Happy Halloween!

Brycen told Jeff he should dress up as grass for Halloween so that is what he did.  Ha ha :-)

Jeff had fun decorating our house.

8 months old!!

She is getting so close to crawling!!

McKinley's Head Update

The last time I updated about McKinley's neck and head issues we were waiting for a referral to Cranial Technologies for a helmet.  We finally got it and scheduled an appointment with them.  They took pictures and measurements of her head and of course they were quite adamant that her head shape was severe and that she definitely needed a helmet (We knew they would say that.  Our pediatrician warned us to not be swayed by their insistence.  Ha ha.)  They told us they would have their insurance coordinator call us in about 2 days to tell us what our insurance would cover and what our out of pocket expense would be and then we could make a decision. 

Two days later, we got the call we were waiting for and the news wasn't good.  We have amazing in-network coverage (no deductible, low copays, & 100% coverage) but because of that our out-of-network coverage is dismal.  Our deductible is extremely high ($10,000!!!) and until that is met we have no coverage.  Can you guess what network Cranial Tech falls under??  Out-of-network.  Of course!!  So, they offered us their "fantastic discounted rate" of $2,500.  So, we had a difficult decision to make and I agonized over it for nearly a week.  Is it really necessary to spend the money for a helmet or will her head eventually round out by itself??  Will we regret not doing it and will her head be oddly shaped for the rest of her life??  Is there another alternative??  That is when I began researching and discovered something called Craniosacral therapy (there's a definition of it here).  But basically a therapist can adjust the bones of the skull and help them go back into proper alignment.  So right then I made the decision not to do the helmet and scheduled an appointment for McKinley to have craniosacral therapy. 

It has been a month now and she has had one appointment with a craniosacral therapist and two with a chiropractor and the difference is astounding.  You can hardly tell there was a problem and you really have to look to see the asymmetries which used to be blatantly obvious before.  Before we started, she had a difference of 9mm between both sides of her head when they measured (they recommend a helmet if there is a difference of  >8mm).  Two week ago, it was only 4mm and she gets measured again tomorrow and I'm sure it's even less.  I can now say that I am so happy with the decision we made.  We didn't have to deal with the time, financial and emotional commitment of a helmet yet her head is still moving towards a normal shape.  Her head looks better every day and of course she just gets cuter and cuter.

This week I am going to take pictures of her head to compare with the ones that cranial tech took and I will post them just to show how awesome her head is doing!

7 months old!

First Day of School!

Brycen had his first day of preschool today.  He was so excited to go back and see Miss Kathy.  This year, he didn't cry and he just hopped right out of the car to see his friends.  Leah was the only one who cried.  She was mad that she didn't get to go too.  She has to wait until next year :-)

Brycen has grown up so much over the summer.  In the past few weeks he has learned how to pedal a bike (this is huge for him because he has never had an interest before), completely dress and undress himself, and buckle himself into his car seat.  He is also getting so good at writing his name and holding his pencil correctly.  He also draws really well and has a huge imagination.  He is such a big helper and always offers to help me clean.  His personality is really blossoming lately and he is quite funny.  But of course he is all boy and most of his jokes are about poopy diapers and baby bums.  Maybe because that's what he sees his mommy dealing with all day :-)  My little boy is growing up so fast and I love to see him learn and grow but it makes me a little sad too. 

6 Months Old!!

Her first taste of solid food.
17 lbs 10 oz
28 inches

McKinley Update

Now that McKinley has been in physical therapy for six weeks for her torticollis and plagiocephaly, I thought I would update with her progress. She is slowly improving. Her head tilt is less and her flat spot isn't getting worse so that is good. She is sitting up on her own now and rolling everywhere. She is so quick. I will put her down on the floor, turn my back for a few seconds and she will be in another room. She is tolerating 4 hours of tummy time a day and that is helping to strengthen her weak neck muscles. That was a chore to get her to like being on her tummy so much. She was not happy in the beginning. She now moves her head to different positions while she is sleeping, which is a huge improvement, and now she prefers to sleep on her left side which is great because it keeps the pressure off of the back of her head.

Next week, they will remeasure her head and determine if she needs to be referred for a helmet. They are almost certain that she will need one but we should know for sure after we have a consultation at Cranial Technologies. We are hoping to continue to see progress and that she will be able to have a normal head shape after her treatment.

Sitting up. Yay!!

Sleeping on her left side which is good for her head shape.