Sorry I haven't updated the last couple of days. I worked overnight on Friday and that unfortunately put me into a downward spiral of exhaustion and disinterest in doing anything but sleep for a couple of days. ; ) It was so much easier to work overnights when I was in the habit of it. Now it just disrupts my normal schedule. Oh well... I really do like my job. Where did I leave off last post?...... oh yeah, so day three finished off very well. That was the first night that Ari wore the helmet all night long and he slept all the way through the night; 11 hrs!
Day four was his first day of wearing the helmet for the full amount of time. The full schedule involves him wearing the helmet for 3-4 hours at a time with 1/2 hr breaks in-between all day long, timing it to where he is wearing it during naps, and also wearing it all night long without breaks.
Ari is such a champ. Seriously, I am so proud of him! He doesn't seem to be fazed by wearing the helmet AT ALL. Not even with some of the (so far) minor issues we've been encountering.
The first is that Ari has been getting what seems to be a little bit of heat or moisture-related rash on his forehead. This rash looks similar to the one he gets on his neck from his wet bib. (I swear I try to keep up, but the drool is just overwhelming!) Anyways, prior to wearing the helmet, his skin has always been very clear.
He has also been getting what seems to be a minor rash, or friction-related pinkness, on two specific points on his head. I say pinkness because it is not the severe redness that we were warned to be concerned about, but I'm still keeping my eye on it. The spots are near mirror images of each other, so I have been leaning towards thinking they are indeed friction-related. I've been tightening the helmet a little bit more when I put it on, so that it doesn't slide around quite as much, and that seems to be helping. I was told to expect some redness as his head grows and is pushed in the right direction by the helmet, so I guess it may actually be a good thing for it to be a little red on occasion.
Another issue that we've been dealing with, which I was not expecting but probably should have in hind sight, is the smell. Ari's head has been getting stinky! Almost mildew or moldy smelling. Now I have never personally had one, but I'm guessing that having a cast on could cause the same smell?..
So, I've started wiping the inside of the helmet with some diluted baby soap on a washcloth, wipe-rinsing it with water after (I don't want it to get too wet), drying it with a towel and then letting it air dry, twice daily, and it has been helping. Every-other day I'm also adding a midday wipe-down of rubbing alcohol with a cotton ball to get any soap scum off. I time these cleaning sessions so that I wash his helmet immediately after I take it off for one of his breaks, so that it's completely dry by the time I put it back on his head.
I have started another new thing. When I take his helmet off for a break, I brush his hair with a baby comb so that I make sure all of it gets lifted off his scalp each time. I'm hoping that this will help any moisture hiding under his mushed down hair evaporate before his helmet goes back on each time.
I'm also washing his hair once a day now. I hadn't been doing this pre-helmet because his skin was always getting too dry and irritated if I did. We definitely don't have the dryness issue now. Sweaty little boy. He's just so darn active! = D
I'm actually doing a little better the past couple of days with not having as much access to Ari's head for snuggling. It's sad, but that mildewy, moldy smell has helped... (*gag*).. hopefully it goes away though. ; D
So yeah... I think that's all the helmet updates. Still deciding how to decorate it. I haven't had time to talk to Drew about his ideas yet, because he is working turnaround at the plant he works at. He's working 14 hrs/day, 7 days/week for a whole month, until his units are back up and running. Ugh.
Ta ta for now! = )
Upper left is some sort of motorcycle/vehicle helmet. Ari's is not like this one either.
(photo from Clker.com)
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