July 28, 2009

Melanie and Gwen took Cael for his weekly appt today. They shaved a bit more from the interior of the band. They said he is still looking good.

New Issue

Well, we've run into a bit of an issue. When I returned home from Fort Hood on Sunday, I noticed that a new bump had arisen on the front right side of his head. It appeared that the bump was caused by pressure on his head from the band while he was sleeping on his stomach. We had an appt on Tuesday, July 21, 2009. We inquired about it and the therapist said that she was pretty sure it would not be caused by the band, but to make an appt with our pediatrician asap. We scheduled an appt at UNT for Monday, July 27.

So, we will see what the pediatrician says, then return for our regular Tuesday appt with Cranial Technolgies. They are willing to do another digitized measurement. Will keep you posted.

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Good news, after an appt with our pediatrician, they said that the bump is nothing to worry about. Its normal for a growing baby to have little bumps and ridges where the plates are forming. He got more immunizations and took blood for a lead test. They PA said he is a picture of perfect health. He weighs 17.5 lbs and is in the 45% percentile. So, is about average for height and weight. Great news!

July 14, 2009 Appointment

No real news. The therapist said that his head had grown another 2 mm and that progress on reshaping his head is good. Look for the next post next week.

Twitter feed

You can also follow Cheeks' progress and see family updates on Twitter at macfarlane_fami

July 7, 2009 Appointment

Melanie took Cheeks to his weekly appointment. They shaved about a millimeter off some parts of the inside of the band. So far, his head is growing, but it's too soon to see a real improvement. Next appointment is July 14, 2009.

The Wrapped Band

Cheeks looks pretty cool if you ask his parents!

Decorating the DOC band

July 3, 2009:

The Cranial Tech website mentioned that we may want to decorate the band so it would not look so medical. So, I was perusing the discussion board on the Cranial Tech website and noticed a post. The man who posted the discussion had contacted 360Wraps about wrapping his son's band. 360Wraps wrap vehicles in advertisements. So, we called them and scheduled a session. They said it would be free, so we were all over that.

360 Wraps website

Tommy, the owner, installs the new wrap on the band.

Yes, that is a torch!

Dean measures the wrap to the band prior to the frog design is printed on it.

The guys at 360 Wraps are doing this for free for anyone who gets a DOC band. Please show them your appreciation and if you are looking to wrap something in advertising or for fun, please visit their website. I want to thank the owner, Tommy, for being so nice and for giving back to the community.

The First Days

Cael had no issues with wearing the DOC band. He didn't seem to mind it and didn't seem to bother him. He slept through the first night.

The Measurement

June 16, 2009:

Melanie and Gwen (Mel's mom) took Cael to the measurement appointment. They put a white head covering on his head and took lots of measurements. Here are some photos.

Consultation with Cranial Technologies

June 8, 2009:

Melanie took Cael for a consultation with Cranial Technologies. They said although his condition was mild, they recommended that he get the DOC band. So, Melanie scheduled another appointment to get his head measured.

The condition is below:

Plagiocephaly

You may have been a little startled to notice your baby's head developing an unusual shape. The condition is not uncommon, it's called plagiocephaly (pla'je-o-sef'ah-le), and often results from external forces applied to the soft infant skull.

It might sound complicated, but plagiocephaly literally means "oblique head" (from Greek: plagio = oblique, and cephale = head) It's called a parallelogram deformity because, if you look down on the infant's head (bird's-eye-view), this is the shape you will see. From this angle it looks as if half of the head has been pushed forward, often accompanied by misalignment of the ears, facial asymmetry and bulging forehead.

Cranial Technologies website

Noticing the problem and getting the prescription

Cael's head is flat in the back on the right side. He has two bumps above the right ear. So, we asked our pediatrician, Dr. John Podgore, about it. He suggested it could get better as he starts to sleep on his belly. It did not, so he gave us a prescription for an appointment at Cranial Technologies http://www.cranialtech.com/. They have a patent on a band that goes on the head to fix head issues with babies. It's called a DOC band.