Charlie was not amused or impressed with the snow. Oh well... Poor kid was dealing with his first real cold.
It was beautiful while it lasted.
Jan 27, 2016
January Snow!
Last Friday we were forecasted to receive 4-6 inches of snow. Instead we got a dusting and I think Nashville got all our snow and then some. That didn't stop us from going outside (for all of 10 minutes) for Charlie to see his first snow.
Charlie was not amused or impressed with the snow. Oh well... Poor kid was dealing with his first real cold.
It was beautiful while it lasted.
Charlie was not amused or impressed with the snow. Oh well... Poor kid was dealing with his first real cold.
It was beautiful while it lasted.
Jan 26, 2016
Cranial Helmet
We've survived our first week of our Hanger Clinic cranial band or cranial helmet. I thought I'd do a recap post for those who are thinking about a cranial band and for those curious about our week.
I should back up, though, and give a little history. Charlie developed a flat head early in his life. He was not born with it, nor do we think it was a birth defect or injury. He just spent too much time on his back as an infant and it didn't correct itself naturally. His pediatrician first mentioned it his 2 month check up. We did our best to keep him off of his back, but there's only so much you can do. At the 6 month check up she mentioned it again, but said we still had time for it to fix on its on. It did not. At the 9 month appointment she referred us to the Hanger Clinic and were told Charlie needed the helmet. We hemmed and hawed, especially after we discovered our insurance would not cover it.
Ultimately we decided it needed to be done. If we could do something about it, we should. So last Monday, the 18th, we got our helmet. Charlie was very patient through the scanning process, a week and a half earlier, and was patient still when we first got the helmet.
It came with the arrow sticker so we'd know where to line it up with his nose at first.
The first day he was to wear it one hour on, one hour off and not while sleeping. I think he wore it a total of 3.5 hours that whole day. He was great with it. Towards the end of the hour he'd start touching the helmet, obviously a little tired of it, but he didn't fuss too much.
Day two he wore it for two hours on, one hour off, not while sleeping. I took him to church in the morning and the nursery kept him distracted. He didn't complain at all about the helmet. (He also picked up a cold!)
By Wednesday we tried napping with it. It didn't go so well in his crib, but I caught him snoozing in the car after church.
He did not nap well the first few days. But in all fairness he also developed a cold by his fourth day in the helmet. I think the cold had more to do with it than anything. He was still his active, toddler self!
The helmet does greatly affect their body temperature and causes a lot of sweating. This was after 6 hours on.
He slept in it for the last two nights and we are now into the 23 hours on/1 hour off.
Things we've learned:
- Take the adjusting body temperature into account! I think he would have slept better those first few days if we dressed him down a little. Currently we have him in a t-shirt and diaper. He's just fine despite it being in the 40s outside.
- Avoid sickness.
- Babies are so resilient and they adapt much quicker than you expect.
If you have any questions or concerns about the cranial band, please email me or comment below. I'd love to talk to anyone considering the process.
I should back up, though, and give a little history. Charlie developed a flat head early in his life. He was not born with it, nor do we think it was a birth defect or injury. He just spent too much time on his back as an infant and it didn't correct itself naturally. His pediatrician first mentioned it his 2 month check up. We did our best to keep him off of his back, but there's only so much you can do. At the 6 month check up she mentioned it again, but said we still had time for it to fix on its on. It did not. At the 9 month appointment she referred us to the Hanger Clinic and were told Charlie needed the helmet. We hemmed and hawed, especially after we discovered our insurance would not cover it.
Ultimately we decided it needed to be done. If we could do something about it, we should. So last Monday, the 18th, we got our helmet. Charlie was very patient through the scanning process, a week and a half earlier, and was patient still when we first got the helmet.
It came with the arrow sticker so we'd know where to line it up with his nose at first.
The first day he was to wear it one hour on, one hour off and not while sleeping. I think he wore it a total of 3.5 hours that whole day. He was great with it. Towards the end of the hour he'd start touching the helmet, obviously a little tired of it, but he didn't fuss too much.
Day two he wore it for two hours on, one hour off, not while sleeping. I took him to church in the morning and the nursery kept him distracted. He didn't complain at all about the helmet. (He also picked up a cold!)
By Wednesday we tried napping with it. It didn't go so well in his crib, but I caught him snoozing in the car after church.
He did not nap well the first few days. But in all fairness he also developed a cold by his fourth day in the helmet. I think the cold had more to do with it than anything. He was still his active, toddler self!
The helmet does greatly affect their body temperature and causes a lot of sweating. This was after 6 hours on.
He slept in it for the last two nights and we are now into the 23 hours on/1 hour off.
Things we've learned:
- Take the adjusting body temperature into account! I think he would have slept better those first few days if we dressed him down a little. Currently we have him in a t-shirt and diaper. He's just fine despite it being in the 40s outside.
- Avoid sickness.
- Babies are so resilient and they adapt much quicker than you expect.
If you have any questions or concerns about the cranial band, please email me or comment below. I'd love to talk to anyone considering the process.
Jan 4, 2016
2016 Goals
It wouldn't be a new year without new goals! I'm not really into resolutions, I'm into goals. I might be the most task and goal oriented person I've ever met. If it's not on my to-do list, it is not getting done.
Since Charlie was being born in early 2015 I didn't really set many goals for myself last year. Survive. That was my goal. We succeeded!
This year I have just a few, here they go:
1) Reading Goal: My to-read list in Goodreads is ridiculous. My goal is for my "read" list to be longer than my "to-read" list by the end of the year. I'm setting my reading challenge number at 52. My "to-read" list at the end of the year needs to be a smaller number than 52. We'll see what happens.
2) Food Goal: Up my breakfast game. Since I'm now responsible for feeding another human being and fostering good eating habits I've been struggling with breakfast. Charlie has been getting a mashed banana mixed with oatmeal most mornings and he's tired of it. Bryan and I will sometimes have a piece of toast later in the morning. I really want to be better about providing more nutritious and varied breakfasts this year for all of us.
3) Marriage Goal: 12 dates nights. Date nights are important to me. We need to make this happen. I think once a month is totally do-able.
4) Exercise Goal: I don't have a full year plan yet, other than exercise regularly. I'd like to get back into running regularly. Possibly even do a race. But I'll be honest, this has been a goal for the last how many years now? Instead, I'll be taking it little at a time. First up, 30 days of yoga in January. My best friend and I completed a 30 day squat challenge in November and December and I'm ready to tackle something bigger now that I know I can actually complete something for 30 days. This will be a much bigger time commitment and that makes me nervous.
That's all I've got so far, but I think I've got some real challenges ahead of me. What are your goals for 2016?
Since Charlie was being born in early 2015 I didn't really set many goals for myself last year. Survive. That was my goal. We succeeded!
This year I have just a few, here they go:
1) Reading Goal: My to-read list in Goodreads is ridiculous. My goal is for my "read" list to be longer than my "to-read" list by the end of the year. I'm setting my reading challenge number at 52. My "to-read" list at the end of the year needs to be a smaller number than 52. We'll see what happens.
2) Food Goal: Up my breakfast game. Since I'm now responsible for feeding another human being and fostering good eating habits I've been struggling with breakfast. Charlie has been getting a mashed banana mixed with oatmeal most mornings and he's tired of it. Bryan and I will sometimes have a piece of toast later in the morning. I really want to be better about providing more nutritious and varied breakfasts this year for all of us.
3) Marriage Goal: 12 dates nights. Date nights are important to me. We need to make this happen. I think once a month is totally do-able.
4) Exercise Goal: I don't have a full year plan yet, other than exercise regularly. I'd like to get back into running regularly. Possibly even do a race. But I'll be honest, this has been a goal for the last how many years now? Instead, I'll be taking it little at a time. First up, 30 days of yoga in January. My best friend and I completed a 30 day squat challenge in November and December and I'm ready to tackle something bigger now that I know I can actually complete something for 30 days. This will be a much bigger time commitment and that makes me nervous.
That's all I've got so far, but I think I've got some real challenges ahead of me. What are your goals for 2016?
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