Henry officially graduated from his helmet on Wednesday! We are so happy to have it off in time for hot weather. He has really had it off about a week, because he was just done. He was irritated and fussing and pulling at it, and his whole head was red. It was way worse than when he first got the helmet even. I thought we might get fussed at, but we didn't! Wednesday morning my phone rang very early, and I knew it had to be babysitter issues. My niece who's 3 weeks older than Henry had been up all night throwing up, so I didn't have a sitter for the twins. I decided I'd just take them with me, the office we go to is very laid back. Then my sister-in-law offered my other niece who's 12 to go with me, and that was perfect! She is a HUGE help with the kiddos. We had our check up, and she kept the twins in the play area. She handled two potty breaks and a meltdown on her own! It was kind of bittersweet graduating from the helmet, you get so used to seeing the people so often. The office we went to was so kind, always going the extra mile to help us, especially one lady who was so incredibly helpful with insurance and payment stuff. I love when you get an office like that because unfortunately, it's not always the case. We've seen some doozies before! After we thanked them for all of their help, Shelby asked me if I was still going to build-a-bear. I had originally planned to take Henry to build a bear to wear his helmet since he would no longer need it. I had seen someone else do that online and thought it was neat. I told her no, we weren't going to try it with all 3 kids. She mentioned it a couple more times, and I decided what the heck. We told the kids after lunch they were getting a very special surprise, to build a teddy bear! They were all excited, and I couldn't help but be all smiles and excited myself! I knew what fun they were in for. As soon as we walked in build-a-bear, there was a My Little Pony display. I knew at that point, we were done! I knew Emilynn would pick that, and she didn't disappoint! She chose the pink pony and Carson chose a puppy dog. Henry liked a bear we let him try, so we went with those. It was fun to run the stuffing machine and do the "baths". Oh, did I mention we had the store to ourselves? It was really nice because we descended on the accessory section like nobody's business! Emilynn was definitely the most high-maintenance, wanting everything for her pony-from rollerskates and shoes to a hair dryer of all things! We ended up settling on a tutu that is JUST like her tutu for her dance recital, a brush, and a leash. I had to draw the line at the shoes. Carson got a Lightning McQueen outfit, leash, and bone for his doggy. Henry just got a t-shirt that says "Love is the stuff inside". I thought it was so cute. He kept hugging his bear and loving on it. I actually didn't do TOO bad at build-a-bear. We spent $93, which considering everything we got for THREE kids, wasn't unreasonable I don't think. I had budgeted $30 for Henry to go there, so I just shuffled some stuff around. It was worth it, and honestly, the twins deserve a "graduation" treat as much as Henry. They have sacrificed tremendously during this process, spending hours in the car heading to appointments, or with babysitters, or even in the room just waiting during appointments. Anything we do, we usually do as a family. We ALL go to dance class with Emilynn, we ALL go to swim class (except Daddy when he's working), I just think it's important to all support each other no matter. That's how my family has always done things, and I am extremely close to my cousins because of that. So, in a way we ALL graduated from our helmet experience. How does Henry's head look? Well, it looks good. It is SO much better than when we began this journey. Is it perfect? Nope. Is anyone's? Doubtful!
This experience has been a learning opportunity for us, and I must say I admire Henry's strength in all of this. He did awesome adjusting to his helmet. I know he is only 1, so he doesn't even realize what it takes to go out in public and hold your head high when you have something like that on. He got so many stares and whispers, and some people were brazen enough to ask what was wrong with him, why did he have a helmet. They only saw the helmet, it is sad they didn't know the true Henry inside-the happy, joyful boy that brings a smile to most everyone he meets. That is why I thought his build-a-bear was perfect- it truly IS what's on the inside that counts!
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