Judah: "praise; thankfulness"

Rash? I hate you.

Your presence is not welcome here and I demand that

you leave for good. I banish you to neighbouring pigs.

Is that sacreligious? I hope not. I mean no disrespect, Lord!

This month has been an on-again-off-again rash-fest... meaning Helmut has literally been on-again-off-again.

Boo.

Upside? Getting those lovely baby snuggles without Helmut acting as a barricade between my cheek and Hawk's spiky blonde fuzz.

Barti, our physiotherapist has told us in no uncertain terms that Judah really needs to get his butt in gear and start crawling and cruising in order to build his neck strength. As such, he is officially out of cloth diapers for the time being (I apologize, Environment... I'll return to more you-friendly means as soon as I can. For now, gotta do what's best for my little man). The oh-so-cute cloth diapers are quite bulky and as such, result in Judah being pretty high centred when he's on his tummy. He's gotten pretty good at pivoting like an adorable sundial on his diaper axis, but any forward (or even backyard) momentum is absorbed by the bulk. His mobility is surprisingly much greater when he's in disposables, so for now this is how we roll. (Or how he rolls, I should say. He much prefers rolling to tummy time.)

Upside? Less laundry, baby! And less leaks!... which also equals less laundry, baby!

Back to physio. It seems as though Judah's neck tilt was getting significantly better but is now reverting to a pretty noticeable slant. He has also starting screaming through his stretching and strengthening exercises, gets himself all worked up, and totally surrenders his body into the limp noodle stage. I don't know where he gets this overdramatic flair from but I'm sure my parents call it karma.

When the temperature spikes Judah breaks out in a heat rash that tends to last a few days, and off comes Helmut during that time. No only are we concerned that this is extending his treatment time farther and farther into the fall, but once the summer hits we question just how effective Helmut will be if we need to take it off this regularly. If a few days of 20 degree heat has caused this kind of reaction, what will weeks of possibly 25+ degrees result in?

Upside?

Upside?!!

Prayer.

Yeah, it sounds that cheesy. But seriously? There's been a heckuva lotta prayer happening in this household and it is good. Good for my anxious mama heart that cannotstopworrying about every spot of rash, every missed milestone, every minute that I'm choosing to do something that isn't directly affecting Judah's strength and development. In my frenzied spirit the Lord is revealing to me one incredible aspect of his character: peace.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way." 2 Thessalonians 3:16

These words, and many others in the Word, are constant reminders of how little I control. Yes, most certainly Judah will crawl. And walk. And run. And play all matter of games and sports. All with a strong neck and and well-shaped head. The things I worry about today will seem so frivolous in the days to come. So wasteful, really. They speak of a faithless child who doesn't trust her Father in heaven.

One day when Judah asks about his helmut I don't want to tell him that I spent months worrying about him; I want to tell him that I spent months praying for him - because I love him, I love Jesus, and prayer trumps it all.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?... Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:27, 34

So when I pray for Judah I am consciously handing him over to the Lord, once again (and again... and again...). I am trusting him to his Father and remembering God's faithfulness in our lives. The response is an abundance of peace (see? Jesus keeps his word!) and abundant praise.

Ah, praise.

Judah: our little gift of praise and thankfulness. There is so much meaning in his name. Literally not a day goes by without us telling Judah why we gave him his name - because we are thankful. We are blessed. And we praise the Lord for it all!

Double upside in all of this?

You guys. And your prayers.

We have been overwhelmed by the people that have made a point in emailing, calling, texting, commenting online and seeking us out in person just to let us know that they have been praying for Judah's head and neck. What a gift you all are to us! We are so touched by your prayers, and hesitant to ask for more... but we love you and feel your love in return... so can we request that while you pray for our little Hawk and his physical development that you also pray for his little soul? That our son will grow into a man who loves his God and loves his neighbours... who prays and is filled with joy and peace, and encourages and strengthens those around him, who seeks to bring justice to the oppressed and bring the good news of the Gospel to the world.

Because really, that's all that matters.

It truly is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Floral foam Judah head... are you my brother?

Over the river, across the bridge, to ortho in Surrey we go...

It's been three weeks since our last Helmut appointment - and three very uneventful (thankfully) weeks with Helmut! It has been doing its job well and Hawk has been utterly unfazed by the whole thing. Amazing!

Alan was very pleased with Judah's head shape! There's one angle they don't want to see shift, and that angle has stayed virtually unchanged in spite of his head's continuous growth - yay! The other angle has already changed drastically! Alan admitted to me on Tuesday that Judah's head shape is the hardest to work with. Many babies with plagiocephaly have a flat spot only; Judah had a flat spot and a big swoop. The difficulty comes in trying to shift his entire left side at the back around to the right. For comparison Alan brought out the mannequin-like head that was the exact representation of Judah's head when we started this process. It's actually unbelievable how much change can be seen already!

Judah was extremely fascinated with the model of his head! Alan says he thinks some babies recognize themselves... is that even possible??

The material feels a lot like those green floral foam blocks. Judah tried to eat the head but I  was worried he would leave imprints so I didn't get a picture.

He had also told us previously that there was little that Helmut could do to adjust the position of Judah's ears, which were initially off by almost 3 inches. However, at this last appointment Alan was thrilled to point out how much closer to the center line they now sit. Another hurray! God is good! We've noticed these changes but have been cautious to say much as unprofessionals; it was very relieving to have Alan confirm what we had hoped to be true!

I optimistically asked if Helmut's relationship with my son would be shortened from their initial six month estimation, but Alan wisely pointed out that as long as Helmut was continuing to result in this kind of improvement we would stick to the original September-off plan. He even tossed in there that Judah may need to wear it longer than six months... so we continuing to pray for speedy results!

We're so encouraged to have our friends and family continually reminding us that we're in their (your!) prayers! Thank you for journeying with us. We will be having a "hats off to you!" party to celebrate the end of Helmut therapy and you are ALL invited! :)

Love to all,

Janelle and the boyz

All tuckered out! Every little boy needs a pony, eh? :)