My kid has a helmet. Not because I am a bad Mom, but actually because I am a good one.

My kid has a helmet. Not because I am a bad mom, but actually because I am a good one. We tried everything. Mason’s head was shaped a little odd when he was born but it was mostly camouflaged by all his hair. As he got older, it became more noticeable. We were actively taking him to the chiropractor because chiropractic care has always been a huge success for our family. He was doing fairly well with it but his head wasn’t really changing. She then referred us to a craniosacral therapist. Basically this is like massage for babies. You go into this very peaceful, quiet room and the lady works on loosening his tight muscles and works the bones in the head as well. There are also many exercises you can do at home in between visits. We did this for a couple months; constantly staying up on the exercises and doing our best. It became a full time job and was exhausting. He hardly ever is in swings and bouncers, yes we do tummy time etc etc. It still just wasn’t improving, in fact, it seemed like it was getting worse. I just felt so defeated because I was doing everything right but yet it was still not enough. These are the steps that could possibly help if it is mild but with him, I was starting to think it wasn’t mild. The craniosacral therapist suggested that we look into physical therapy/helmet. I was completely uneducated about why kids wear helmets and didn’t want to go down that route. I felt guilty. Like somehow this was my fault. I briefly did some research before having the helmet appointment. I had already come to the conclusion that he was moderate to severe. Sometimes this happens when babies are head down in the womb for longer than usual, which, for Mason, he was. He also wasn’t in there perfectly straight either which has led to some tight muscles in his neck. I made the helmet appointment and then had time to grieve. Everyday it got a little easier; coming to terms with it. By the time the appointment rolled around, I was ready to attack it head on (pun intended). I had accepted that this was the next step that we needed to take to make Mason feel better. Why was it so hard to accept? I don’t know. A few reasons I guess. Maybe because I tried my hardest to avoid it. Feelings of guilt because he was in the womb like that. Feelings of defeat because yet another challenge has come our way. All of these things. We had his appointment and it was determined that he has moderate to severe Deformational Plagiocephaly and Torticollis and needed a helmet and more physical therapy. So now we have to go in every 2 weeks to get his helmet resized because his head is constantly growing and then physical therapy afterwards. We are no longer doing the craniosacral therapy because he needs medical intervention. And as for the chiropractor, it will just be an as needed kind of thing. As much of a whirlwind as this is, I am thankful that we have access to so many different options and are able to give Mason the best care. We take every day we are given and even though challenges come our way, we are in it together. And in the meantime, he kinda looks pretty cute in this thing.

And for now,

Xoxo