Some of you may know that Edith has a moderate case of plagiocephaly, and will be wearing a Doc Band, which is like a helmet, but without the top part. I got this information from the Cranial Technologies website to explain a little more of what the condition is, and how we're going to be treating it.

Plagiocephaly (pla'je-o-sef'ah-le) is not uncommon, and often results from external forces applied to the soft infant skull. It might sound complicated, but plagiocephaly literally means "oblique head" (from Greek: plagio = oblique, and cephale = head) It's called a parallelogram deformity because, if you look down on the infant's head (bird's-eye-view), this is the shape you will see.


From this angle it looks as if half of the head has been pushed forward, often accompanied by misalignment of the ears, facial asymmetry and bulging forehead.

The DOC Band®, a 6-oz device, consists of an outer plastic shell with a foam lining. Mild pressures are applied to capture the growth of an infant's head, holding growth in the prominent areas and encouraging it in the flat regions. Adjustments are made to the band weekly or bi-weekly. Length of treatment depends on the age of the infant and severity of the condition. Because no two heads are identical, each patient's treatment is customized.

Edith will be wearing the DOC Band® for about 5 - 7 weeks, maybe a little longer, depending on how soft or hard her head is and how quickly the band works. Since we caught this so early, she shouldn't have to wear it very long...some kids have to have a second band because they are older and it doesn't work as quickly! From all of the other moms I've talked to, kids get used to the band really quickly and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. One really good thing is that one of Edith's Cradle cousins who just came home from Guatemala has the band, so they'll have that in common as well as their agency :)

We are really excited about the DOC Band® and getting Edith's head fixed...even though she is perfect in our eyes, we don't want her to be the "kid with the weird head" when she goes to school. We're certain to get stared at for a while, but I plan to tell her that it's because she is so cute :)

Edith has been talking up a storm lately, and a couple of times there have been real words that have come out of the gibberish. The first one was Hon daa...which is of course BRILLIANT because Mommy and Daddy both drive Hondas, so of course she would know that...

Her second "word" was Oba Maaa! Yay! Our little liberal activist is starting early! I would have liked to get either "word" on video, but I'll settle on the warm feelings I got knowing our daughter is so smart!

I'm going to add a video...hopefully this works because I'm a newbie at this.

Edith Plays With Daddy

Edith is 5 months old as of yesterday, but it was busy yesterday, so I didn't download the picture till now.

It was really hard to get a smile because she is busy saying da da da or ma ma ma or na na na or ba ba ba...or she is spitting. She is a little woman of many talents!

Gleep! I have been so neglectful of my poor little bloggykins...but I'm back! And I have pictures! And chit-chat! And a little soft shoe dance at the end!

So we've been busy little bees - we drove to Pennsylvania with Edith and my Mom to visit my Auntie Colleen, and we had a lovely couple of days there. We were in my Town of Birth, Meadville, PA (which is apparently close to Erie?) and we got to see the place where we lived when I was a small baby and the place we lived when I was a toddler. We also had delicious bread from a cool bakery and incredible ice cream from a place that hand makes it. My vacations are sometimes remembered by the food...I'm a girl who likes food, what can I say :)

After a couple of days in Ol' Meadville Towne, we drove to Wheeling, WV for a wedding of some friends of the family. I would love to tell you how incredible the wedding was, but one of our party was throwing a fit and we couldn't leave the hotel room in time to make the ceremony. Plus, after leaving late, we got lost. So there you have it. The reception ROCKED though...this couple did it right! We had filet mignon (my favorite of all the steak family), asparagus and red potatoes for dinner and a chocolate fountain afterward. The favors were edible (also my favorite) and they were locally made, which is too cool. One of them was a milk chocolate bar with a custom wrapper and the other thing was a bag of popcorn...but not just any popcorn, this stuff was drizzled in white chocolate and toffee. GAH, so delicious! The bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome, and everyone fawned over Edith. I tried to tell them that she was the reason we missed the ceremony, but no one believed us because she was so charming and fun. That little stinker!

So we're home now, and yesterday when I was rubbing some teething gel on Edith's gums (because she is SUPER fussy lately) I found the tiniest little nub of TOOFINS!!! And Mommy's little Vampira is getting a fang first! Just like MOMMY did 33 years ago. Yay!!! I would take a picture, but it is so small, I don't think it would show up well. Since finding Nubbie, it has been alternately quiet and loud around here. Edith is either sleeping or fussing...or when Daddy is home, she is smiling at him and wrapping him further around her little finger. That girl is no dummy, she knows which one of us is the softie Daddy person.

ANYWAY, poor Lucy had to go stay with Grannie and Papa and her dog-cousin Cleo while the rest of us were gallivanting all over the country, and Cleo was sick so they didn't even get to play as much as usual. Grannie and Papa dropped her off at home on Saturday a couple of hours before we got home and she was so happy to see us when we got there, she jumped and twirled and barked...man, I love that dog! She is currently sleeping next to me and the house is quiet because Edith is asleep. Teething takes a lot of sleep and not as much food it turns out.

So that's what we've been up to...here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

This is from the 4th of July, but I just got it recently from my Mom in Law:

This is from the other day...it was suddenly quiet while I was eating lunch, and this is what I found! Teething is hard work!

I sewed this little doll for Edith - this is one of her cloth diapers that she can't fit into anymore...I couldn't find many little dollies that fit my important criteria - 1. they had to be soft and snuggly. 2. they had to be inexpensive and 3. they couldn't be racist depictions - no Aunt Jemima or Uncle Remus. I wanted a doll just like this one, so I made it :)

UPDATE: As of the pediatrician visit on Monday the 4th, Edith is 12 pounds 4 ounces and 25 inches long! She is perfect in every way :)

Only a couple of days late...just pretend that I'm posting this on Friday the 1st.


Edith is 4 MONTHS OLD!!!!