A King is crowned...

I got a call last week letting us know that Kingston's DOC Band had arrived early and so we scheduled for Monday (yesterday) to go to Austin to "crown" our little King.

The office is very inviting and the staff are great- so friendly and cheerful.  (FYI, Kingston's Nana was close by in this picture to be sure he wouldn't topple over!)

His specialist is such a kind lady, he loves smiling for her.  She has such a great way she handles the things she has to do to achieve what she needs done with him.  This is Kingston putting the crown on for the first time.  This is how she would know if she needed to trim any parts.

Then we waited a little bit while she trimmed up the DOC Band.  Kingston is definitely like his brothers!  I actually have a picture of Madden in a car like this and it's so incredible how much they favor each other!

We tried the DOC Band on once more and it needed a little bit more trimming, so we waited again.

We gave it another go and it fit great.  This is Kingston seeing his "friend" with his crown for the first time.

He really didn't mind much at first, but then again this little guy is one peaceful baby.  He's pretty much happy and smiley all the time.

My mother-in-law accompanied me on this trip, which was much appreciated.  We didn't have time for lunch, so in between the first appointment and the second we went to Chez Zee for some scrumptious food.  Kingston had a combination of new odd contraption on his head, hungry, teething, and tired- which led to a little fussiness.

It was our first time in public with the DOC Band on his head and I could already see the awkward glances and stares.  It was honestly a little hard to take at first, but I know that people are just curious (as I would be too.)  I was strong and kept a friendly smile on my face.  We know that he's ok and this is just temporary, so we will endure.

We had to go back to a "skin check" appointment after a couple of hours to make sure the crown wasn't applying too much pressure in certain areas and that the fit was ok.  The crown does cause his head to sweat, so we have to make sure to keep him cool.  We scheduled our next appointment and then headed to the mall! (Hey- we're from a small town, we jump at the chance for some shopping!)  We were instructed to do two days of "skin checks"- wearing the helmet for three to four hours at a time and then removing it to check for any red spots from pressure.  If we see anything, we leave the helmet off for an hour and if they go away we put the DOC Band back on and if they don't then we call the office.  After the first two days, if everything looks good, we then start the 23 hour a day wear.  During the hour that the crown is off we are to wash Kingston and also clean the crown.  We've done two skin checks already and everything is looking great.  He doesn't seem to mind very much.  I think I am having the harder time because there's hard plastic on the outside of his sweet fuzzy little head and I can't kiss his little head like I used to.  That makes me sad!! Thankfully it's only temporary, because not being able to do that is VERY hard for me.  I love that sweet little head!  

Hey, look!  I'm ready to ride!  Vrooom vrooooom!

Now we still are left to decide how we want to decorate his crown!  Do you have any ideas!!!???  Please feel free to comment if you do!  Again, thank you for following our journey and for the prayers.  Sweet Kingston is already on the road to a great shaped head (haha) and we're hoping time will just fly from here on....and then slow down once it's off!

Almost there!

Well, it's been awhile since my last post!  I honestly do not have the time to sit down and blog at all these days!  I wanted to update since there finally has been progress on Kingston's Crown.  We  had to wait six weeks after the last time we went to check his head to get the DOC Band because if we got it in 2012 then our insurance would apply the amount to our deductible, which would be better for us in the long run.  We pay for it no matter what but since we had already met our deductible in 2011, we decided waiting just a little bit would be for the best.
We had his last appointment on February 9th and this was the appointment that they took the pictures of his head.  They put a panty hose-type thing on his head that made him look like a little bank robber.  He never even made a fuss!  He was happy and smiling, with a little flirting with the ladies, the whole time.  Pretty good for having something covering your entire face!  They took the pictures which will allow them the information to make his DOC Band.  We go back in two weeks and get his helmet fitted, they will show us how to put it on and off, how to clean it, and do a skin check to make sure it doesn't irritate his skin.  Then we will be on a three month journey of weekly trips to Austin and wearing the helmet 23 hours a day!
He will have to wear the crown for just a couple weeks longer since he is a little older than he was when we first began the process, only because the growth of a six month old is usually slower than the growth of a four month old.  We think he will do just fine wearing his crown and look forward to the end of this journey!
Here are the pictures they took at his first appointment, at four months old:

These aren't the most flattering of photos but they allow you to see the shape of his head.  You can see from the back view that his right ear is lower than his left and from the top view you can see how the head shape comes out toward the left and is flatter on the right side.  If he were to ever need glasses, which he most likely will (I'm almost blind!), the right ear being lower would affect the way the glasses fit.  The DOC Band will allow the ear to move up and cause the back of the head to have a more "normal" rounded shape.  So not only is DOC Band for cosmetic purpose, it will also serve a functional purpose as well.

Here are a few photos from Kingston's last visit.  I totally forgot my real camera, so thankfully I was able to capture a few moments with the iPhone!

Kingston getting ready to get his pictures taken!! So smiley!

The little bank robber!  This hose-thing allows the cameras to take accurate measurements.

The kind ladies taking the pictures.  He smiled the whole time!

I'd also like to let anyone know who comes across this blog that you are free to share it!  I am writing it in hopes that anyone who might be going through the same thing can have some kind of information from a parent's perspective.  Thank you for reading!