Super mad!

Levi has been doing really well with his helmet....until today. When I dropped him off at daycare everything was fine. His "teacher" called around 1pm & said he had a pink spot where the helmet was touching his cheek. Ok, the helmet is supposed to fit snug, especially on the parts that are too far out, so I thought it was ok, he usually is pink on his forehead & back of his head. I thought nothing of it. She made it seem like it was nothing. Today when we get home I notice he has a bad odor about him so I took the helmet off to clean it. As you can imagine, it gets sweaty in there. OMG my poor baby! His face was basically blistered! There was a huge RED spot, not pink. It's swollen, bruised, & soggy, almost like its raw. I could cry. I smelled his face and gaged. I guess as he drank his bottle some milk went down his face & got behind the helmet. All day my poor guy sat in sweat & sour milk. Not only is his face raw, his neck is too! I'm disgusted & heartbroken. This helmet thing is doing more harm than good so far. I emailed a picture to his dr. And she called me right away to say that I need to leave the helmet off for at least 24 hours & send her new pictures tomorrow. So now, not only is his face raw, the expensive helmet is not even able to be used. I'm so mad I could just give up with the whole thing, but I won't. This is going to be a long 3 months! I guess I need to have a talk with the daycare in the morning, which I hate doing. I hate sounding like the griping parent!! The neck thing has already been an issue though. I can get it all cleared up over the weekend & by Monday when I pick him up, it's raw again. He has very sensitive skin so I'm wondering if his skin will reject the helmet for good. I can't deal with this on his face. (it's actually red on both sides, but the other side is just red, not raw) prayers for my boy, please!

Proud of my parents!!

The before picture was taken at my brothers wedding in May of 2009. The after picture was taken this past October of 2011. I am so proud of both of them for their determination to get healthier! Both of them feel great and are happier than ever!! Congrats Mom & Dad - y'all look great!!

Levi update

We went today for Levi's helmet fitting. It went well. The dr. came in with the helmet, put it on him & marked where adjustments needed to be made. Once she walked out the door I lost it. I felt so sorry for this little boy who is going to be stared at not because he is so handsome & adorable, but because he looks like he's about to go bike riding. (even Cori thinks its a bike helmet.) he is just so tiny & I can't help but to blame myself. I wish I would have ignored everyone who says back sleeping is the way to go. If I would have listened to my mom & all the other mothers & laid him on his tummy we wouldn't be in this situation. I wish I could go back for a re-do. Anyway I got myself together before she came back in & eased up a bit. Who cares if people stare. Who cares what they think. He's still my little bundle of perfect no matter what. I'm getting used to it already & he seems to be handling it just fine too. He doesn't have to sleep in it for a a week or so so right now he's in the "getting used to it" stage. I think he will do fine. Three months to go!

He's so cute, I think.

Helmet Confessionals

So unfortunately our little Levi will have to wear a cranial molding helmet for 3 months (23 hours a day).

We went again on Tuesday for the 2nd set of head scans to see if the flattening of his skull had gotten worse or better. It got worse. They said he has grown in the last 5 weeks and his head is growing in the deformed shape, rather than evening out into a nice round shape. The Dr. advised me to go forward with the helmet b/c the placement of his flat spot is right where the suture of the skull meets. She said we will see great results with the helmet. Better to get it over with now and know that it will be forever fixed. The main thing she was concerned with was his ear placement. His right ear is very much more forward than his left ear.

This picture is as if his head was see through, you can see the right ear in the darker blue, and the left ear in the lighter blue. The back of his head is kind of exaggerated in the angle I took the pic, it is not that big. His forehead is symmetrical, and so is the rest of his face so that is excellent news! The first scans showed that his chin was kind of going to one side...but that has corrected its self.

We ordered his helmet and scheduled his fitting for next Thursday. I chose a camo print for a few reasons. It's camo...so you can't see it, right? (And I love all things camo). All the other ones for boys were so lame. Teddy bears, dinosaurs, race cars.....I wanted it to be the least noticeable as possible. They mentioned going with a plain white one, but the lady at the front said after a while it looks yellowish and icky, no thanks. The girl options were much better....they even had a light solid pink....but no light solid blue....whats up with that? I told James we gotta go shopping this weekend and buy everything we can in camo so he can at least match the majority of the time. I hope it's not an ugly camo though.

The first time they sent the request to the insurance company they immediately denied it. They asked us to come in for scans at that time. After they sent the scans, numbers, and pictures of our tiny human, someone must have felt sorry for him (or loved his sweet face) because the second request was accepted. You'd think this would be good news.....eh, not so much. Because my employer does not offer me health insurance and James is self employed, we have a private policy that is NOT cheap. The only way to make it affordable is to have a high deductible ($5000). So we are out of pocket for the entire cost of the helmet, which is $2500. (That had to be paid up front on Tuesday) **Side Note, just because I'm feeling sorry for myself: If we could have done the helmet for Levi in December we would not be of pocket for the helmet. We met our deductible about 3.5 times in 2011 because I had maternity care, labor and delivery of this sweet boy with absolutely zero maternity coverage.** Bleh, Levi needs a job, he's going to make us homeless! I could have bought him a nice car, but instead he just gets to be born and have a nice round head. I'm kidding - I'm happy that we can do whatever it takes to make him perfect. The only good news about the insurance accepting it is that we get their contracted price of $2500. With no insurance the price was $3250. I'll take the savings any day!! also it goes towards our deductible early in the year encase anything else were to happen.....which it better not.

Anyway, I'll quit boring you with the details, but if you get time, please pray that this very expensive and tiny gear works wonders for Levi and that he is happy and content wearing it. I am so, very worried about the next 3 months to come. I hope he isn't miserable. I hope he knows I'm trying to do what is right for him. Also, please pray that I keep my cool in public when people stare out of curiosity or think that something is wrong with him. I know he is going to look silly but I am really not ready for the stares and the questions. Pray that I have patience with people that just want to know what is going on, and that I have the emotional control to explain to them and teach them about it. This is hard for me. I like to blend in, not stand out.....I have a feeling this will make us stand out. 

xoxo

59 Things to do before I'm 60

Just 59 things I wanna do before I'm 60
(no particular order, some I have already accomplished)

1. Sky Dive
2. Take dance lessons with James
3. Run in a marathon
4. Visit all 50 States
5. Create a charity foundation
6. Cruise to Alaska
7. Go Sailing
8. Go Parasailing
9. Make a hole in one
10. Ride a horse on the beach at sunset
11. See the Grand Canyon
12. Go to a Shooting Range
13. Learn to say "Hello" in 50 languages
14. Create a Large and Detailed Family Tree
15. Learn to Play the Drums
16. Sing Karaoke
17. Go to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville
18. Jump off a Cliff into Deep water
19. Swim with Dolphins
20. Visit the Titanic in a submarine
21. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
22. Drive a Race Car
23. Hike in a Rain Forest
24. Zip Line
25. Ride a Mechanical Bull
26. Break a Guinness Record
27. Ride a Dirt bike
28. Visit the San Diego Zoo
29. Watch Turtles Hatch and run for the ocean
30. Hug A Koala Bear
31. Go White Water Rafting
32. See Pyramids in Egypt
33. Visit The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
34. See the Mona Lisa Paining in Person 
35. Ride on the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world
36. Visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris
37. Climb the Statue of Liberty
38. See the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
39. Visit the White House
40. Visit the Four Corners
41. Go to VEGAS
42. Mardi Gras in New Orleans
43. Learn the Rules of Chess
44. Learn Calligraphy
45. Retore a Classic Chevy Truck
46. Solve the Rubik's Cube
47. Finish a quilt
48. Meet the President of the US (not necessarily the current one)
49. Meet Yao Ming
50. Invest in the Stock Market
51. Donate Blood
52. Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen
53. See a Cirque Du Soleil Show
54. Go to the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockerfeller Center
55. New Years at Times Square
56. Sleep in a Haunted House
57. See a Ghost
58. Be a member of the audience at a TV show
59. Visit a movie set

Levi Update

we went for his scans last Thursday. It was so neat to see them do it. They put this sock over his head with a transmitter and waved a wand around his head and the model of his face popped up on a screen. She took all this measurements and called him a 9.

1-4 is normal

4-7 is mild

7-14 is moderate

anything above 14 is severe

Usually any time a baby reaches the moderate level they recommend the helmet but since he is in the very low range of moderate she is leaving the choice to us. 

Insurance:

On the first attempt they denied the claim for the helmet calling it cosmetic. Now that we have scans done they sent the scans and pictures to the insurance to see if that would help. It will take 30 days to hear back from them. The scans are only good for 14 days. They said there is a chance of them accepting on the 2nd attempt so its worth the wait.  **We will still have to pay out of pocket b/c we have not met our deductible, but if they accept, we will get their contracted price of $2500, rather than the cash price of $3250.** 

Since they are only good for 14 days and it will take 30 for the insurance to respond, new scans will be needed. The Dr. said that since he is so low in the moderate level that we should wait on the insurance to respond, and then wait an additional 2 weeks to see how the scans change. She seems to think that a helmet will not be needed and we will see a change for the BETTER in 6 weeks. I was worried about waiting but she says that his soft spot is still large and he has time. Babies hit a growth spurt between 7-12 months so that is prime time to wear the helmet. After he turns one a helmet will not be very effective b/c his growing will drastically slow down for a while. He is sleeping on his belly now, spending more time on his tummy, and exersaucer toys so she thinks that since he won't be on his back so often that it will get better. I'm a happy momma, for now. Wish him luck!

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So Easy....

A Three year old can do it!


Yep, Cori cooked dinner last night! 

Last week I attended a Tupperware part at my cousin's house. I promised myself when I left the house that I would not purchase anything, and I would not agree to host a party. I stuck to my guns. I did both. This stuff was amazing. Have you heard of cooking in the microwave? I'm hooked. They sell a set called the TupperWave Stack Cooker. (don't look at the price and think i'm crazy. I usually NEVER spend that much on something like this but if I use it a lot, like I plan to, it will be worth the money) You can cook a full meal in the MICROWAVE in just minutes!! The rep for Tubberware demonstrated and fed us as part of her tactic to sell the crap tupperware. What a good idea she had. Last night my box came in and I prepared dinner for James, Cori & Myself. Everyone loved it. Cori especially loved "cooking" dinner for us!!  (excuse the pics, they are straight off my phone)

BOTTOM LAYER:

1 cup rice

1 cup water (I used 1.5cups of chicken broth for flavor)

1. Pour in Rice

 2. Pour in Broth

MIDDLE LAYER:

2 Raw & Diced Chicken Breasts

1 Package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

3. Put diced chicken and ranch mix in a microwave cereal bowl shake it up so the dry mix is distributed evenly on the chicken.

4. "Plop" the seasoned chicken on the 2nd level. 

Spread it out in a donut shape around the edges 

TOP LAYER:

Fresh or frozen veggie of your choice. 

1 tsp water

5. I used fresh broccoli with 1 tsp water.

YOU'RE DONE - PUT IN THE MICROWAVE, UNCOVERED FOR 25 MINUTES. 

After 25 minutes in the mircowave, mix the top and middle layer into the bottom serving bowl and serve. I totally forgot to get a pic, dangit! It was so good and believe it or not the chicken was cooked all the way through and it was SO moist and the flavor was so good. I am so far from being a good cook but this was so easy. My husband is the master in our kitchen and he even liked it! I'm a believer and have been surfing the net for more stacker recipes. It took me 10 minutes to prepare dinner. (it could have been shorter if Cori wasn't trying to convince me that she could use the big knife and dice the chicken herself. 

Unfortunatly, Tupperware is not paying me to say these great things about them...but they should (insert smiley face) I also stuck to my guns ordered a set of microwave cereal bowls and cereal containers for the pantry. I love them all. 

DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT YOU CAN COOK A CAKE IN MICROWAVE IN ONLY 9 MINUTES???????? THAT WILL BE MY NEXT POST!