{Our Journey Begins}
Yesterday was the day we picked up Emma's helmet from Hanger's. I was extremely anxious walking in and could feel the weight building in my chest as we made our way back to the exam room. It had already been a rough day, few naps and tough teething so she was really clinging and overly tired.
We talked through a few things and they let us see her pretty pink helmet, feel the flexible plastic and light weight foam. Then it was time to get her fitted. As soon as they placed the helmet on her for the first time, she began screaming and crying hysterically and of course, I was close to follow. Bryan held Emma as they made marks on the helmet of areas to cut out, then left the room to make adjustments. I truly don't know who was crying harder at this point, Emma or myself. Poor Bryan. After a couple minutes, I pulled myself together. I didn't want her to see me cry and when she looked at me, I of course smiled and she smiled back.
We went through the back and forth fitting and cutting 3 times before they had a good fit for her head. I held her one of the times so Bryan could learn how to put it on, then Bryan held Emma for the last time so that I could learn how to put it on her properly, too. We got all of the daily care instructions and also received the wearing schedule for the 1st week as we ease her into the 23 hours a day. It is a 7 day process, lengthening the wear time each day in doubling increments.
Having a night to just let things settle was really needed for me. I tried not to think about it once we got home. I just got her snuggled up and ready for bed and told myself that we would begin the day with a courageous heart, for Emma.
First thing this morning, our journey began. She fussed for a few minutes after I put it on for round one, but slowly got used to it as we played on the floor. I placed her hands on it for her to explore and she seemed to enjoy the velcro sounds and texture as well as the smooth surface. Nonetheless, when that hour mark was approaching she was ready to have it off.
She gave me a little smile to show Daddy how good she was doing!
The schedule for day 1 was: One hour on, one hour off - no helmet for naps or sleep.
The second round went even better. She sat still while I got it on, centered it up and got the velcro together, then the sweetest thing happened. She reached up, felt it with her hand, looked up at me and smiled then began playing like normal. My eyes filled up with tears. This was an absolutely life changing moment for me. Right then my heart calmed and I couldn't help but feel that it was Emma's way of letting me know that she was going to be just alright... Her way of saying, I've got this, Mom. Everything is going to be fine and that I don't need to worry about her so much. But what she may never understand is that I will never stop worrying about her, for the rest of her life, because she is our pride and joy and the burning purpose for all that we do. I don't know what we would ever do without her and moments like these are just affirming reminders to me of the undeniable, undeserving gift God has given us.
She played that whole hour without fussing. I must say, an added benefit already is that when she really got cruising, going after one of her toys, her back end started out running her front end and she bonked her head on the ground. But, with the protection of the helmet she just looked up and smiled then started off again. I have a feeling our little dare devil will become even more ambitious now that she has some added protective gear. ;) I took her into her room to look at herself in her helmet and she got a kick out of that. She leaned in close, then looked up at me, then looked back at herself and giggled. She wasn't sure who that good looking baby was in the mirror but she sure had some neat head accessory! No, she knew it was her, she felt the helmet again as she looked at herself and couldn't stop smiling. And with tears in my eyes, neither could I. She looked so perfect.
We talked through a few things and they let us see her pretty pink helmet, feel the flexible plastic and light weight foam. Then it was time to get her fitted. As soon as they placed the helmet on her for the first time, she began screaming and crying hysterically and of course, I was close to follow. Bryan held Emma as they made marks on the helmet of areas to cut out, then left the room to make adjustments. I truly don't know who was crying harder at this point, Emma or myself. Poor Bryan. After a couple minutes, I pulled myself together. I didn't want her to see me cry and when she looked at me, I of course smiled and she smiled back.
We went through the back and forth fitting and cutting 3 times before they had a good fit for her head. I held her one of the times so Bryan could learn how to put it on, then Bryan held Emma for the last time so that I could learn how to put it on her properly, too. We got all of the daily care instructions and also received the wearing schedule for the 1st week as we ease her into the 23 hours a day. It is a 7 day process, lengthening the wear time each day in doubling increments.
Having a night to just let things settle was really needed for me. I tried not to think about it once we got home. I just got her snuggled up and ready for bed and told myself that we would begin the day with a courageous heart, for Emma.
First thing this morning, our journey began. She fussed for a few minutes after I put it on for round one, but slowly got used to it as we played on the floor. I placed her hands on it for her to explore and she seemed to enjoy the velcro sounds and texture as well as the smooth surface. Nonetheless, when that hour mark was approaching she was ready to have it off.
She gave me a little smile to show Daddy how good she was doing!
The schedule for day 1 was: One hour on, one hour off - no helmet for naps or sleep.
The second round went even better. She sat still while I got it on, centered it up and got the velcro together, then the sweetest thing happened. She reached up, felt it with her hand, looked up at me and smiled then began playing like normal. My eyes filled up with tears. This was an absolutely life changing moment for me. Right then my heart calmed and I couldn't help but feel that it was Emma's way of letting me know that she was going to be just alright... Her way of saying, I've got this, Mom. Everything is going to be fine and that I don't need to worry about her so much. But what she may never understand is that I will never stop worrying about her, for the rest of her life, because she is our pride and joy and the burning purpose for all that we do. I don't know what we would ever do without her and moments like these are just affirming reminders to me of the undeniable, undeserving gift God has given us.
She played that whole hour without fussing. I must say, an added benefit already is that when she really got cruising, going after one of her toys, her back end started out running her front end and she bonked her head on the ground. But, with the protection of the helmet she just looked up and smiled then started off again. I have a feeling our little dare devil will become even more ambitious now that she has some added protective gear. ;) I took her into her room to look at herself in her helmet and she got a kick out of that. She leaned in close, then looked up at me, then looked back at herself and giggled. She wasn't sure who that good looking baby was in the mirror but she sure had some neat head accessory! No, she knew it was her, she felt the helmet again as she looked at herself and couldn't stop smiling. And with tears in my eyes, neither could I. She looked so perfect.
After playing pretty hard, she took a 2.5 hour nap, then we were ready to take on the rest of the day. She didn't fuss again any of the times we got it on. We played a lot and watched her favorite Baby Einstein videos. She motored around in her "princess mobile", with my help of course. {This is one of our favorite activities because we chase Daisy dog around the house - Emma gets squealing pretty loud & Daisy has a lot of fun too.} We even practiced eating some blueberry "puffs". She is getting pretty good with that. We are about 1 for 6 today; Daisy has become her best friend since she started learning to feed herself. For every 1 that she gets into her mouth to gum up, 6 fall to a little black lab sitting under her high chair like a piranha.
Watching World Animals before her afternoon cat nap. <3 This is when she turns into a little sleepy girl! She loves her little silky blanket when she gets tired and right after waking up from naps.
We got her bathed and down for bed and once she was asleep I started planning out how the daily routine will look once she is wearing it all day, minus the one hour wash/dry time before bed. Of course I had already sanitized it once this morning before she woke up because she certainly wasn't wearing a helmet that wasn't washed by me efficiently beforehand. I repeated the same process tonight; I wipe it down with an alcohol/water solution rinse, then scrub it with a toothbrush using the shampoo her skin is already used to. It smells lovely and is squeaky clean ready for tomorrow!
I believe we will get the hang of this in no time. Some little girls get headbands and bows; Emma gets a sweet pink helmet and she certainly couldn't look any cuter!
God Bless,
The Stone's
If this is the first you have heard of or seen Emma's helmet, educate yourself on the topic by reading our blog post found here:
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