Helmet Graduation Day

Yesterday, Linus had his bi-monthly appointment to check his helmet.  His head shape was looking good, so it was decided he would have a scan done to see the progress.

 Linus had a little cap placed on his head before going in the STARscanner.

The results were good.  His measurements went from a 10.4 to a 5.3, and his ears are lined up with each other.

 Linus has officially graduated from his helmet.

Thank you, George.

Avete vos

MotoTyke

Today started with a trip to the grocery store with the three littlest. Within 5 minutes of being in the store Pierre had to take Lucie “potty.” I took Josie and Linus to look for cookies. When Josie says, “cookie”and then signs and says “please” simultaneously, how could I possibly resist? Josie is a big fan of Chips Ahoy. Luckily, it always seems to be on sale when she asks. As she sat hugging that blue package of chocolatey goodness, she eyed the Oreos and said, “Oreos for Mama!” If you recall my post from yesterday, you'll know that yesterday was the 100^th Birthday of the Oreo cookie. Josie remembered. Then, my talkative little girl looked at me and said, “Tacos!” Off to the International Foods aisle we flew. It is a big deal when Josie uses her words around here.

One of Katie's coaches fell ill at the gym yesterday. She was doubled over in pain. She was scared and shaking. All I wanted to do was mother her. Am I that old, that I thought I could mother a 21 year old woman? From a very young age I knew I wanted to be a mother, whether it be for my dolls, a hurt bird, or my puppy. As I carried around 5 or 6 Cabbage Patch Dolls, I decided that I was not only going to be a mother, but I was going to mother many. I have been blessed to have been given the opportunity to raise 8 beautiful children.

Linus is still struggling with teething. Plus, we lost his pacifier this afternoon. He was in his bouncy seat sucking away, and then all of a sudden it was gone. I asked Josie if she had seen it. She ran excitedly into the living room. I ran excitedly after her because I thought she knew where it was. She just looked at me, smiled, and said “pacifier” as she pointed to the bouncy seat. I even resorted to asking the dog. She just looked at me, rather annoyed that I had disturbed her nap. I searched and searched but couldn't find it as Linus screamed at the top of his lungs. In the kitchen, I located another pacifier from the same package and I hurriedly boiled some water to sterilize it. Once he had that pacifier, he was out like a light.

Tonight, as I made tacos for my sweet Josie, she sat on the kitchen floor at my feet. Unfortunately, a trip to the grocery store, a visit from her OT, and no nap made her a very tired little girl. As I finished cooking, she lay asleep curled up in front of the dishwasher. I was so disappointed. I was looking forward to eating tacos, the dinner she asked for, with her. Leftovers are stored away for lunch tomorrow. I have a taco date with my Josie.

Splash!

Linus' helmet was giving him a bit of trouble today. He has been drooling a lot and he has an irritated spot under the helmet in the sideburn area. I let it air out for a little while and it looks so much better.

Linus' ongoing (EI) came today to do his intake this afternoon. I had to answer a bunch of questions about my pregnancy. How was my pregnancy?  Too short. Did I have problems?  More than I care to remember. I didn't really say those things, but I was thinking them. Then I had to grab all my folders to remind myself what day Linus came off oxygen, which medicines he took , and how many blood transfusions he had. My poor little man went through so much, but you could never tell by looking at him. Thank goodness for those wonderful nurses who cared for him when I couldn't.

Linus' ongoing is also Josie's ongoing, so she stayed to observe Josie with her speech therapist, Lynn.  Lynn has been with Josie the longest, since about 7 months old. When Lynn started coming, Josie wouldn't even look at her. She cried and really didn't want anything to do with her. Now, when Lynn's car pulls in the driveway, Josie runs to the door squealing, “Lynn! Lynn!” Every day Josie does more and more. We are very lucky to have a great team of EI providers working with her.

Linus had an appointment with his orthotist this afternoon.   In the waiting room, there were these cute coloring books entitled, My Brother Has A Crooked Head.  It tells the story of a boy with a little brother who needs a STARband because he has Plagiocephaly.  The older brother imagines his brother in his helmet as an astronaut, a race car driver, and a football player.  We were laughing because those are all the adventures Linus has taken in his helmet already.  I picked up a few of the books for the little girls to read and color.

I pointed out the red areas on Linus' head and cheek, and the orthotist shaved the inside of the helmet so it fits loosely again. We need to go every 2 weeks to check the fit and progress. The orthotist also pointed out we still had the newborn padding in the car seat, which we pulled out. I guess my baby is not such a tiny guy anymore.  

Ready R2?

Today is my 1 week anniversary of blogging at “Adventures From Beyond the Crib.” Also, today, my blog reached 1,000 page views. I was told that was a pretty big accomplishment. I am sending a great big thank you to all my readers. Please, come follow me, keep reading, and share my blog with your friends. I hope you are having as good of a time reading as I am writing. I cannot wait until I have a full gallery of photos for Linus to look at when he is older (and for me to show all his future girlfriends.)

I was excited today to receive an email that I had received a few generous donations for the March For Babies. I am walking for the March of Dimes on May 6 at the Walkway Over the Hudson. If you are local, and want to join my team, Linus' Lemmings, please click on the March of Dimes link in the left hand column of this page.

For those of you who do not know, Linus was a micro-preemie, born at 24 weeks and 5 days. He spent the first three months of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It was three months of ups and downs (mostly ups.) Thanks to the wonderful nurses, caring doctors, and the March of Dimes, our time in the NICU was that much easier. Every day babies are born prematurely, small, and oftentimes sick. I am walking for these babies. I am walking for Linus' older brothers, Bennett and Elijah, who left this earth too soon due to pre-term birth. I am walking for Linus.

Linus has been a cranky boy today. If only those teeth would just break through. I hope Linus gets a good night sleep. Diane, the Physical Therapist, will be here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Time to get ready to stretch, stretch, stretch.

I hoped that a little Star Wars would brighten Linus' day. I can still remember watching Star Wars for the first time. My cousin had all the figurines in a case with a handle. I was only allowed to touch the extra Storm Trooper, but, boy, was that case cool.

Time to pop some popcorn, put in the DVD and snuggle on the couch with my favorite little ones

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.” -Yoda

What is your favorite Star Wars memory?  Please comment below.

Leapin' Linus

Happy Leap Day!  Linus enjoyed the snowstorm today. He spent the last day of February warm and cozy.  If Linus could talk, I am sure he would have been asking for hot cocoa with marshmallows.  Warm Neosure with rice cereal will have to do.

Geronimo!

Now I know why we were told to buy some fragrant shampoo for Linus.  That helmet gets very sweaty.  23 hours a day is a long time.

I brought Linus to gymnastics so he could watch the girls.  One of the moms there listed a bunch of kids she knows that needed to wear helmets for Plagiocephaly.  She said it seems to be very common these days.  Honestly, Linus is the first baby I know to have a helmet.  She also told me about her cousin, who needed to have surgery to correct her Plagiocephaly at 18 months, back before they used helmets.  I am very thankful Linus can be treated non-surgically.

Waiting for snow, wondering if we will have a snow day tomorrow, or Thursday.  It all depends on the timing and how much we actually get.  Maybe snowboarding or skiing will be in Linus' future.

The Viking Warrior

Linus had his first physical therapy session this afternoon. Miss Diane came to play today and the helmet came off for the hour. Now, whenever he sees Diane, I am sure he will be kicking his feet with happiness. Physical therapy went well, and after some stretching exercise, we saw that Linus, does indeed, have a neck.

As he has proven before, Linus was a warrior today. He took everything Diane gave him with a smile.

The Amazing Linus

Today was a cranky day. Linus needed to wear his helmet for 8 hours at a time with a 1 hour break. I am not sure if the crying was from the helmet or from those teeth that are soon to break through. Once he had a break from his helmet (and a little bit of Tylenol) he was happy. He started blowing raspberries at me, flashing those big gummy smiles and laughing. That's my boy!

Linus is like a (human)cannonball. He came barreling, full speed ahead, into our lives 16 weeks early. It was scary and exciting, not knowing what we should expect. Once he successfully completed his journey, we stood in awe and celebrated. Thank you, Linus, for amazing us every day.

Half(pint)back

1st Down

Home field advantage

Today was Linus' second day with  his helmet.  He had to wear it for 4 hours at a time with1 hour off .  When I took the helmet off of Linus last night to get him ready for bed, he breathed a loud sigh of relief.  Tomorrow, Linus will wear it 8 hours at a time with a 1 hour reprieve.  I still haven't let him know that once Sunday comes, it needs to be on his head for 23 hours.

Maybe, when Linus gets older, he will be a football player like his big brother, Evan.  Evan lives and breathes football.  He can't wait for his season to start in August and now, he will have his biggest fan cheering him on from the sidelines.

Blast off!

Astronaut Linus reporting for duty.

Lost in Space

Today is Linus' first full day in his new helmet.  He needs to wear it for 2 hours at a time, and then we are allowed to take it off of him for 1 hour.  He doesn't need to keep it on for naps or sleeping today.  Tomorrow, we go to 4 hours on and 1 hour off.

Hoping that zero gravity will help it to weigh less!