Helmet Update 2.0

My Facebook status yesterday said "Bethany is desperately praying for a growth spurt for Owen in the next two weeks" and I wanted to explain a little more about where that came from. We had the 5 week check-up for his helmet yesterday and, while things are looking great, there is also a long way to go. Originally, I was told that the variance in his head measurements was 14mm, but yesterday, while we were reviewing his chart and taking new measurements, I was told that the original measurement was 20mm. That's huge, considering that the standard deviation is 6mm and they will recommend a helmet for anyone over about 11mm. So his measurements yesterday revealed that he is still at 11-12mm variance... and even though he looks SO much better, he still has a long way to go.

That's where the prayers are needed. He is starting to a) outgrow the helmet and b) run thin on the amount of foam that can be shaved inside the helmet to give him more room to grow. Last week I was told that he might only have 3 more weeks in the helmet. This week I was told that he might only have three weeks in the helmet, OR he might have two weeks in this helmet and then need a second helmet. If you remember, the helmet runs about $3600. I told her that I would really like to avoid the need for a second helmet if it's only for a week and her response was "oh no, if he needs a second band, he would be in it for an additional 8-10 weeks."

Wow, that's not what I was expecting! So the way around this is for Owen to have a major growth spurt over the next two weeks. She gave him plenty of room (foam-wise) in the helmet to grow and fill in, but we need his head to do the bulk of the work. If he doesn't hit the growth spurt in two weeks, we'll need the second helmet. If he does, then we're looking at only 2-3 more weeks total. You can see where prayers are needed.

So please join us in praying for some rapid growth (for both - we don't want to leave poor Eli with his 5th percentile head in the dust!). Funny that I used to dread growth spurts - and all of the extra feedings that go along with them - but now I'm eagerly anticipating it. Updates to follow