Brachycephaly-a-what!?

Mauer had his 6-month check up on Wednesday. I assumed it was going to be a typical appointment- height, weight, immunizations and a little Q & A. Before I left the office, the pediatrician said she was concerned about his head. She thought that maybe his fontanels (where the skull bones fuse together) had “closed” early. I guess they are supposed to stay “open” until children are about 18 months old. She requested that Mauer have a skull x-ray. She “Didn’t want to alarm me.” Ah, too late. My head was racing! Are you kidding me! He is my perfect baby! What is she talking about? She told me that it’s USUALLY a cosmetic thing, but she wanted to be sure. Then she mentioned that sometimes the treatment is surgically opening the fontanels! What!? You do surgery on babies’ skulls!? For cosmetic reasons!?

So, Mauer and I stopped in radiology before we left the clinic. Of course, Mauer was not relaxed. I don’t blame him. He was surrounded by a bunch of women wearing lead dresses while he lay on a stainless steel bed and had a bright light shining in his face. They took pictures from three different angles. Because I have been in denial, I waited to call the clinic until late Friday afternoon. Dr. Sundell was not working, but the woman on the phone was able to tell me that the photos from the x-rays were inconclusive (because he moved- DUH) and they are recommending a CT scan. I guess we will know more on Monday, when Dr. Sundell returns.

I did some reading on the internet and found that Brachycephaly is more common now that it is recommended that babies sleep on their backs. I also found that typical treatment is a helmet (extreme cases are surgical). Todd and I have both worked with “helmet head children.” We tried to be so proactive! We didn’t buy the travel system type car seat/stroller/Cadillac thing; we take him out of the car seat anytime he is not in the car. When he is with us and awake, he is rarely on his back. I guess we just aren’t able to control some things.

Front View

Normal Head Shape: Cheeks are the same size, Eyes are the same size and at the same level on the face


Brachycephaly Head Shape: Face appears small to the size of the head, Head is wide, Bump above the ears creates the widest part of the head, Ears poke out at top


Mauer's Head Shape


Side View


Normal Head Shape: Back of the head is curved, Both sides of the head match, Top of head is level


BrachycephalyHead Shape:Head is shorter length front to back, Head height (head is tall), Forehead slopes back, Back of head is flat


Mauer's Head Shape


And for Grandpa Dave, here is his growth chart.

Mauer Solids Days 3 & 5

Todd returned from the east side of the Mountain on Wednesday. He wanted to give a shot at feeding Mauer. With a fresh bowl of "superfine brown rice MUSH," he went for it! Mauer was still not impressed! Todd even tried to make it look tasty! Convincing, right?

Day Three

Mauer had a really hard day on Thursday so we gave him the night off from trying new food. As recommended, we waited 4 days before introducing a new food (in case of an allergic reaction). That means tonight he got to try something new- Banana Mush! I can't say he liked it, but the meal didn't end in tears! I think we're making progress here. He also enjoyed experiencing his meal with his hands (and eyes, nose, ear & hair!).

Day 5

Mauer Trying Solids

I truly thought that Mauer would be enthusiastic about eating solid food. He is always very interested in what we’re eating. He drinks water from a cup. When we eat dinner, he always sits at the table with us with a cup and spoon on his tray and he enjoys manipulating both! My guess is that he doesn’t like the consistency of the malt-o-meal rice cereal. Yesterday Mauer and I went to the whole foods co-op to buy some brown rice. I used the coffee grinder (after my attempts with the food processor failed) to grind it up into three different consistencies. Tonight we’ll try the superfine rice powder. I hope that remedies this situation!

Day one

Day Two

Minnesota Vacation

Mauer and my journey began on Sunday evening. Daddy had to stay in WA because he had some work travel, but he would eventually meet us in MN. We arrived at the airport about 10 PM. Mauer had eyes the size of saucers while we checked our bags, went through security, and took the train to our gate. Just before boarding the plane, Mauer fell asleep (thank goodness!). Surprisingly, he snoozed the entire flight. Most of you know that I had major anxiety about how his ears would handle the pressure change. It didn’t seem to bother him at all. We arrived at the MSP airport about 6 AM. Uncle Kyle picked us up. Of course, he knew our flight arrived early because, “he had an app for that!”

The three of us drove to Spicer, MN where Uncle Jared had a baseball tournament. We were not used to the heat & humidity! I thought it was wonderful! I had to explain to Mauer what that bright shiny thing in the sky was; I wasn’t sure if he would remember seeing the sun.

After the Paynesville team won 1st place, it was off to Grandma Margaret & Grandpa Greg’s house. We were able to cool off in the pool before it was off to Roscoe to watch Jared play in ANOTHER baseball game. This time it was a playoff game. We watched (with anxiety) as they barely pulled off a win and advanced to the next round.


On Monday, we relaxed and got used to the time and temperature difference! We also tagged along to Uncle Jared’s doctor appointment!

Tuesday Grandma Margaret requested that we go to breakfast with her so she could show off her grandbaby! We took a dip in the pool with Bonnie, a family friend.


I packed up the Mazda and drove south to visit some high school/college friends in Bloomington. Both Allison and Kelly have welcomed new additions to their families too. We had nice picnic at Lake Nokomis and chatted about the babies, careers, and daycare! After the picnic, Mauer and I drove to Maple Grove. We were exhausted from the long day but excited to see Grandpa Steve!

On Wednesday morning, we must have been pretty tired because we both slept in until 10:30 AM! This was the day we would tour office buildings! We went to Walter’s Climate to see Grandpa Steve and the crew, then to Auntie-Great, Teri’s office. We finished the office tour at the Crystal Care Center and visited the residence of the nursing home. Grandma Ginger showed off Mauer to her co-workers and the residence. The residence LOVED him. They touched his feet and said they hadn’t seen a baby in such a long time. We could not stay too long… we had dinner plans!


We drove through traffic to the other side of town and met Grandpa Dave and LuAnn in Maplewood. I had not been to my hometown of Stillwater in a few years so we decided to grab a bite to eat at the Freight House. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect on the patio! We watched the bridge go up and then decided to drive through the old neighborhood. About the only noticeable change in the neighborhood was the size of the trees!

After a full night’s sleep, we went to visit the Revering’s! Todd ran cross-country with Bill and Tami in college. They have two little boys (ages 1 and 2). While we were there, another college friend, Angela, and her two boys (2 and 3 months) joined in the fun. Talk about a house full of baby boys! Later in the day, Mauer got to hang out with Grandpa Steve while I went to pick up Todd from the airport. Todd was SO excited to see his baby boy (and I think he was excited to see me too). Auntie Jenny arrived at Grandpa Steve’s that night. She brought along Uncle Cary and Mauer’s favorite cousin, Lila. Lila is older and wiser than Mauer; she was born a full 4 days before him.

Friday morning we dressed the babies up for pictures. In order to get them to both look at the camera and smile was nearly a miracle. Auntie Jenny practically stood on her head to get their attention! We stopped in Anoka for some yummy lunch and some outside time at Grandma Ginger’s house.
We spent the rest of the day at Grandpa Steve’s house. We got to visit Great Grandma Janet and Great Grandpa George Mountin; they were visiting all the way from Florida! We also got to visit with college friends, long-time friends of the family as well as Aunts and Uncles. It was so good to catch up with everyone but sad because it was not enough time!

On Saturday, Todd and I needed to divide and conquer. He is a God Parent to our niece Lila. She was being baptized in Mankato. I had a family reunion in Bellingham (MN, not WA). Uncle Kyle met Mauer and me in Paynesville where we carpooled the remainder of the trip to Great-Grandma Lila and Great Grandpa Harvey Plathe’s house. Mauer was passed around to lots of family members (eight of my grandma & grandpa’s ten children were there). To avoid driving so far in the dark that night, we slept at Grandma Margaret’s house.

We had to get up early on Sunday morning! Mom, Greg, Jared, Shayla, Kyle, Mauer, and I drove to Maple Grove to have breakfast with Todd. After breakfast, we said our good-byes to that crew before we were on our way to Savage. Grandma Ginger and Uncle Dan drove us to Chris and Teri’s house. They threw a party for Janet and George before they had to fly home to Florida. There were lots of old neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. Of course, this lent itself to being a photo op!

After a very long day and a very eventful trip, we said our good-byes and headed to the airport. Traveling west is always nice because we “gain” some time in the day! Again, I was nervous for the pressure on Mauer’s ears. Even though it was only 5 o’clock in the evening, he slept through the entire flight, the car ride home, and most of the night. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the takeoff or landing! YES!

It was so nice to visit with everyone. We have missed you all so much! Although it is nice to be home, I wish we could have stayed longer.

Minnie!

Tons of pictures from our vacation in Minnesota to come...

Jumping King

Finally! We bought Mauer a “Johnny Jump Up”. He LOVES to jump. He hasn’t quite figured out how to get it to bounce. He likes to spin around in it. This is a toy that we can’t leave him in without supervision though. Bummer

Brown Thumbs!

While we were on vacation in Wenatchee, Mauer’s tree got crispy. Oops! Here is an updated photo. Todd and I went back to the nursery and asked them what we should do. They told us not to worry. We pulled off the crispy leaves and have been soaking the roots as we were advised. When we visit MN, our house sitter will be on orders to continue to soak those roots too! I sure hope we can revive the poor tree. Darn my brown thumbs!

Wenatchee Vacation

(The route from Olympia to Wenatchee)

Todd packed the car and even left room for Mauer!

Tuesday- Mauer enjoyed his time in the back seat babbling to himself and playing with his feet. That lasted for approximately 20 minutes and then slept for about an hour. His sleep was interrupted by the descent of the mountain passes. Unfortunately, I think he has inherited my inner ears. I had a difficult time clearing the pressure from my ears. I could not imagine what it felt like for him! On top of that, he is still healing from that ear infection! Poor babe! The terrain from the west side of the mountain is so different from the east side of the mountain. We went from green, lush foothills to desert, rocky hillsides in a very short time. We arrived safely. Todd started working at the local WIC agency after lunch, while Mauer and I unpacked the car and settled in.

On Wednesday, Mauer and I went to Ohme (pronounced oh-me) Gardens. Mauer enjoyed touching lots of plants and watching me hike up and down steep rocks! Check out the link for more information about the family that created the gardens. It’s impressive. When we got back to the hotel, we put on our suits and cooled off in the pool. When Todd was finished working, we went out for dinner and then took a walk along the Columbia River. We were REALLY impressed with the speed of the currents!

(The hen & chick picture is for Mom, they were everywhere!)

On Thursday, Mauer and I went to the Rocky Reach Dam. It has been featured on Discovery Channel "Dirty Jobs!" This place had a very impressive campus. We walked through the museum, watch the fish swim through the ladder from the inside and the outside. I was most impressed the with employees that got to fish on their lunch break! Can you imagine catching salmon & on your lunch hour!? When Todd finished working for the day, we had a picnic dinner on the banks of the Columbia River at Walla Walla Point Park.

On Friday, Mauer and I had to check out of the hotel but Todd still had to work a full day. This made things interesting because it was 100 degrees outside!! We drove to the little town of Cashmere, WA. We toured the Aplets & Cotlets Candy Factory. Hairnets were mandatory! We tried to stay cool in the shade at Walla Walla Point Park. Mauer got NAKED and wore a wet burp rag on his head! When Todd finished his monitor, we headed toward Leavenworth, WA. This is considered the “Christmas Town” of Washington. All the buildings look like they are straight out of an alpine Bavarian village. Mauer got to experience Christmas for the first time! We bought a cute little ornament to mark the occasion!

For the trip home, I thought if we could get Mauer to swallow, his ears would be more comfortable. Earlier in the week, I bought him a new sippy cup. So with a full sippy cup in hand and a sleeping baby in the back seat, we proceeded up the mountain pass. Sure enough, once we started the descent, he woke up screaming. The sippy cup helped a little, but we had to pull over so I could nurse him. However, that was only temporary. By the time we were half way home, he was so uncomfortable and over tired he was nearly inconsolable. FINALLY, he slept the last hour and a half of the trip. Whew, we made it!

(route from Wenatchee to Olympia)