Growth spurt, means amazing results in our latest check up!

   

The last three weeks (since out last helmet check up) have absolutely flown by. We have been to the Chiropractors 3 times, went to Cornwall to meet Grace, my beautiful niece, Grandma came to stay and did I my first wedding fayre. 

Proud sisters and their little ones - welcome to the world Grace and congratulations to Charlotte and Ross :)

In that time, we have got completely used to seeing Noah in his helmet. Gone are the days where I used to wonder what people were thinking when they saw it and no more do I feel nervous about taking him to new places. It is a part of him and to be honest, he actually looks a little strange when he hasn‘t got it on!!

Noah has become so mobile in the last few weeks, he wants to stand all the time and can now pull himself up. He mastered this in Granny and Grandad’s bath - eek! He is getting onto all fours more often and so we don’t think it will be long before he starts crawling. He is also rolling about a lot more and so his helmet is providing him with a bit of protection!! I think partly this spurt in movement is due to us being less worried about him lying on his back, and also removing his pillow from his cot - he has a new found freedom and he is loving it!

Playing with Great Grandpa's stick...

... and Great Granny's glasses - much to her delight!

The only negative side to the helmet in the last week or so is that it was getting harder to get it on and off. He was getting quite upset again when getting him dressed and putting his helmet back on. So we ended up getting dressed in front of the TV, ‘Show me, show me’ was an amazing distraction!!

At our check up this week, I had a little guess at the results and I wasn’t far wrong. All of a sudden, Noah’s head is looking so much better. It’s once flatter shape is a lot less noticeable.

In 3 weeks his overall head circumference has grown by 7mm! When he was measured at the initial consultation his head circumference was 463mm. It is now 478mm, an increase of 15mm since his helmet was made. Rachel (the consultant) though he must have had a growth spurt and was really pleased that we had caught this! His asymmetry (diagonal difference) is now down to 10mm (a reduction of 3mm since our last visit) and his front to back/side to side ratio is now down to 89% (from 92% last time).

We are truly amazed! In just one month of wearing his helmet, we are nearing half way there, such an amazing feeling. We are so lucky that we caught his growth spurt, but I think also being such a big little boy helps as generally he just seems to grow so fast.

Whilst we were there, Rachel adjusted his helmet for us. We had noticed that the front left was pushing into his cheek more and at the back the helmet had rubbed a little bald area. That night, I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to get his helmet on and also, the tears were gone. I wondered if it was just a fluke, but it has been the same ever since. So those small adjustments have obviously made a world of difference to Noah - hopefully his little bald patch will grow back now also! In fact, we can’t believe how fast his hair is growing now. We can’t wait until the helmet comes off to show off his new locks!!

So it is just under 3 weeks now until our next appointment. We have been advised to not expect that sort of amazing growth each time, but even so, we feel like we are well on target for Noah’s treatment being complete by his birthday. What an amazing present that will be :)

Our eyes were not deceiving us - great results already!

What a great week we have had. Noah had an appointment with Alistair the Chiropractor at the start of the week. He wiggled a lot, whilst Alistair was trying to work on him. As every week passes, Noah gets stronger and stronger and it is quite a challenge to keep him lying in a good position!
 

Wriggling aside, Alistair advised that overall Noah is much more balanced in his head, neck and back. Alistair also does some work inside Noah's mouth, feeling the roof of it (where all the skull plates come together). Again, he said that things are starting to feel good in there too. Thankfully this time, Noah didn't nip him whilst he was doing that part of the treatment!! It was great to hear that he thought things were improving as we had been thinking this too. His head no longer tilts to the side and he sits much more upright when in his high chair at mealtimes.

Then yesterday, Noah and I travelled down to Bristol for his first helmet check up with Rachel. When we arrived, we took his helmet off and Rachel put a stocking style hat on his head, flattening down his hair so she had a clear view when measuring it.

His head has grown well in the two weeks since we collected his LOCband, and although he has only been wearing it for 10 days full time, already Rachel was able to confirm that things are improving.

His asymmetry (comparing the diagonal measurements) has gone down from 15mm to 13mm. We have been advised that 3mm difference is average, and that they should be able to get Noah down to 6mm, maybe even lower. So that was great news. For us, the lop-sided-ness (at the back of his head) is the most noticeable of the two types of flat head syndrome he has.

She also measured his head front to back and then side to side. Noah was 94% at his original consultation (this is the cephalic ratio/Brachycephaly). 70-86% is 'normal', Noah is now down to 92%!

So all in all fantastic results. We are thrilled that already we can see the helmet and chiropractic work are changing his head shape – we weren't imagining it! It fills us with confidence that soon Noah's head will return to it's natural shape. As I mentioned in my previous post, life has settled into a routine now (with his helmet) and already time is flying – it really shouldn't be long before he is helmet free again :)



Bath times are cherished :)