{12.28.09} Guest Post: Bailey @ Addicted to Addison

Hi! It’s Bailey from Addicted to Addison. Valerie is enjoying her time off in San Antonio with her hubby. Aren’t you jealous? I know I am! She asked me (actually, it was more like me volunteering) to write a guest post while she was gone! I’m so excited to be helping her out!

She asked that I write about my best moment in 2009. It was really hard for me to figure out my best moment. I’ve had a lot of really good moments this year. My boyfriend and I bought our first house and painted the whole thing. Our one year old daughter, Addison, had a lot of really fun, exciting milestones. But I think the best moment in 2009 was when Addison got her helmet and cast off.

Here’s the story. When Addison was 6 months old, her doctor expressed concern with how flat her head was. We were sent to have CAT scans done, and sent to a helmet doctor. The helmet doctor, Dr. K, told us that he recommended we get Addison a helmet. It wasn’t necessary, because her flat head wasn’t interfering with her brain development. Even though it wasn’t necessary, we felt that she should get one. Dr. K told us about how her head could be misshapen without the helmet, and we felt that getting a helmet for Addison was the best thing for her. Some may disagree, but we feel that it was the right decision, and we still feel it was. The helmet really worked, and we’re very happy with the results.

Dr. K told us that she would have the helmet for 4 to 6 months. I was totally prepared for her to wear it the full 6 months, or even a bit longer. But I was really hoping she would be a special case, and would get it off early.

Addison got her helmet when she was 7 months old. She got used to the helmet very easily, and within a few days, it didn’t bother her when we took it on and off. I’m sure some people were curious as to why our baby had a helmet, but we knew the reason, and we didn’t care what other people thought. Most people smiled at her and thought she was just as cute as can be. They didn’t even notice the helmet. But others gave us some not so nice looks. I expected it, so it was fine. I received those looks when I was pregnant, so it didn’t bother me.

It was a bit harder for me to adapt to seeing Addison in her helmet 23 hours of the day. I was sad that I couldn’t see her cute blonde hair all the time. But I knew that in the long run, it would be totally worth it.

Shortly after Addison got her helmet, she broke her leg. She was only 8 months old. I didn’t even know it was possible for a baby that young to break a leg. She was lying on our bed, and somehow rolled off the bed. She wasn’t rolling over at the time, and wasn’t moving around much. She maneuvered around enough to roll off while my back was turned, and when we took her to the doctor and to get x-rays, she had a fracture in her leg.

Let me go ahead and say, I felt like a horrible mother after that happened. It was all my fault, and I thought that I was the worst mother ever. I don’t feel like I’m a bad mother now, and I now know that bad things happen. It’s a fact of life, and there’s really nothing you can do about it after the fact.

Addison had a cast for a month, and she could have cared less. Did I mention that I have the chillest baby ever? She has always been that way. Nothing really fazes her. At the time, she wasn’t crawling, so it didn’t keep her from doing anything that she wanted to do. So for that one month, Addison had a helmet and a cast. Talk about getting bad looks.

When we went for her appointment to have the cast cut off, I was afraid that her leg wasn’t completely healed and that she would have to get another cast. But it was totally healed, and she was cast free! It was a great day! I was so happy!

By that time, Addison was going on 2 months with her helmet. Dr. K said her progress was great and that she should have it for the full 6 months, which would put her getting it off right after her first birthday.

In my mind, I was just hoping her helmet would be off by Christmas. I didn’t set my expectations too high, but I still wanted it off by Christmas, which would be only 5 months with the helmet. Chris had to take Addison to all of her helmet appointments, but he would give me a report every time. Dr. K would always say that her head was shaping up really well, and that everything looked good.

Chris took her at the beginning of November and Dr. K said that the next time he saw her, she would get her helmet off. That meant she would only have it for 5 months, and would have it off right after her first birthday and in time for Christmas. I was so excited. But I tried not to get too excited, because was scared Dr. K would see her and say she needed it on for a little longer. So I just said Hey, it’s cool if she does get it off. But if she doesn’t, it’s ok.

Addison’s birthday came and went, and I was getting anxious about her helmet. I was so excited about finally being able to put bows in her hair, and seeing her curly blonde hair all the time.
The day of her appointment finally came (believe me, it seemed like that week before the appointment lasted forever), and Chris took her to see Dr. K. I was in class, but he called me and text messaged me the good news.

Addison got her helmet off! It was on November 30th, which was just 9 days after her first birthday. I was so happy, excited, and relieved.

As soon as I got home from school, I put bows all in Addison’s hair. I was so excited! She looked so cute! Not that she didn’t before, but she looked like such a grown up without her helmet!
So, that’s my best moment(s) in 2009. It’s been quite an interesting year. I got used to actually being a mom, started back at school, and definitely had some ups and downs. Addison’s broken leg was definitely a down, but we got through it! Addison’s helmet was a definite change. Everything worked out, and now we’re just so excited for 2010 and all of the different things it brings us! I can’t wait to watch my little girl grow up, and although I know there are always going to be ups and downs in parenthood, it’s always worth all of the craziness you sometimes have to go through.

I hope everyone has had a great 2009, and I hope everyone has an even better 2010. Thanks for reading my guest post!

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I hope y'all enjoyed sweet Bailey's post about her adorable little girl and her experience in motherhood. Please go check out her blog if you have a chance!