Dylan got a helmet to fix his flat head.
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Dylan was born at 29 weeks because I had placenta accreta and the placenta had eaten through my uterus wall. Unfortunately Dylan had to stay in the NICU for more than 2 months. The time spent in the incubator caused his head to flatten. It was obvious to me that his head needed work and I knew I had to find the right clinic to fix his flat. At this point, I went to Instagram @almosttripletsnyc and asked my followers for tips and suggestions on helmet providers. This is how I found the Hanger clinic. They fitted Dylan and off we went.
The first few days were very tricky. We had a ween in process, so each day we increased the number of hours he wore it. At first he screamed to take it off. We had to fully distract him, because as soon as he remembered it was on it went back to clawing it off. Of course I teared up multiple times, seeing him so uncomfortable.
Dylan became ok wearing it, but would get very sweaty underneath. It’s unfortunate that we were doing this during the summer months which made it tough for him to be outside.
Even when we were outside, people would always do a double take at Dylan. I forget that wearing a helmet is foreign to so many. When you are a nicu mom it felt like the norm. I had so many parents tell me their preemie child wore one that I thought nothing of it.
Dylan eventually graduated his helmet! It was a long 6 months but totally worth it. His head looks beautiful.
Dylan had severe brachycephaly, with starting measurement 100. His last hand measurement ended at 92.99, which is about 8% improvement. Typical improvement when you start at a number that high is only about 6% or 94, so Dylan did better than expected. Also, as he continues to grow, the natural growth of his skull is expected to round/fill out even more.
As cute as Dylan looked in his helmet, we are happy to say goodbye!
