Introducing Zander's new look

It's taken me a few days to write about this because we are really in the adjustment stage with this big change in our family. Contrary to what I initially thought, you don't just go "cold turkey" and immediately start wearing the helmet 23 hours a day. For both the baby's sake and your own, there is a five day period of "breaking in" where he wears the helmet at longer and longer intervals. Today is the 4th day where he wears the helmet 8 hours on and one hour off...with tonight being the first night he wears it to bed.
I have to say, I could not be prouder of my little boy for being such a trooper. When we first put the helmet on him at the doctor, I thought he was going to blow a gasket and he looked ready to pull off his own head just to get the helmet off! But the next day when we began the first full day with the helmet, he barely gave a hint of defiance when we first put it on and he has been doing pretty good ever since. Even when it was falling forward and smushing his little eyes on the first day before we went back in to get more adjustments, he didn't scream or whine, he just looked up at me with the sweetest little bull dog looking eyes that just made me melt.
The truth is, I am having more difficulty adjusting than he is. I keep finding myself tearing up when I look at him and wondering if he is feeling claustrophobic or terribly hot. Today was the first day he napped in the helmet and I just kept checking in on him and wincing at how uncomfortable it looked. But I know that many babies have done this before and if they can survive and thrive, than so can Zander.
At the doctor's, I brought my camera to snap a few last minute photos of his curls. Here he is with his big baby blues:

At his very first chance, he found where he could get into trouble:

We took this photo just after we took of the helmet for the first time, after only 15 minutes! (Granted it was a very "heated" 15 minutes where he screamed, kicked and wailed)

And here he is today on his first relatively full day of helmet wear. We decided to go for the white helmet so that we could have him sport some cool stickers and things that we could change up and stuff. Though we haven't added those yet because the doctor is still making adjustments to it to make sure it fits him just right. Even enveloped in white plastic and foam, his cuteness shines through.

I haven't cut his hair just yet, the doctor said it could go either way and we should give it a few days to a week to see how he adjusts before we lop it all off. And I just love to see the little curls sticking out the bottom:

He will probably wear the helmet for around three months, which right now seems like such a long time and my heart breaks just thinking of it. But the doctor said something that made me realize just how lucky I am. Reflecting on his words later I felt as if I should be counting my blessings rather than feeling sad over a few bumps in the road. The doctor's office is called SPOT, Specialized Prosthetic and Orthotic Technologies, and not only do they provide helmets for head shape correction, but they also work with a lot amputees as well as children and adults with bracing and scoliosis management. Through my tears when he first fitted the helmet on Zander's head, I asked if all mother's cry at first and he very kindly said, "Yea, most do. But think of it this way, this is only going to be a short period in your family's life to make things better for him and Zander will eventually be able to take this off. Unfortunately, a lot of kids who come in here don't have that luxury."