The details are set!

We have our appointments all set and ready to go! Here's the scoop:

Monday, July 2nd, 10:15: This day they'll do the casting that covers his whole head except around his nose and mouth. Since they do the casting in his diaper only and provide all bathing supplies, the only thing we are to bring is a pacifier and/or bottle to help pass the time (10-15 minutes). Then they send the cast to Pheonix where they make the band. Ten days later the band is completed. We have to pay a $270 copay at this appointment only. This fee includes everything from casting, to banding, to fitting, and all of his weekly appointments until he "graduates" from it. Thank goodness for insurance!

Tuesday, July 10th, 10:30: This will be the day he gets his band fitted. So we'll walk out the door this day with a helmet on his head! So maybe during the week in between the casting and the fitting we'll purchase a few sticker themes.

Don't worry - pictures will follow!

Mateo's Diagnosis

Okay, so Mat has moderate to severe Plagiocephalys with Congenital Muscular Torticollis (CMT). In plain English, his skull bones didn't form correctly in utero and neither did his neck muscles. The muscles are short and tight. So they did measurements and pictures today to determine the symmetry (or lack thereof) of his head and face. Normal asymmetry is roughly 2 mm difference between the left and right side of the body when comparing same points. Mateo's were at least double the difference in all areas except for the cheekbone to ear measurement - that one was a whopping 10mm difference. So this is what is making his ears uneven, one eye seem smaller, one side of head sloped, and his forehead protrude just a smidge.

So yeah, as soon as insurance gives the okay (should be within a couple days - and we're told that our insurance is one of the best to work with - especially given his extreme measurements - so that's a relief), we will proceed with getting him fitted for a DOC (Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty) band. **Edited to say that we found out that insurance will cover 90%!! Yay!** He has to get a casting of his entire head (sans mouth), which sucks because they have to put plaster all over him - including his eyes - for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then within one to two weeks he has his first fitting and begins to wear the band for 23 hours a day every day. Plus we continue to do physical therapy ourselves with him, and our physical therapist will come visit once or twice a week. We also will have weekly visits to the orthotist. To the right is a photo of a kid wearing a DOC band (not our kid, of course).

The good news is that he's young enough that they think it *could* take only 6-8 weeks of wearing the band. However, if he has a large growth spurt (which they think is possible), he'll have to have another casting done and get another band. This would obviously bring his time wearing the band to another month or two. So I'm expecting 5 months of wear just to prepare myself. I got to hold the band and see that it is indeed very light and shouldn't weigh him down too much. After the band part is finished, we will still have to continue therapy to deal with the CMT. And I suppose the other good news is that we can decorate his band (I'm trying SO hard not to call it a helmet!! haha) with stickers and fun stuff every week or so. :-)

On the downside, summer is a brutal time to wear a band, so no swimming and getting hot and sweaty. It'll be an indoor summer this year. Booo!! But it'll all be worth it to get this taken care of.
To see some photos of other kids with his condition, you can check out this link: http://www.cranialtech.com/ This is the place that we use.

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Rafi's first Father's Day. His big gift was given to him yesterday, but more about that in a second. Today we recovered from having a house full of people and dogs. We went to EZ's for malts and burgers and then to Fry's (of course) to get some electronic stuff. While Rafi got caught up on his Copa de Oro (Gold Cup) games, Mateo and I napped. Then we spent the evening playing on our new Wii!

So what did Rafi get for his first Father's Day? A whole new garage! I had been planning this surprise for months. As soon as Rafi left for his Seattle business trip on Wednesday, I sprang into action - removing all items from walls, priming walls and ceiling, painting walls and ceiling, installing new shelving systems, figuring out what stays and what goes, etc. My mom came Thursday evening to help (and boy did I need the help!). Thankfully Mat was a very good baby, so we were able to work fairly steadily. My dad came Saturday morning and was able to watch the baby a bit while we (and my friend/neighbor Deanna) finished up the final touches - sweeping, painting the ceiling, etc. I literally finished about 20 minutes before he and Greg arrived. Anyhow, I think Rafi is very pleased with the garage - I know I am!!

First Real Swim

Mateo had his first real swim in his own kiddie pool this weekend. While donning his first swim trunks (look how cute board shorts are on babies!), he braved the cooler-than-expected water and eventually sat and laid in it. He made lots of grunting sounds, which we took to mean that he liked it. And I think he did judging by the smiles he had afterwards. :)

Fresh Summer Haircut

I gots me a new do! I've never had hair this short before, but it sure is nice for summer!