If extreme yoga were a sport, Jackson would be ready for action with his fashionable protective headgear. But for now, he's simply sporting his cranial-molding helmet and trying not to lose his balance during his favorite asanas.

We noticed that Jackson's head was slightly misshapen at birth and assumed it would correct itself as he grew. But by the time he was 3-months-old, we realized that his head was growing more uneven. After googling "asymmetric baby head," we found www.capkids.org and www.plagiocephaly.org, where we learned that Jackson's head shape may indeed have a name: Plagiocephaly.

Once Jackson's pediatrician confirmed the diagnosis, our summer turned into a barrage of doctor appointments. Because his asymmetry was on his right side, we tried putting Jackson to sleep on his left in an attempt to even out his head. Since Jackson sleeps with us and faces me, my husband and I switched sides in bed, alternating every other night. We figured that Jackson would easily adapt in search of his 24-hour milk cafe, but our new arrangement was making us dizzy, and Jackson was getting frustrated trying to nurse his daddy's back.

After four long weeks of this routine, Jackson's head wasn't improving, and none of us were sleeping. So at 5-months-old, Jackson began helmet therapy, wearing his little helmet 23 hours a day, for the next three to six months.

Jackson has been completely accepting of his helmet; however, it took me a few days to adjust. I felt uncomfortable with so many stares from strangers, and it was difficult to remember that if I kissed his head, I would get a mouthful of polyurethane. But after the brief initiation period, life feels normal again.

Now my baby yogi comes to class, dressed to impress, wearing his helmet decorated with fish. Although Jackson is a fairly confident sitter, one reach too far can throw his delicate balance into a teetering wobble, and down he goes. Keeping this in mind, we have to place ourselves a good distance from our smaller neighbors, who are not yet sitting, so as not to accidentally mistake one of them for a pillow!