Braedyn's Noggin: The Latest

The short story is that we went to the doctor this afternoon and she said that Braedyn needs a helmet. If you look at the pictures above you can see a bit better as to why. The upper left picture shows you how his left ear is a bit further back than his right, and how that is causing the right side of his head above the ear to swell out. In the upper right picture you can see how his right ear is drooping lower than the left. The bottom two picture give you a bit of an idea as to the flatness on the back of his head, but since it isn't flat directly in the back it is hard to see; his flatness is more to one side.

In the pictures above you can see the asymmetry of his head. The first one shoes how the right side is rounder and a bit more filled out than the left. And in the second picture you can really see how much lower his left ear (right if you are looking at is) is much lower than his right ear.

The doctor thinks he will have to wear the helmet for approximately 8-10 weeks; the earlier we get it on him the better because babies' heads are growing at such a rapid rate. The helmet works by creating resistance in the areas we don't want to grow and no resistance in the areas we want to fill in. It isn't painful for the babies; the doctor said it is much more traumatic for the parents. The research done says that this can be caused inutero, from lack of space (which we know Braedyn experienced) and from delivery (he was squeezed quite a bit and had to wait in the birth canal why Dr. Gee drove to the hospital). It can also be caused from laying in a swing or car seat too long, but I don't think that he has been left either place for that extended of a period time. We will keep you updated as we know more. I should hear from the doctor soon and we will schedule his next appointment to have pictures taken so his helmet can be made. Allen's first words were, "At least it is during football season, so we can make him a Razorback football helmet." I am glad Braedyn could accomodate him!