#42. 'Helmetgate'

This post will begin like a TV drama where the opening scene (a shocking sight that makes you wonder how it ever happened) is followed by a caption like '...24 hours ago...' and the remainder of the show is the progression leading to the opening scene.  Here we go...

2 months ago...

(yes, as in back in January) 

As many of you know (or have personally observed), Luke was born with a misshapen head. One of our biggest challenges in the past two months has been getting Luke fitted with a helmet. Fortunately, the shape issues (caused from Luke's positioning during gestation...Clare was a womb hog!) have not caused Luke any problems with his growth and movement (babies with similar head shape issues typically require physical therapy).  

This is a snapshot from Luke's 360 degree head scan viewed from above

This is the head scan made into a math problem...
it helped me understand the issue better!

The helmet device (called a Doc band) has a good reputation (we know a few babies that have been 'helmeted') and success rate, so we were hoping to take this on as soon as possible.  So, back in January, we started 'Helmetgate' and visited the Orthotics Department of Children's Hospital downtown to have Luke evaluated.

Clare entertained us in the waiting room...

...while Luke went for a ride in the dumptruck (legs up of course!)

The specialist diagnosed Luke with having severe plagiocephaly (try saying this word 5 times fast...or even once) and recommended him to wear a helmet for 3-6 months to correct the distorted shape of his head.  So, we scheduled a second appointment to have him measured the following week.  After leaving Children's, we took a little stroll through the city

After seeing the temples of Bangkok, the twins
were not so impressed by Chicago's Water Tower

and grabbed some lunch at a Chicago institution, Gino's East.

Brother slept through lunch...

...while sister wondered when she can ditch the formula for french fries

The twins and I returned to Children's a week later to have Luke's head measured for the helmet.

Luke's not the bonnet-wearing type of boy, apparently

We were only a short week away from the delivery of Luke's helmet when a familiar obstacle in these types of situations, insurance, surfaced.  When I initially called our provider, I was told that the insurance company would cover 85% of the costs for the pricey helmet with a diagnosis of severe (moderate wouldn't cut it, but thankfully Luke is severe) plagiocephaly.  Unfortunately, when the hospital sent the insurance company an 18-page document that contained Luke's evaluation and 'severe' diagnosis, our claim was (maybe not surprisingly) denied.  After 3 weeks of phone tag with both the insurance company and an insurance advocate from Chris' company (which felt more like three weeks of 'is anyone doing anything to help us?'), we were told the official determination:

Severe plagiocephaly is covered by the insurance company, however, it is not treated by the insurance company. 

Poor Luke...already an insurance victim at 7 months

Pardon my acronymization (yes, this is a word...I looked it up), but WTF??  Thankfully, when Clare returned to our pediatrician for her 6-month checkup (she was sick when we took them both in the week before), our pediatrician gave us another company to contact called Cranial Technologies, (www.cranialtech.com) located in Lincoln Park. Cranial Tech provides a discount for those insured by certain (negligent) insurance companies like ours and we can now correct Luke's womb-induced deformity for half the cost, out-of-pocket, of the other hospital (we almost had to start a go fund me campaign!).  While the reduced 'price tag' came as great news, it meant that all of the appointments we went through in the previous weeks had to be repeated again with the new facility.  So, at our 'new' first appointment, 

Luke waiting to start his second evaluation appointment 

(he's definitely my son because this was my reaction exactly)

Clare's first experience with deja vu

Luke was once again diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly.

Surprise, surprise!

Nothing against Children's Hospital (we have used them many times before and will continue to do so), but the Cranial Tech facility and technology are really great.  We even received a pdf report via email where we could rotate Luke's 'floating head' 360 degrees (Chris had fun showing this off to co-workers) to see the various angles of his 'deformity'.  A week later, we returned to Cranial Tech to have him measured again for the helmet.   

Waiting to be measured. Again.

Keep your eye on the shiny object! (At this facility they actually
took one photo with over a dozen cameras surrounding Luke)

Finally, only 2 months after we started this journey, Luke received his customized helmet on St. Patrick's Day.

Separated at birth?!?  Luke is our Man at Arms!!

'Watch it...I'm the only twin you got!'

As they say, all's well that ends well and so far, so good.  Luke has been wearing the helmet for 3 hours at a time to see how his head is adjusting.  There are a few red spots (caused by the pressure of the helmet) that we watch to make sure they go away within an hour.  Starting today, he will be wearing his helmet for 23 hours a day.  We have been impressed by his adjustment and tolerance so far!  We will now attend biweekly adjustment check ups and, hopefully, in a matter of a few months Luke's noggin will be 'normal'.  

Clare's already taking good care of her brother
 (most likely out of guilt for taking up so much space)!

We hope everyone gets used to seeing our little guy with his helmet in upcoming blog posts!

He probably could actually play football wearing this thing!

  

#41. Lucky Seven

Happy seven months, Luke & Clare!!

Still getting along....for now! (Note...yes, this is an
accurate representation of their comparative sizes!)

Thanks for the knitted sweaters, Aunt Robin!!

Pre-bedtime play time on the couch with Papa

Happy belated Valentine's Day from the Heartbreakers Club!

Well, we all survived another month. Before I discuss happenings from the last few weeks, I want to first share some exciting news (for those that may not already know).  First, we are 'officially' (using quotes because we never needed a formal court order to tell us this) a family.  As of the end of 2014, Clare and Luke are both legally children of both Chris and me.  Additionally, the twins are formally now known as Clare and Luke Knapp-Heald.  We feel so fortunate to have gotten through the adoption and name change process quickly and with such little hassle (unlike what it took to get home from Thailand!).  Thank you to Jill Metz and her office here in Chicago for your help.  We feel privileged to live in a country/state/city where there is so much support for us to have a family. After Luke & Clare had 'official' names declared, we took them to order their social security numbers.
  

Waiting...they were more patient than me!

The woman at our counter (who carried the typical government worker 'I am an expert at this one thing you know nothing about so I will hold that over you and intimidate you' chip on her shoulder) seemed like she didn't want anyone to have an easy time obtaining a social security number that day. First, (before looking through my documents) she criticized me for not having everything I needed (despite the fact I had everything I needed) and then said (as if Luke and Clare would be denied numeric existence) 'We'll see how far this gets us'. Fortunately, two weeks after our visit, the cards arrived. Next step is setting up checking accounts for the twins (good thing we haven't spent all of their money yet!).

They are officially numbers now (pinked out, of course)!!

A few weeks ago (though Clare had to go back later because she was sick the day of) the twins had successful 6 month check-ups.

                    On the left is the 4 month check up...and on the right is 6 months...more hair and what happened to Clare!!

Luke tipped the scales at 17 lbs and 7 oz (up 2 lbs and 12 oz in 2 months and 12 lbs 4 oz since birth),

4 mos vs. 6 mos...More weight, more hair, more alert, and more perpendicular legs!

and Clare at 15 lbs and 4 oz (up 3 lbs and 7 oz in 2 months and 10 lbs and 4 oz since birth).

4 mos vs. 6 mos...Sister's starting to pack it on!!  We couldn't be more proud of her chubby(er) cheeks!

Around the house it's still smiles (mostly),

Clare on Papa's lap                                                                     Luke in the walker            

teething (where Luke is a pro),

         Taking down a rainforest                                             Yes, that's a drop of drool...see video later

and a game of who can stray furthest away from the playmat (where Clare excels).  Movement is more of a scoot for now, but I imagine they will be crawling by the next blog post!

After kicking herself out of her PJs (upper left), Clare makes her way to the fireplace (upper right),
under her rock n' play (lower left) and almost outside into the snow (lower right)

Even Brother is finally getting the idea

Sometimes, the twins play to the point of pure exhaustion!

      Victim #1                                                                           Victim #2

We survived a bout of colds.  Clare had it worst (low fever, and sick for almost a week),

Look at those tired eyes...we were proud of how
tough she was during a very difficult week

followed by Chris (4-5 days), Luke (2 days), and then, me (1 day...phew!).  When everyone is healthy, we are really enjoying this stage 'hanging out' with the twins.

Chillin' with my three babies

Papa provides a nice shoulder to cuddle up to

 

Our diapered dapper dude hanging with Aunt Amy

Clare and Trig share some down time on the couch

Finally, for those who have survived the post this far, here are a handful of videos showing the twins in action at seven months:

A typical view of the corner of our living room (if bottled drool were a commodity, it would pay Luke through college....and not sure what song is going through Clare's head here....or anytime she's going to town on the jumper!).

Luke performing his newly popular spit & scream act (usually indicating its nap time):

Clare getting lazy in the jumper:

Luke enjoying some floor time with the elephant ball from Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Steve:

Clare doing what she does best...scooting EVERYWHERE!  Here she is pushing her walker:

We know our days are numbered but we are going to try to enjoy the final stage of immobility in our household!

#40. 6 Milestones For 6 Months

Clare and Luke hit 6 months earlier this week.

Brother and Sister at 6 months

Clare's happy to be a half year old

Luke wondering 'where did 6 months go?'

Celebrating six months with a twin pile up!

We won't have their measurements to see their growth until our 6 month check-up next week, but we are starting to observe their day-to-day changes happening exponentially faster. Clare is already learning to read. 

Who's reading to who here?

and Luke is working on solving equations.

When do we start Calculus?

Maybe we are getting a little ahead of ourselves, but this post is dedicated to showing some of the actual 'milestones' the twins have reached in the past month or so.  (There are quite a few videos in this post, so I apologize for those trying to view on a device that can't show these.  This post is best viewed from a computer.)

Milestone #1:  Chewing (which essentially means TEETHING)

Everything is going in the mouth these days.

It started with the hand...

which then became the hand inside of the sleeve.

Soon the walker became fair game...

and anything attached to it.

Busted!

The amount of drool is unreal!!

We haven't seen the physical presence of any teeth yet, but we know its only a matter of time.  May our experience be less eventful than some others we have heard.

Milestone #2:  Jumping and Walking

The twins are both loving their 'Jumparoo' and walker.  They spend quite a lot of time in both contraptions each day.  Clare has been jumping for weeks, while Luke took a little longer to figure it out.  The cutest thing is the differences in their 'jumping' techniques.  Clare prefers jumping with alternating legs,

                                          

and Luke likes to pound it out.  Good thing there are no neighbors below us in our townhouse!

The twins are also starting to take bigger steps in the walker.

Which way should I go?

                       You can't keep me in this thing forever!                                 

Luke gets his legs going and is making good progress,

                                          

and Clare is already navigating past the dog (until she finds something to chew on and promptly stops forward progress).

Milestone #3:  Rolling Over

Again, Clare is a little ahead of her brother,

Typical play mat view...Clare up and Luke down

and is days (maybe hours) away from crawling (she's 'scooting' away from the play mat and towards me as I type!).

Luke isn't quite there yet, but he sure gives it a good shot!

Luke has, however, mastered forming a right angle with his legs and torso (currently his favorite position on the floor and in the car seat) which maybe counts for something?!?

Somehow, he finds this comfortable for hours a day

Milestone #4:  Eating Solids (more like blended foods)

Finally, a category where Luke dominates!  

Hey, 2nd born doesn't always mean 2nd place!

We recently introduced rice cereal to the twins, which was met with mixed results.  Clare gave us dirty looks,

                                          

but Luke is enjoying being spoonfed.  He really likes it...

                                          

and we really like the recent diaper changes (I'll leave the picture of this to your own imagination)!

Milestone #5: Grabbing (and reaching...for everything)

Both of the twins have an obsession with grabbing things, especially our faces.  (We have learned the importance of regular fingernail grooming because of this.)

Clare's got dad by the nose

Luke touches his mirror

The twins will reach for anything and everything that catches their eye (and sometimes its quite a stretch!),

Must. Grab. That. Bird.

Luke reaches for the paparazzi

and the game of Peekaboo is officially on (we were bored during the President's SOTU Address)!

Milestone #6:  Talking (more like squealing)

We aren't quite sure what to make of this stage of voice development.  Both of the twins have definitely turned up the volume lately.  Clare is starting to sound more and more like a dolphin (we hope she never gets that full shriek out),

and Luke, I'm not sure what he is, but he sure is loud!

We know we'll see crawling, walking, talking, potty training (we are in no rush for the first of these three!) and more milestones in the future, but for now, we are enjoying watching these babies grow and start to enjoy large portions of their daily life.  It's been a great 6 months for Clare and Luke!