DOC Band Follow-up

We made the trip to Annandale on Tuesday just to be asked to come back today.  Sydney still had redness and one of her bumps had a white-head.  The technician said she didn’t want to chance popping the white-head by putting the band on.  Sooooo today we made the trip just to be told that we need to come back Monday – this time because the bump that had the white-head now had a small scab and is raised a bit.  One of the other bumps now has a white-head too.  We are still using the cream the pediatrician prescribed so hopefully by Monday the bumps will be healed enough to get the band fitted and at least be able to come home with it but we shall see…..stay tuned.

DOC Band Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update on Sydney’s DOC Band - Sydney developed a rash on her scalp where the band covers.  The rash also extends down her back.  We took her to the pediatrician this past Thursday and the pediatrician said she believes the rash to be heat rash.  Since Sydney has had the rash for a few days, she gave us a steroid cream to use on it.  We left her band off for the rest of the day and night because Friday was Sydney’s scheduled DOC Band appointment.  When we took her for the DOC Band appointment, the technician advised us to keep the band off of her and come back Monday, 1/30/12, if the rash is gone (they even kept her band to ensure we didn’t put it back on her).  The technician also said the rash looked like heat rash.  She said heat rash is common but putting the band on while there is any redness will irritate the area.  As of tonight, Sydney still has 3 little spots with redness so we probably won’t be taking her back to Annandale until Tuesday at the earliest for her band appointment.  One good thing that came from the appointment is that as part of the treatment, a mold was made of Sydney’s head before the band and we were able to feel the mold and feel her head and there is progress already!  We could feel a difference in the back right side of her skull J  Let’s just hope that the band being off for nearly 5 days doesn’t cause any delay!

5 months & DOC Band appointment

Yesterday, (her Daddy’s birthday), Sydney was 5 months old!  She is beginning to roll from her belly to her back as long as she is prompted.  She has figured out she can suck her thumb while on her belly so instead of lifting her big noggin, she would rather just lie there and suck on her thumb…it didn’t take her long to figure that out!  Her head control is getting much better and she’s starting to be interested in grabbing at toys. She is most interested in toys that make noise and have lights.  Here is her 5 month picture:

Today was the appointment to get Sydney’s DOC Band.  First, the technician put the band on her head to make sure it fit properly.  She had to make a few adjustments before it was just right.  Then Sydney had to wear the band for 15 minutes so the technician could check for redness on her skin.  She had a couple of red spots and tweaked the inside of band a little more.  After the technician was satisfied with how the band was fitting she showed Steve and I the proper way to put the band on and take it off and told us how to properly care of the band.  Between tonight and tomorrow we have to check her every 3-4 hours to see if she continues to get any redness.  If she does, we have to leave the band off until the redness goes away.  If everything goes okay, she should be wearing the band for 23 hours a day by this Sunday.  One of the most important things they told us was to keep her cool because the band will hold in body heat…Steve is glad of these so called “doctor’s orders” so he can keep the house cooler! LOL!  They also gave us a leaflet on things to use to decorate the band – I plan to hit the craft store tomorrow!  Sydney doesn’t seem to mind the band and was smiling at the technician the entire time today.  Here are some pictures of her with the band on:

at the Cranial Technologies office

front view

top view

reveiw view

Laughing baby!

I took this video tonight before bath time

DOC Band appointment

This past Friday we took Sydney to Annandale for another try at taking images for her DOC Band.  This appointment went a whole lot better than the last one.  It only took about 10-15 minutes for the images to be taken.  Sydney was much more comfortable this time and willing to work with the technicians.  Once they confirmed there were good images, the technician showed Steve and I the pictures.  Her exact words were Sydney’s head shape is “complex”.  She has bulging and flattening at different spots on all sides of her head.  With her head being complex, the technician also advised that her head shape will most likely require a second band after she outgrows the first band.  We will take Sydney back to Annandale on January 13^th to get her band.  That appointment will take about an hour.

Christmas and the New Year

Everyone had a great Christmas but Sydney had an especially great first Christmas!  She was showered with gifts from friends and family.  Although she really didn’t get into the whole present thing, she seems to be enjoying the toys and clothes she received.  Christmas morning we first Skyped with Steve’s family so they could watch her (us) open half of Sydney’s gifts and then we Skyped with my Dad and Step-mom so they could watch her (us) open the rest of her gifts.  Later Christmas day we went to my mom’s and had dinner and opened gifts there too. We were also able to Skype with my brother, his family, and my grandmother.  It was nice to be able to see everyone who lives so far away on Christmas.

The start of 2012 brings us closer to Sydney getting her DOC Band.  Friday, January 6^th, we go back to Annandale to have images of her head taken.  When we went for images last time they were unable to get good ones but this time should be better as her head control is 100 times better than it was.  Provided the images go well, she will get her DOC Band on January 13^th then we will go back once a week to have the band adjusted.

4 months old!

Sydney is 4 months old today and over the past week she’s been busy!

Sydney visited Santa on December 3^rd.  Pratt Medical Center (where Mom works) holds a Santa party each year for employees and their children/grandchildren.  Mom signed us up, which I was thankful for so we did not have to fight the line at the mall, and she got Sydney a pretty dress to wear.  Santa arrived, read a story, and the kids got to go up and tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.  Sienna (my niece) was with us and she told Santa what she wanted (nail polish) and then it was Sydney’s turn.  Sydney was hot, hungry, and tired so she was not happy about hanging out with Santa…LOL…here’s a picture of her visit:

On December 9^th, we went to Cranial Technologies for an appointment for pictures of Sydney’s head so her DOC Band could be made.  We spent about an hour there and they took several sets of pictures.  Although the attempt was made, the pictures were not good enough for making the band.  They said if the pictures aren’t precise, the band may not fit well and cause irritation.  Her head control is better than it was but needs to get a little better so she doesn’t require so much assistance when they are taking the pictures.  We go back on January 6^th to reattempt the pictures.  If all goes well at that appointment, we will go back on January 13^th to get her band and then go back every week for adjustments until she no longer needs to wear it.

Today was Sydney’s 4 month pediatric appointment.  She is 24 in long (35 percentile), weighs 13lbs 2.6 oz (45 percentile), and her head is measuring 44.75 cm (98 percentile – this is usual for her).  Her pediatrician says she is growing right on track and she looks good!  She got two shots and an oral vaccine today.  Here’s us at the pediatrician’s office..she was sooo sleepy:

Here’s a comparison of how big she has gotten….the picture on the top is from her first doctor visit the one below it is from today: