Monday, December 29, 2008

Helmet Woes

Here are the thoughts I have been having in my head lately, almost non-stop:

"I can't let my son grow up with a misshapen head his whole life when I am able to do something about it!"
"But I don't want to make him have one more piece of medical equipment to bug him."
"Maybe it's not that bad, maybe we can fix it ourselves."
"Even if I always lay him on his side, he will roll on his back and the pressure will never be put on the areas that need it."
"How will he feel when he looks at his baby pictures and sees a helmet?"
"How will he feel when he looks at his baby pictures and sees a head that needs a helmet?
"So-and-so thinks it's a good idea."
"So-and-so thinks it's a bad idea."
"So-and-so says helmets always work."
"So-and-so says helmets often do not work."
"So-and-so's baby got a helmet and they are SO glad they got it!"
"So-and-so's baby was recommended to get a helmet, but they chose not to and they are SO glad!"
"Kids grow out of flat heads. Flat heads are very common now, since babies are supposed to sleep on their backs, but you never see adults walking around with flat heads (never mind that when we adults were babies, our parents put us to sleep on our tummies!)"
"There is only a small window of time, age 7-8 months, when a helmet can be effective, because that is when babies have their head growth spurt." (I would love it if someone could PLEASE tell me how old Boo is...8 months technically, 6 months gestationally, and 5 months developmentally...). If a baby needs his head fixed after that time, the skull bones must be broken through a series of four laser surgeries and the helmet process is much more drawn out and significant."
"If insurance pays for it, it will come out of our medical equipment funds, which we will max out very quickly with all the medical equipment we have and we will end up having to pay a TON."
"If insurance does not pay for it, we have to pay $1800, $900 on the first appointment."
"If we wait another few weeks, we can see if we can make any progress on our own, without a helmet. Then we will be better informed as to whether we need it."
"If we wait another few weeks, he may already be hitting his head growth spurt."
"If we get a helmet, a lot of stress will be relieved in that we won't have to constantly be moving him to be on his side...he could sleep on his back again and spend however much time in his bouncy seat. The helmet would fix all of our problems."
"A helmet is the easy way out for those who are unwilling to be diligent and patient and long-suffering, and have all other attributes needed to be a good parent."
"Now is a great time for a helmet...it is winter and he has to stay in anyway!"
"Who wants to have a helmet?"

OK, so what did I choose? I still didn't have my mind made up as I was driving to our appointment with the helmet people this morning, but by the time I got there, I gave the woman my card and paid the $900. It's over, and remarkably, my stress is considerably diminished concerning the matter. In ten business days, Boo will have a helmet, which he will likely wear for the next 2-3 months. No big deal. I am not sure if this is the "right" thing to do, or if there is even a "right" thing, but I definitely feel OK about it now, and any decision at this point is a step in the right direction. I hope all our decisions are not this difficult!

3 comments:

Chelsea said...

You are awesome, way to take those leaps of faith! Congratulations on all the little progresses. We LOVED your Christmas card too. SAM (especially Matthew) is a stud and looks so great in his cute vest!

Heather K. said...

ASHLEY!!! - You probably are thinking I am a freak because I found your blog... :)!!! I didn't even think to look at CarePages but I did find that too and am so glad that Matthew was home in time for Christmas! How great! I hope that you are all doing well. What a tough decision about the helmet. My sister had twins and one boy had a flat side of his head. They weren't sure about doing it at first because it was just a cosmetic thing but they are glad they did because if they didn't they would have to have glasses or helmets (football, ect.) made special for him. They are so glad they did it now which you may feel that way if you don't already. I thought my nephew looked pretty cute with one on! Again, glad that all is going well with you and your cute family!!!

A House United said...

Wow... my cousin's baby wore a helmut... he was the cutest thing ever... so don't let that stop you. But it sounds like you'll figure it out. :)