Dr. Garri thinks Dominick should only have to wear it for about 3 to 4 months and 23 hours out of the day. Hopefully time flies. Tomorrow we go see Cranial Tachnologies to get measurements, photos and discuss financial options for the helmet.

Update

Well here is a little update on Dominick. Currently he has a horrible cold. Poor little guy has lots of buggies and a real deep cough. We are going to the pediatrician at 12:30 and then off to the head specialist at 3:30. Today is full of driving around town to the doctors. Anyway on to the good. Dominick is now reaching out to people to be held and if you are lucky you will get a big hug. Hopefully I can catch this on camera soon and post pictures. It is the cutest thing. He is also reaching out for anything in his reach i.e. remote controls, my phone, last night.... my food. He threw my sandwich on the floor and grabbed my plate to try and eat that (you got it wrong little buddy the food is what you want to eat!). He is also really enjoying the puppies now. He loves Dior because right now her hair is really long so he grabs and pulls her hair. Surprisingly she tolerates it pretty well. Auto he likes as well but since his hair is short he likes to grab his floppy cheeks or tries to eat Auto (yuck! what is it with you trying to eat everything non-edible). Hopefully I will get a chance to post either tonight or tomorrow about his doctors appointments. Wish us luck!

Valentine's Day Weekend

Well this was our first Valentine's Day with Dominick. Mike and I took him to the Boat/Yacht show. The Yacht show was amazing. Lots of really nice HUGE boats. The boat show was ok. Nothing spectacular. It was nice to get out in the nice weather and enjoy a nice family day. Yesterday was President's Day and well Mike had to work and I got to stay home and enjoy Mommy/Dominick time. Ok so I don't know how much of it was really enjoyable because he was Mr. Crankypants. But it was still nice to be home ALL day with him. Yesterday he started a new trick... He blows kisses (well that is what I like to think it is) he sucks in his lips and makes the kiss noise and then starts blowing his raspberries (which involves spit going everywhere NICE!) He is also shaking his head no for everything now its the funniest thing. Pictures will be uploaded soon. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Doctor Appointment - February 9, 2010

Dominick saw Dr. Koutouby on February 9th for a follow up on his reflux. His weight is doing great. He weighs 15 pounds 8 ounces and is still 25 inches long. Dr. Koutouby said we can take him off the Zantac at night and to keep him on the Prevacid in the morning. While he is still having the tummy thing going on we can give him some Maalox. Of course Dominick loves her so the entire time he is talking away to her and blowing her raspberries. I was glad to hear he is doing better with the reflux :)

Doctor Visit on Friday February 5, 2010

Starting last Sunday Dominick had been having lots of poopy diapers a day which is not usual for him. I called the doctor on Tuesday to let them know what was going on and they told me everything sounded fine but to keep an eye on him and if anything got worse (i.e. fever or bloody stools) to call and bring him in immediately. Well by Friday he was not better so I took him in and well he is fine. They told me that this can last up to two weeks and to make sure that he does not get dehydrated or have bloody stools. Then the doctor mentioned that his head is still not rounding out. For those of you who didn't know... Dominick had torticollis (which is a stiffening of the muscle on one side of his neck) which caused him to always keep his head to the right. We has gotten much better about looking to the left but when he sleeps he very much favors his right side. So the flat spot on the right side of his head is not getting any better. We were referred to a specialist to see if he will need to be placed in a helmet. We go to see that doctor on February 23rd. Poor little guy has so many doctor appointments coming up. He sees the GI doctor tomorrow and then the specialist on the 23rd and then his 6 month check-up on March 9th. So lots of updates are coming. Wish us lots of luck for good news at the next 2 appointments.

Crazy Weekend!

Ok so this weekend was probably one of the craziest weekends I have survived since becoming a "MOM". It started with Friday.... After rushing home from work (which I left late and hit pretty bad traffic) I had to get me and the baby ready to go to a family party. Since Dominick always has to look his best when we go out I had to give him a bath and find one of his cutest outfits. Then off to my Aunt and Unlce's house for the family b-day parties. Now the party started at 7:00 p.m. (for the Rodriguez Family that means we show up at 7:45p.m.) which now means we are entering Dominick's bedtime. He did pretty good and lasted till about 8:30 p.m. When I finally gave in and put him on my Aunt's bed. I kept going back and checking on him and of course he was passed out. I wish I had a picture to post of his new sleeping position but unfortunately I do not. Every night he sleeps with his seahorse. Well of course we didn't bring it with us so I go back to check on him and he is sleeping on his side (his new position) and rubbing the pillow (one of the pillows which he was surrounded by). It was so cute. Note to self... Bring seahorse if we are going to be around bedtime. Now on to crazy Saturday....We woke up early (like its an option) and Mike took Auto (dog) to get neutered. Poor guy! Then we headed off to Katelyn's birthday party at the Miami Children's Museum. I thought it was pretty cool but wasn't sure how much Dominick would really understand but man he loved it. He loved his Daddy taking him around and looking at all the different lights and noises. It was so cute to see him smiling the entire time. Pictures of that event to come soon. Sorry they are on my Mom's new camera. Then we headed off to another B-day party/Baby shower which we could only stay at for a little while because then we were off to get my step-dad and finally celebrate my Mom's b-day (Did I forget to mention at the beginning of this day it was my Mom's B-day!!!) So we finally went home and had the yummy Big Cheese for dinner and called it a night early. Oh I forgot to mention Dominick's nap time is from 12-2 p.m. which was the same time as the Museum party and there was no way that kid was going to miss out on the action. Nap Missed!!! Now off to Sunday.... I nearly missed my Aunt and Uncle's (another set) renewal of their vows and then off to the Rusty Pelican for brunch. Another nap of Dominicks missed. He did pretty good until the end he just couldnt fight his sleep anymore and finally passed out in my arms. Several Mimosas later and I am ready for my nap. It was very nice weekend spending so much time with the family this weekend. My cousins came down from Orlando and its always great to see them.