The Adventures of the Doc Band Helmet

Last Friday Livie received her Doc Band Helmet from Cranial Tech.  She is doing okay with it but today she goes in for her weekly check up so they can make some adjustments.  I put the order for the design in on Tuesday so we should have a proof in about 8 days!  I can't wait to girly it up!  She also had her follow up eye exam on Tuesday and thankfully her eyes are perfect and she does not have ROP.

ROP is: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), previously known as retrolental fibroplasia (RLF), is an eye disease that affects prematurely-born babies. It is thought to be caused by disorganized growth of retinalblood vessels which may result in scarring and retinal detachment. ROP can be mild and may resolve spontaneously, but it may lead to blindness in serious cases. As such, all preterm babies are at risk for ROP, and very low birth weight is an additional risk factor. Both oxygen toxicity and relative hypoxia can contribute to the development of ROP.

I was pleasently surprised when the doctor said she didn't have to be seen until she was 4 like any other child.

Below are pictures of Livie's DSL scan to create the helmet as well as pictures of her first fitting.

DSI Pictures being done to make her helmet

Her first fitting

what is this thing?

starting to get used to it

playtime!

Pretty Girl!

Rockin' the Helmet!

The reason Livie has blue eyes

The reason Livie has blue eyes

I thought this was interesting and was wondering myself.  I always assumed she would have brown eyes since Weston and I have brown eyes but here is the reason in the article below:

Note: Weston's dad, brother, and sister all have blue eyes
My Grandmother(my mom's mom) had blue eyes too

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How Two Brown Eyed Parents Can Have a Blue Eyed Baby

M, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 1, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

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When my husband and I had our son numerous family members told us that his tiny blue eyes would eventually turn brown. My husband and I both have brown eyes so individuals who were unfamiliar with genetic laws assumed that two brown eyed parents would inevitably have a brown eyed baby.

When weeks turned into months and our son's eyes actually turned lighter blue rather than darkening to a shade of brown we had some individuals joke about the paternity of our child. While they may have done so in a humorous manner I did not find the comments funny at all. My husband and I are deeply in love and in both of our lives we have only had intimate relations with each other. The implication that my son might not be my husband's child was both insulting and offensive to me. After the first comment was made I thought back to my high school biology classes and remembered that both dominant and recessive genes could affect eye color. I then did a little bit of research so I could give and intelligent, scientific reason for my son having blue eyes.

When humans are born we inherit genes from both parents. Some genes are considered to be dominant and some are recessive. Dominant genes are more likely to produce a certain characteristic than a recessive gene. For instance, the gene for brown eyes is dominant over the gene for blue eyes or green eyes. The gene for green eyes is more dominant than the gene for blue eyes.

Two brown eyed parents can produce a child who has blue eyes if they each have a blue eyed parent of their own. This is the case for my husband and me. My husband's mother has blue eyes (b) and his father has brown eyes (B). Thus the genes he can pass on to his offspring are Bb. My mother has brown eyes (B) and my father has blue eyes (b). The genes I can also pass onto my children are also Bb. This means that our children could be born with either brown eyes (BB) or blue eyes (bb) even though we both have brown eyes.

Science Daily reports in an article from October 23, 2006 that two brown eyed parents who each carry a recessive blue eyed gene from one of their own parents have a 25% chance of having a child born with blue eyes. It is much more likely that two brown eyed parents will produce a brown eyed child because the gene for brown eyes is dominant, but as long as each parent also carries a recessive gene there is very real possibility they will have a blue eyed baby.

We had a second baby when our son was eighteen months old and though she is only nearing her fifth month of life we can already see that her eyes are turning brown. Unlike her big brother she inherited the dominant brown gene that we both carry. Biologically they are similar because they both carry our genes but the characteristics we passed on to her are different than her brother. Each has their own unique features that make them special and beautiful.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-two-brown-eyed-parents-blue-eyed-baby-2803241.html?cat=25

The Doc Band Helmet DSI appt

Today Livie went and got her DSI imaging done so they can create her helmet to treat her Plagiocephaly.  Two weeks ago they tried but she was in a horrible mood and her Torticollis was really bad and she was not having it that day.  Today went a lot smoother.  They got the images they need and her helmet will be done next Friday.  Once we get it we will head over to The Wrap Shoppe and have them pretty it up with an awesome design so she can look stylin' while she wears it.  We hope it will only be for about 8 weeks.

Giggle Giveaway!

http://mommypoppins.com/family/giggle

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This giveaway is for a $150 gift certificate to spend at giggle. Enter below and get extra entries by sharing the contest.

We're giving away all our top gift recommendations for this year in our Biggest Holiday Giveaway, with a different prize every day. This prize is only available for one day. If you are visiting this page and the contest is not running, check theBiggest Holiday Giveaway page to see what today's prize is and enter.

It's Christmas Time Once Again.....

 It's Christmas Time Once again and this year we get to celebrate as a family of 4!  

It's hard to believe that this time last year I was keeping my pregnancy a secret praying it would finally result in the birth of a healthy baby.  I prayed I would get through the first trimester for the first time in 7 years. Well, after 8 pregnancy losses, 1 adoption, and finally a successful pregnancy here we are today!  Kayla is finally a Big Sis and Livie is celebrating her 1st Christmas!  It's truly amazing what a difference a year makes!  I've waited years for this dream to come true and here we are!  I am so blessed and lucky to have 2 amazing beautiful girls and an amazing husband.

Livie meeting Santa for the first time!

Kayla and Santa

Double Stroller time!

My Livie in her Big Girl High Chair!

Kayla making Cookies! She's a Pro!!! Watch out Rachael Ray!  

Livie Marie 7 Months old!

It's hard to believe that Livie is already 7 months old.  Her current weight is about 11 pounds 6 oz now.  She is still attending weekly physical therapy for her tortacolis and will get her measurements done for her Doc Band Helmet to treat her plagiocephaly this Friday.  Her helmet will be ready on the 14th and then we will take it to the Wrap Shoppe to have them create a template to decorate it.  Our hope is that she will only have to wear it for 8 weeks or so.  Since she is so young (in her adjusted age) they said it should work really well and results should be amazing.  For those of you who do not know what Totacolis and Plagiocephaly is below is some info:

Plagiocephaly is a condition characterized by an asymmetrical distortion (flattening of one side) of the skull.^[1]

Plagiocephaly is the word that is used to describe a diagonal asymmetry across the head shape. This word particularly describes a flattening which is to one side at the back of the head and there is often some facial asymmetry.  It is a common finding at birth and may be the result of a restrictive intrauterine environment.The unusual head shape in plagiocephaly is caused by pressure in the womb giving a "diamond" shaped head when seen from above. In pronounced cases there may be flattening of one side of the head as well.

The incidence of plagiocephaly has increased dramatically since the advent of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome recommendations for parents to keep their babies on their backs.^[3] Treatments range from a simple repositioning of babies below the age of 5 months to more involved treatment with a helmet for children under the age of 18 months.^[4]

Often caused by inability of the infant to turn their head in one direction due to neck pain. This causes the baby to always be on the same side of the skull and it will become flat. Once normal movement is restored head begins to develop normally.

Here is a link to learn more about the Doc band we will be using.http://www.cranialtech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69&Itemid=18

Livie most likely developed this in-utero when my water bag ruptured early and there was little fluid for her to move around.  She was also breech which meant we had to do an emergency C section.

Torticollis is a twisted neck in which the head is tipped to one side, while the chin is turned to the other.  She is in physical therapy for this and it will resolve once her neck gets stronger and she grows.