Excited to get the first pictures taken of my son, I got out the outfit I had chosen for him and carefully dressed him for the occasion. The nurse took him and carefully placed him on the table to get the first mugshots that would mark his entrance into this world. Using a bit of sugar water to entice him, she coaxed his head to look forward, working quickly to obtain each shot. Despite the challenge of getting him to look upright, the pictures were taken and we packed up to go home.
My son's head was not the perfect round ball that other babies have. Nor was it the typical cone shape that sometimes occurs from exiting the womb. But not once did I think to question the doctors as they told me the reason his head was shaped funny was due to the way he came out of the birth canal. Even though despite logic, his "cone shape" was going out the back of his head instead of the top. I was told it would get better with time and I had no reason to doubt. But it didn't get better and in fact, it got worse. At his two month old check-up, I finally questioned why the back of his skull was protruding. And that day marked the day I would be introduced to the world of craniosynostosis.
That was five years ago and with my first son. And though I never thought we'd have to go down that road again, with the birth of our second son, I am proven wrong. Please join me as I chronicle the events as we experience the journey of correcting sagittal synostosis.