7 months old and finally banded!! Today Ava and I went to CT in Pasadena to get her fitted in her brand new accessory. I was expecting her to scream like when I first put on tot collar so I was thrilled when the technician put the helmet on Ava without her even noticing. After Ava had the band on for about 10 minutes, the lady came back in and showed me how to take the band off her head. We then noticed a few red spots which she said is perfectly normal. The band was a little low on her face (you want to be able to see her eyebrows) and because of the tort she also wanted to shape the left side so that it doesn't rest on her shoulder. She went out to make the adjustments to the band and then came back in and showed me how to put the band on. Ava's eye seemed to be a little pushed down which she called the "mad dog" look so she showed me how to readjust it a little without taking it completely off.
So today and tomorrow Ava is supposed to wear the band for 3 hours straight, then we have to remove it for up to an hour (just really until the red spots go away) and she should sleep in it. Well, so far she wore it on the way home and actually FELL ASLEEP IN THE CAR WITH IT ON!!! After the first 3 hours I took it off for about 30 minutes because she really didn't have any red spots then we put it back on. It was just enough time for me to sneak some really cute stickers on! Then we took it off for bathtime and a stroll then put it back on for bedtime. Even with it on, she fell asleep in 15 minutes, which is actually better then she's been lately. So....so far, so good!!!
After the first two days, Ava will wear her band for 23 hours a day. We will take it off for an hour a day while she takes her bath (and we'll probably take her on her walk at this time too!) While the band is off you're supposed to wash the band with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. We skipped that part tonight-oops! Anyways, this will be part of the routine for the next 2-4 months :)
As for my reaction, I'm actually doing much better with the whole situation than I expected. I actually think the band is quite cute!!! When I took Ava to the office today I ran into Lisa in the hall and she had a couple questions but she was so sweet and kept saying what a beautiful baby Ava is. John says he thinks it's cute too so that's good. It'll be interesting to see peoples reactions over the next couple days...but the only reactions I care about have all been positive. Nothing can take away Ava's adorable little face and personality.
