Teddi Mellencamp is sharing a health update about her infant daughter, Dove, who underwent brain surgery in July.
“Hi guys, I am 9 months old and other than a zig zag scar underneath my hair across my head I wouldn’t even know I had neurosurgery a few months back,” Mellencamp began an Instagram post on Tuesday.
In the photo, Dove wears a special helmet to protect her skull. According to Mellencamp, she’ll need to keep it on for about 10 more weeks. Mellencamp was hoping she'd be done with it sooner but Dove doesn't mind.
“Not only is it helping me shape my head further but it is protecting me as I am starting learn to crawl and lift myself up,” Mellencamp explained. “I get to take it off one hour a day, normally during and after bath time which is a good thing bc peeyou it can get stinky.”
Mellencamp noted that Dove is just as sweet as she looks in her pictures.
"I am a happy silly baby who loves to laugh, command all the attention in a room, go on walks and be sung to," she wrote.
The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star revealed in July that Dove was diagnosed with a condition called lambdoid craniosynostosis.
Mellencamp, who is also mom to Slate, 8, and Cruz, 6, initially hesitated to share the news with her more than 974,000 Instagram followers.
"Dealing with anxiety, especially when in the 'public eye,' isn’t easy; and going into July it’s at an all-time high,” Mellencamp wrote in July “I was torn as to whether I should share this information, but as someone who tries to be as transparent as possible, and knowing I have a platform to reach others in similar situations, I would like to update you all.”
According to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) craniosynostosis is a condition where the sutures in an infant’s skull close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth.