Helmets for the Twins

We had to get helmets for the twins. Fisher and Hunter both have flat spots on their heads that should go away after wearing helmets. Hunter's flat spot is due to the fact that he can't sit on his own yet so he spends a lot of time on the back of his head. Fisher's flat spot is due to the torticollis that he had when he was about 4 or 5 months old. His neck was so tight that he didn't like to look the opposite direction so his head had a flat spot on it and it hasn't completely rounded out.

They have had their helmets for 1 week today. There was a break-in period the first several days but now they are wearing them 23 hours each day. Basically, we take them off to bath them and dress them.
The break-in period went like this:
Day 1: 1 hour on, 1 hour off, off while sleeping.
Day 2: 2 hours on, 1 hour off, off while sleeping.
Day 3: 4 hours on, 1 hour off, on while sleeping.
Day 5: 8 hours on, 1 hour off, on while sleeping
Day 6: 23 hours a day.

They have done pretty well with the helmets. They are sweat balls and I have to take their helmets off every couple of hours to wipe them out.

The first thing they did to cast the helmets was to put 3 layers of nylon over their heads. Next, they mark where the ears, eyes, and center of head are. Then they wrap the head in a cast material. They let that dry and then make slits in it above the ears so they can remove the cast. They take the cast and make a mold of their existing head shapes and then make the helmets from that mold. Then each helmet is personalized for them by shaping around the ears and neck and forehead. There is a small strap on the side of the helmet that holds it on so they do not have anything under their chins.

So here are some photos of the process.

Fisher with the first layer of nylon.

Fisher with his markings for his eyes and center of head.

Fisher getting the cast material wrapped on. Look at that chub! What a cutie.

Fisher just before they took the cast off. He was crying and had boogers to his chin.

Fisher as his usual self...all smiles. Sweaty but still smiling.

Hunter and his 3 layers of nylon. What an adorable face!

Hunter getting his ears marked.

Hunter getting the cast material on. They both sat on Tyler's lap to do it all.

Hunter just before they cut the cast off. Not happy at all....crying and very sweaty!

Hunter and his helmet. He has side pads on his because he has such a small head. The pads are to keep the helmet in place. (He now has another pad that comes across his forehead.)

All in all, they are doing very well. We are anticipating wearing helmets for about 4 months. We are so happy and feel very blessed that the insurance covered the cost 100% (it is not common for insurances to cover helmets because they are considered cosmetic.)