"Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune." - Carl Gustav Jung
Sometimes ya just have to swallow your pride...
You may remember last month when I posted Landon's 5 month photos and mentioned how he has plagiocephaly/brachycephaly and that we were leaning towards getting him a helmet. Well, we are taking him in for a head scan in a couple of hours so that they can make one for him. It hasn't been an easy decision for Andy and I to make. Our pride has been getting in the way of thinking logically about the whole situation. Our baby in a helmet? Yeah, right. He's perfect! He doesn't need anything like that. Oh wait, maybe he does. But what will people say? Is this our fault?
When you have a baby, your world revolves around their health and happiness. I thank God every day for how perfect Landon is. He is so happy and easy going and generally very healthy (besides the almost constant daycare cold). When this flat head issue started becoming more and more prevalent, at first I just ignored it. Maybe I felt a little bit ashamed - like it was somehow my fault. Maybe I should have ignored the SIDS warnings and put him to sleep on his belly. Maybe I should have strapped him in the ergo more often when he napped. Maybe, maybe, maybe. What if, what if, what if. And then the thought of my baby needing to wear an ugly, expensive helmet sent me into panic mode. Especially if it was somehow our fault!
But ya know what? I'm over it. I won't be ashamed of my decision to get him the helmet. And I've talked myself out of feeling any more guilt over his misshapen head. The doc says it's much more common in big, fast-growing babies like Landon. After all, for most babies the goal is to triple birth weight by 1 year - Landon has done that in less than 6 months!
So you may be wondering, does he really need the helmet? Nope. He could live a perfectly happy life with a not-perfectly-round head. But the world is a cruel place. And if I have a shot at taking even a tiny bit of unhappiness out of my kiddo's life, I'm gonna do it. Even if he has to look funny for a few months. Even though we are losing our trip to Hawaii.
I'm trusting that it will be worth it in the end.
He's such a sweet boy - it sounds like you are making an informed decision. :) Does this mean you aren't going to Hawaii at all? :(
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm pretty sure we have to cancel our Hawaii plans for this year. :( We just can't really afford to do that AND pay for the helmet (my insurance only covers some of it because I signed up for the high deductible plan this year - silly me). It's ok though. Hawaii will always be there.
ReplyDeleteHe is so stinkin' cute! And it WILL be worth it in the end...you are great parents for putting his needs first. You'll have to pimp out his helmet! He's so happy and cute that he'll just look extra adorable when he's wearing it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Mel! I will definitely be decorating the helmet. Landon will rock it out. :-)
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