Times Two

Today we did everything in doubles. Santiago wore two outfits, we went to Grandma Linda and Grandpa Hector's house twice and to Dynamics Orthotics for a helmet adjustment TWICE.

We had a good day but it was jammed packed. Santiago and I started with going shopping at Hobby Lobby for some frames to hang some beautiful pictures of Santi that we had taken when he was 3 weeks old. I have waited too long to get these great pictures on our wall and I am so excited to have half-price frames for them so I can finally hang them up. I love when Hobby Lobby has sales! I wore him in my Chicco backpack carrier to do my shopping and it was very convenient.

When we got home from shopping, I had to feed Santiago and myself and then head to Dynamics to get his helmet adjusted. When we walked in, the first thing that Aaron said to me was that Santiago is growing so fast and he isn't sure what else he can do to the helmet to make it do its job much longer. He has pretty much grown out of it. He made some changes to it and we went on our way. We picked Hector up at the house and headed to his parents house because his aunt and uncle and little cousin were there visiting and little Sarah wanted to see Santiago. We noticed that Santi's helmet was moving around way too much on his head and was not putting pressure on his head in any area which defeats the purpose of wearing the helmet. I called Dynamics and they told us to come back and Aaron would work with it again. So we visited for maybe 30 minutes tops, let Sarah hold Santiago and make him smile, and then we had to head back to the Woodlands to Dynamics. I also called Dr. T's office to see what he thought about the problems we were having and if we needed to come see him sooner than the end of the month.

When we were at Dynamics the first time, Aaron opened the helmet up as wide as possible from the screw in the back. I have been noticing that Santiago's head is growing upward and getting a little flat above his ears and on the sides in the back so I pointed that out to Aaron. That is what he meant when he said Santi was growing out of the helmet. Since we got the helmet when Santiago was about 2 months old, he said the sides of his head are the size of a 2 month old baby's head while the top is like a 4 month old baby's head. We have been putting pressure in those areas and restricting growth some to allow the right forehead area to catch up. It is what is expected to happen when you put a helmet on a growing head. So we had to go back for a second time because when Aaron opened the helmet up from the screw, it made the helmet slide around on his head too much. It was tight on the sides but we could almost take it off Santiago's head without undoing the velcro on the back. It's hard to explain but we knew it wasn't good. It wasn't putting any pressure on his head anywhere that it needed to be so Aaron added a big patch inside the back of the helmet to tighten it up. It is still not good, but it will have to do until next week. When we got back to Dynamics, Aaron also told us that he had just gotten off the phone with Dee at Dr. T's office to talk about the problems I had mentioned in my call to them. Dee also called us back and she suggested we bring Santiago in to see Dr. T soon. So we are going to see Dr. T next Tuesday and he will either tell us that we are finished wearing the helmet or tell us that we are going to have to get a new helmet made. I would love to hear that we don't have to wear a helmet anymore but I want it to be because Santiago's head is as perfect as it can be. So if we have to get another new helmet to keep working on the shape of his head - then that's ok too.

After we got back from the second visit at Dynamics, we went back to Hector's parents for a delicious Thanksgiving meal in June! I love turkey and everything that goes along with it so it was a nice treat! YUM!

Tomorrow Santiago and I will be flying to Midland for the weekend because my sweet niece Blake is getting baptized and I am honored to be her Godmother. I am so excited to see my family and spend some precious time with them. Packing for the weekend for myself and Santiago is an ordeal though. It's amazing how much you need when you travel with a baby!