The only hat/helmet she's fond of right now. :)

Kate's 2nd helmet

Kate's 2nd helmet. This was done in August after our 4th visit with the orthotist, when i have previously expressed my concern with the first helmet's shape. I must say i'm impressed with this one, though now we still struggle with making Kate to wear it as much as possible. Not easy at her age since she is now asserting herself more, and forcing it on her is a difficult thing to do, for us and her. Posting this for the benefit of a fellow parent in the same boat as us from India.

Kate on helmet

Day 2 with the helmet: She's now slowly getting used to wearing her helmet. At times she plays with it, treating it as a basket for her toys. I tried painting it with acrylic today to make a ladybug design, but it seems the paint can't adhere to the material. So now we'll probably find some stickers we could design it with rather than using paint.

Clip happy!

More clips? :)

CarmenBand

No brand cranial helmet of Kate done by a local orthotist named Carmen. Looks good, except for the slanted side at the back which i'm still asking with the orthotist if it can be tweaked or if there's a special reason for it. I'll know when she gets back at my email.

Update: According to the orthotist, the slant at the back was intentional since it will aid in restricting the rotation of the helmet when worn. She added that it can be tweaked if it puts too much pressure on that side.

Kate's plagiocephaly

Two views from top

It's been a while now that we've noticed Kate's head shape as assymetrical. Since she was 6 months old we've already noticed her irregular head shape. We've tried positioning her to lie on the side away from the flat spot of her head but even after months of doing this positional therapy, it didn't improve her head shape that much, contrary to some success stories from the internet.

During her 10th month, we went to a craniofacial specialist in KKH and he ordered a CT scan, which we didn't get to do since during that period, Kate also got sick and hospitalised, and had bouts of diarrhea, hence, a follow up visit also fizzled.

It's only now, at Kate's 15th month, we're picking up on treatment options available for her head shape. I know it's only cosmetic, but if you're a parent, you would know our dillema. We actually had a schedule this morning for a CT scan again, but we canceled it for fear of radiation side-effects based on what we read in some websites. I'm now thinking we should've just had it done and get on with it. Guess we'll have to reschedule again next week and meet the specialist again as well.

There's a treatment in the US called the DOCband which we can try, but since it's only available in the US or Spain, we'll have to go there for her to be fitted with it. I have yet to find a conclusive answer if the treatment is available here in Singapore, so i've been enquiring in Australia too.

The other option available will be corrective surgery, which can be done here, but i have yet to justify to myself why we should consider an invasive procedure for my daughter's condition.

Fingers crossed, hopefully we'll have answers soon.

Couple of pics of Kate in a good mood.

Kate in good mood

Baby Kate steps

Me and Kate

31 years apart

Kate and her lego phone

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone..
Kate pics at Ninong Mike's place on Christmas Day.

Christmas 2007

Kate at 2008

Apologies for the lack of update on our baby blog. I've been: (choose an excuse for me)

a) lazy
b) busy with work
c) busy with facebook
d) busy with electronic distractions (PC, PSP, NDS, TV, DVDs and other acronym-named gadgets)
e) tired from the few events that happened while this blog has been in stasis
f) sick

Obviously i now have more pics to put here.

Kate's been hospitalised again for UTI infection last Dec, though this time they got it right. That was tiring. Any parent can relate with the stress and anxiety you'd have to go through in going to the hospital. I'm just glad Kate's didn't have to stay that long. After more than ten attempts by doctors to find a vein in ALL her limbs, trying to insert a needle for an intravenous drip, I asked the docs to reconsider making another attempt. They administered the first set of antibiotics by injections on her thighs. Fast forward four days, Kate got discharged but will need to finish a month's worth of antibiotics. Thankfully it's oral antibiotics. We still have a week and a half to go to finish.

At KK Hospital

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Kate's first Christmas eve was uneventful since she slept during the night, only opening her gifts (or us opening it for her) during Christmas Day. We spent the afternoon at her Ninong Mike's place where we filled ourselves silly with mocha flavoured custards, while Kate was playing with their big Christmas tree. She also got her Baby Big Bird present which she instantly nibbled the moment it was out of the box.



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Now she's still having bouts of diarrhea, which we're still not sure if its caused by the meds or a fish porridge she had few days before Christmas. Two doctor visits have already told us its nothing to be worried about, as long as she's eating and hydrating well. But just the same, we were given some Ridwind drops and Smecta powder to aid her tummy.