Anyone out there NOT banding?

[Guest guest]

My daughter was breech and born with a crooked head. She was

diagnosed with tort at 5 weeks, so repositioning was a challenge.

Her tilt is now gone, and her ROM is about 90%. But her head is

still lumpy - especially when viewed from the top. Flat on the left

back, bulging a little in the back on the right, with a small ridge

on top - to the left of her soft spot.

After asking about her head shape at 3 doctor visits and 2 pt visits,

we FINALLY got a referral to a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. (Our

pediatrician kept telling me that some assymetry is normal and she

really didn't need to be treated.)

And here was the Ped. Neuro's advice: If it was his daughter, he

would not band her. He said that he used to band babies regulary,

and then couldn't get the bands for a time. During that period, he

found that they were correcting at about the same rate. He went on

to say that the clinical studies are being done NOW so he had no hard-

and-fast evidence for us, although you rarely find anyone over the

age of 2 with severe head and/or facial assymetry. We all have a

little, right?

As far as docs go, we liked him. He has an excellent reputation (we

have personal friends we respect that have been to him), he was very

personable and talked to us for a LONG time. He even told us that if

we really wanted to band her, he would provide the referral to

someone in Dallas. My head says he is probably right, but my heart

is worried about the consequences if he is wrong... and we won't know

that until it's too late!

I've read many, many, many, many, many of your posts and it seems

that everyone is banding. Is there anyone out that who is not? How

is it going? Any advice?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome! How old is your baby right now? If she is still very

young then repositioning can be very, very effective. Even if she is older

and you have the time to devote to aggressive repositioning you may still

have some very good success. Repositioing is an excellent tool, but

unfortunately something that I learned about when it was too late. By the

time I got anyone to listen to me about my daughter's unusual head shape she

was 7 months old and pretty doing her own thing. She started walking at 8

months so repositioning was really not an option for us. She was also

moderate to severe so the helmet was really our only option. Had someone told

me about repositioning when I first brought it up at her 4 month check up I

would have given it a real good try.

The opinions regarding the effectiveness of the bands/helmets varies. 's

head shape from the time she was 4 months until she was 9 months did nothing

but get worse so I do not feel that her head shape would have improved over

time on its own. In fact we did not get 100% correction and the assymetries

that were left after the helmet came off have not made any further

improvement so I'm glad that we opted for the helmet.

Decided to use a band/helmet or deciding to reposition is SUCH a personal

decision. It really is all about what is best for your baby. Your mommy

instincts will tell you what you should do. Try to listen to that and make

the decision based on what YOU think is best for you baby.

Check out the following webpage for some advice on repostioning:

wwww.plagiocephaly.org/support Also check out the following webpage for some

good repositioning tools: Butterfly pillow: www.snuglbuds.com

Boppy pillow: www.onestepahead.com

Repositioning aid: www.safetsleep.com

Plagiocephaly Pillow:

http://www.piloxs.com/products/productpages/PillowHead.htm

Best wishes and let us know what you decide to do. You will have our support

no matter which path you choose.

Marci (Mom to )

Oklahoma

[Guest guest]

,

Depending upon the age of your child, you could have good success with

repositioning. I know that several members had success with this, but I

think there are a lot of variables that come into play here: how old is the

child now? Is the child considered severe? Is there apparent facial and ear

asymmetry, and is it moderate to severe? We tried repositioning

even before we learned of his tort at 2 months, and with him headed into

daycare at 3 months, we could not be as on top of this to monitor if he was

off that flat spot. Therefore, the band was a great option, not only to

prevent it from worsening, but also because the facial asymmetry, smaller

eye, bossing forehead, ear misalignment, puffier cheek- I felt would not

improve on its own since the head shape started to grow that " wrong " way.

One ped started to show me that she had a smaller eye too- so we're not all

perfect, but I have seen children in KKR's book at an older age with

noticeable asymmetry and did not want to risk it if the option to correct it

was readily available. We had him wear the band for 3 months with great

success. Keep in mind that our ped also did not feel it was necessary to

band, nor did another ped, and now that its all said and done felt it was the

best possible decision and he looks great. Make sure that you as parents

educate yourselves on this and decide for yourselves what is in the best

interest of your daughter. My well-known, reputable neurologist was clueless

of the band, so I have no more stock in Doctors knowing all and do my own

homework and analysis on what's best for us. Good luck!

' Mom