Helmet Day 1

As you can see, Hector had longhorn stickers all ready to go for Santi's helmet. As soon as he came home from work yesterday, Hector put the horns on the helmet. We have a future longhorn on our hands. Hook 'Em!

We decided yesterday to start fresh this morning wearing the helmet instead of beginning day 1 yesterday afternoon. When Santiago woke up this morning, I put the helmet on him and fed him. Since today is Day 1 he has to wear the helmet every other hour when he is awake. He is not supposed to nap or sleep through the night with the helmet on today. The reason for the slow transition is that it allows Santiago to get used to wearing the helmet. It's going to be hot so his body has to learn how to cool itself in a different way. Usually the head is a main source for heat to escape through the body so they said his body will redirect the heat eventually. Also, the slow transition will allow us to see if the helmet is rubbing his head too much in any area. We don't want him to get any sores on his head so we have to inspect for red spots when we remove the helmet. So far so good.

We have a pretty good routine usually of eating, being awake and sleeping. We beging by eating which takes about 45-60 minutes from start to finish because I am breastfeeding, then Santiago is awake for about an hour after eating before he gets fussy and ready for a nap. During his waketime, we play on his playmat, have tummy time, swing, read books, sing songs, go for a walk, etc.

Today has gone pretty well. He does not seem to mind the helmet. He has cried a little when I put it on him and I don't blame him because it is a little difficult for me to hold him in a good position where I can easily put it on. This is only because he is so young and does not have complete control of his head yet and cannot sit up by himself. Luckily we only have a few days of me having to take the helmet off and on because in 5 days time he will have to wear the helmet for 23 hours. It will only come off at bath time. Today each time I take the helmet off his hair is all sweaty so I know he is hot. He is wearing only a onesie today with no pants or socks on. When it is time to sleep, I cover him up and put his socks on so his feet aren't cold. Hector may get his wish of keeping the house colder like we used to. We used to keep it pretty cold before Santi was here but we have raised the temp since he arrived. Santiago and I are usually confortable with the temperature in the house but poor Hector is always burning up.