6 month pictures

Charlie had his 6 months pictures taken, here are some with his band on..

 

Week 2

The band is going AWESOME!  The physical therapist was surprised by how much Charlies head has improved already!  Hopefully he doesn't have to wear it much longer but with all this good news... we've been cheating!  His band has been off quite a bit, it just always gets in the way!  It's big and bulky and uncomfortable and hard to snuggle!  He still wears it when he sleeps, which is most important since that's when his head is growing.  I'm going to try really hard this week to keep it on 23 hours a day, I just need to keep thinking- the more he wears it the sooner he gets it off!



45.8cm

Week 1

We came to a bump in the road.  The first 4 nights were great and Charlie had no change in his sleep pattern but then we noticed he was getting a red sore above his right cheek where the band was rubbing.  It really started to bother him and looked like it hurt :( he wasn't sleeping good at all and just couldn't get comfortable so we took the band off for a couple of days.. oops!  The physical therapist said it's because he has no neck (poor chubs!) therefore the back of the band is being pushed by his upper back up into his eyes and rubbing on his cheeks.  She suggested putting cortizone on the spot twice a day and she also softened the band on the spot that was rubbing.  Although the band was off for awhile, we still saw progress :) and now it seems to fit perfectly!  The band was on Charlie overnight last night and he slept 11 hours straight!  GO CHARLIE!


45.5cm 

The Day Has Come!

Charlie got his DOC Band yesterday!  So far so good, he didn't have to wear it to bed last night because we need to check every 4 hours for skin irritations.  I took the time off last night to decorate the band with designs I ordered from blingyourband.com.  He pretty much forgets that it's on after a couple minutes but he has had a few encounters with it where he tries to pull it off!  It seems like it fits a little weird, it falls down over his eyes sometimes and we're always having to straighten it out since it's a bit loose.  Tonight will be his first night with it on, wish us luck!

Not to sure about the helmet..

 Still a happy boy! 

He can still get his jump on!
 

The back of the helmet...
 

The side...

 

The Process Begins!

Charlie went in for his mold casting (at 5 months 2 weeks) :( I had been dreading it and was so worried I would cry harder than him!  He screamed and turned purple while we tried to calm him down, it was pretty horrible.  The good part is that it went by fast and was over before we knew it!  The pictures are sad but I must say they look worse than it really is.  It's definitely not as bad as I imagined!  The DOC Band will be here in a week.. stay tuned!

Dad holding Charlie down

SO sad :(

He managed a little smile

This is the saddest picture.. it doesn't even look like him!

Beginning pictures 44.8 cm..

Meet Charlie

This is Charlie O'Leary Gunn born on October 9, 2010.  He is the perfect baby.. always smiling and happy!  At 6 weeks Charlie began sleeping through the night (10-12 hours) in his crib.  That's when we began to notice his flat head.  The Doctor said at his 2 month appointment that it was no big deal, so we brushed it off.  In the meantime we switched Doctors and at Charlie's 4 month appointment his new Doctor did not hesitate to refer us to a specialist in Madison, WI.  The specialist found that Charlie's "flatness" was severe and recommended the DOC band.  After lots of worrying and contemplating we decided to go with it.  What's a couple of months in a helmet versus the rest of his life with a flat head?  I guess we'll find out!


Charlie at 1 week old.. such an angel!

  

This is Charlie's flat head.. 4 months old

Happiest boy in the world!  5 months old

Charlie with mom and dad vacationing in AZ... 5 months old