New to the board---Our story ( a little long)

[Guest guest]

Hi, everyone! My name is Grier and I have a son, Chandler, who is

just over 5 months and has positional plagiocephaly. All throughout

my pregnancy, Chandler was breech and refused to " make the turn " .

Due to hypertension, he was delivered by c-section about 4 weeks

early. I am very petite (5 feet) and I could tell that Chandler was

very restricted in the womb during his last couple of months due to

my short torso and I feel like that had a lot to do with his

torticollis. No one at our hospital recognized the torticollis, even

though Chandler refused to turn his head to the left. Instead, all

of my nurses and doctors just showed me how to nurse around the fact

that he wouldn't turn to the left. Unfortunately, even though I

consider myself pretty well-educated, I continued to hold Chandler in

a way that allowed him to continue favoring his right side and he

always slept facing the right. Obviously, now I know that we

probably could have prevented the whole plagio issue had this been

recognized by our pediatricians earlier than they did. Luckily, the

doctor we saw at his 2 month appointment recognized the torticollis

and plagiocephaly. We immediately began the stretches and

repositioning therapy that very day and were amazed that Chandler

ended up with full range of motion in only a few weeks. The flatness

on his right side has also improved, but his ears are still out of

alignment. We had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who advised us

that even though Chandler's case of plagio is mild, he urged us to

consider putting him in a helmet and wrote us a prescription. Last

week, we had Chandler's casting done, which went much easier than I

had expected- -no tears at all until he was all clean and decided he

didn't want to put his clothes back on (ha, ha). Oh, I forgot to

mention that we live in eastern NC and are quite a ways from the

nearest CT, so we have chosen to go with an experienced ortho that

our neurosurgeon recommended who makes the helmets himself. Today at

3:30pm we will be having the helmet fitting and I am having mixed

emotions- -happy to finally be on our way with getting a rounder

head, but also worried about how Chandler will adjust. I've been

reading posts on this board for several months and the messages that

I've read have really helped me. None of you realized I was out there

because I wasn't posting, but I just wanted each of you to know how

wonderful it is knowing that there is a place I can turn when I need

support.

Oh yeah, I would like to know if any of your " plagio babies " were

breech? I'm just curious if that really may have had something to do

with this.

Thanks for listening!!! I'll post again tomorrow and update everyone

on how our first night with the helmet went.

Grier

Mom to Chandler (5 months- -In helmet as of 7/11/02)

[Guest guest]

Hi Grier,

Welcome to the group!!! Even though your Docs didn't spot the tort at the

hospital, its still great that it was dx at his 2 month check up. I was

fortunate in that same regard with my son at his 2 month check up, some

parents don't hear about tort until after plagio is dx months later! Really

great news that the tort sounds pretty resolved, just keep on top of it and

continue to have him look that way, etc., to make sure it doesn't get tight

again- and stretching out that muscle will surely continue to help as well.

I hope that you will be able to see those ears come into alignment with the

helmet, we used the DOC band and had great results, and I know many other

moms with locally made bands/helmets have also talked about achieving great

correction. You can also check out www.torticolliskids for lots of great

tips and advice from parents dealing with tort as well.

My son was not breech, but he was also stuck inutero- and a lot of tort does

develop inutero as they may be too big and can get cramped (for some woman,

even 6 lbs. may be too much internally) and others can develop it from

sleeping on one side too long (premies). I know that kids can develop tort

inutero from the pelvic bone, or the ribs, depending on where they are and

how they are stuck. Good luck to you and please continue to post how well

Chandler is doing when you get the band!

' Mom

[Guest guest]

Hi Grier, and welcome to the group! That is terrific news that Chandler has full range of motion already, great job with the stretches.

My son, Danny, was also breeched. At 28 weeks he got my hopes up and turned head down, only to go breech again at 32 weeks. Why do I have a feeling he is going to be a difficult child? Danny also has a twin sister, so between being breeched and being a multiple, I don't think there was much of a chance for him to have a round head!

I'm really happy that your specialist is so proactive in regards to the band. Good luck at tomorrow's fitting, and let us know how it goes!

Niki

Kaylie & Danny (STAR grads)

grier113 <grier.holloway@...> wrote: Hi, everyone! My name is Grier and I have a son, Chandler, who is just over 5 months and has positional plagiocephaly. All throughout my pregnancy, Chandler was breech and refused to "make the turn". Due to hypertension, he was delivered by c-section about 4 weeks early. I am very petite (5 feet) and I could tell that Chandler was very restricted in the womb during his last couple of months due to my short torso and I feel like that had a lot to do with his torticollis. No one at our hospital recognized the torticollis, even though Chandler refused to turn his head to the left. Instead, all of my nurses and doctors just showed me how to nurse around the fact that he wouldn't turn to the left. Unfortunately, even though I consider myself pretty well-educated, I continued to hold Chandler in a way that allowed him to continue favoring his right side and he always slept facing the right. Obviously, now I know that we probably could have prevented the whole plagio issue had this been recognized by our pediatricians earlier than they did. Luckily, the doctor we saw at his 2 month appointment recognized the torticollis and plagiocephaly. We immediately began the stretches and repositioning therapy that very day and were amazed that Chandler ended up with full range of motion in only a few weeks. The flatness on his right side has also improved, but his ears are still out of alignment. We had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who advised us that even though Chandler's case of plagio is mild, he urged us to consider putting him in a helmet and wrote us a prescription. Last week, we had Chandler's casting done, which went much easier than I had expected- -no tears at all until he was all clean and decided he didn't want to put his clothes back on (ha, ha). Oh, I forgot to mention that we live in eastern NC and are quite a ways from the nearest CT, so we have chosen to go with an experienced ortho that our neurosurgeon recommended who makes the helmets himself. Today at 3:30pm we will be having the helmet fitting and I am having mixed emotions- -happy to finally be on our way with getting a rounder head, but also worried about how Chandler will adjust. I've been reading posts on this board for several months and the messages that I've read have really helped me. None of you realized I was out there because I wasn't posting, but I just wanted each of you to know how wonderful it is knowing that there is a place I can turn when I need support.Oh yeah, I would like to know if any of your "plagio babies" were breech? I'm just curious if that really may have had something to do with this.Thanks for listening!!! I'll post again tomorrow and update everyone on how our first night with the helmet went.Grier Mom to Chandler (5 months- -In helmet as of 7/11/02) For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Grier -

Glad to hear from you over here! You know how I feel about the whole

situation!! It was good to read your whole story. You are doing the right

thing!

Marci

[Guest guest]

Hi Grier,

Both of my twins were considered to be in a breech position, although it was

more like a transverse position. Sara was stuck against my pelvic bones and

had bruising on her back when she was born. She barely moved in the womb.

Sam's head was stuck under my rib cage, and I think I can still see the

exact spot on his head where he was stuck. They're both DOC grads and had

great correction, but being the scrutinizer that I am, I can still see the

flatness in Sam's head. Good luck to your little one.

Gail, Sam and Sara's mom, DOC grads

>> Oh yeah, I would like to know if any of your " plagio babies " were

> breech? I'm just curious if that really may have had something to do

> with this.

[Guest guest]

Hi Grier,

My first baby was breech. She was born with a large knot on the back of her head, which rounded out just fine on its own (apparently the know was from pressure since her head was in my ribs). Her head shape was not a result of delivery as I had a c-section (because she refused to turn even with external version).

My son Cole (our second) was head down for the last 2 months of the pregnancy, and I carried him very low. Looking back, I realize that his head shape was off from the beginning (it was always a little wide and flat, I suspect because of intra-uterine constraint. I also suspect that my daughter may have been breech because there wasn't room to be head down, but who knows?).

But, it definitely sounds like plagio (and tort, although I don't have any direct experience there) can start in the womb. And I have heard that sometimes babies are breech because of the shape of the mother's uterus. So it would make sense that being breech could be an indicator of uterine conditions that might lend themselves to tort/plagio too?

Just thought I'd share my thoughts on breech babies. Interestingly enough, my daughter (who is quite a dare devil otherwise) absolutely hates to be upside down. I joke that this started in the womb, and that's why she was breech

Kia

-----Original Message-----From: grier113 [mailto:grier.holloway@...]Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 8:37 AMPlagiocephaly Subject: New to the board---Our story ( a little long)Hi, everyone! My name is Grier and I have a son, Chandler, who is just over 5 months and has positional plagiocephaly. All throughout my pregnancy, Chandler was breech and refused to "make the turn". Due to hypertension, he was delivered by c-section about 4 weeks early. I am very petite (5 feet) and I could tell that Chandler was very restricted in the womb during his last couple of months due to my short torso and I feel like that had a lot to do with his torticollis. No one at our hospital recognized the torticollis, even though Chandler refused to turn his head to the left. Instead, all of my nurses and doctors just showed me how to nurse around the fact that he wouldn't turn to the left. Unfortunately, even though I consider myself pretty well-educated, I continued to hold Chandler in a way that allowed him to continue favoring his right side and he always slept facing the right. Obviously, now I know that we probably could have prevented the whole plagio issue had this been recognized by our pediatricians earlier than they did. Luckily, the doctor we saw at his 2 month appointment recognized the torticollis and plagiocephaly. We immediately began the stretches and repositioning therapy that very day and were amazed that Chandler ended up with full range of motion in only a few weeks. The flatness on his right side has also improved, but his ears are still out of alignment. We had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who advised us that even though Chandler's case of plagio is mild, he urged us to consider putting him in a helmet and wrote us a prescription. Last week, we had Chandler's casting done, which went much easier than I had expected- -no tears at all until he was all clean and decided he didn't want to put his clothes back on (ha, ha). Oh, I forgot to mention that we live in eastern NC and are quite a ways from the nearest CT, so we have chosen to go with an experienced ortho that our neurosurgeon recommended who makes the helmets himself. Today at 3:30pm we will be having the helmet fitting and I am having mixed emotions- -happy to finally be on our way with getting a rounder head, but also worried about how Chandler will adjust. I've been reading posts on this board for several months and the messages that I've read have really helped me. None of you realized I was out there because I wasn't posting, but I just wanted each of you to know how wonderful it is knowing that there is a place I can turn when I need support.Oh yeah, I would like to know if any of your "plagio babies" were breech? I'm just curious if that really may have had something to do with this.Thanks for listening!!! I'll post again tomorrow and update everyone on how our first night with the helmet went.Grier Mom to Chandler (5 months- -In helmet as of 7/11/02) For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Hi

Welcome to the group.

My Son Dylan was born at 36/37 weeks gestation by emergency c-section.

I was told when they pulled him out that his head was stuck in a funny

posistion and thats why he was small as well. He weighed 4pounds 15 oz.

My family doctor thought Dylan was in strange posistion too.

Anyway I noticed at 3months that Dylan head was not ok. Dylan did not start

helmet treatment till 8 months old. (I was given the usual it will round out

in time). Dylan was diagnosed at severe. He's in his second helmet and i

have an appointment in 2 weeks to decide if he needs a third helmet or if

hes going to graduate.

Please keep us posted as to how you and Chandler are doing. Any question

please feel free to ask.

I love the name Chandler - are you a friends fan??

Take care

Kerry - Marcus (3) Dylan in second DOCband (17months)

Calgary,AB

>From: " grier113 " <grier.holloway@...>

>Reply-Plagiocephaly

>Plagiocephaly

>Subject: New to the board---Our story ( a little long)

>Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 12:36:35 -0000

>

>Hi, everyone! My name is Grier and I have a son, Chandler, who is

>just over 5 months and has positional plagiocephaly. All throughout

>my pregnancy, Chandler was breech and refused to " make the turn " .

>Due to hypertension, he was delivered by c-section about 4 weeks

>early. I am very petite (5 feet) and I could tell that Chandler was

>very restricted in the womb during his last couple of months due to

>my short torso and I feel like that had a lot to do with his

>torticollis. No one at our hospital recognized the torticollis, even

>though Chandler refused to turn his head to the left. Instead, all

>of my nurses and doctors just showed me how to nurse around the fact

>that he wouldn't turn to the left. Unfortunately, even though I

>consider myself pretty well-educated, I continued to hold Chandler in

>a way that allowed him to continue favoring his right side and he

>always slept facing the right. Obviously, now I know that we

>probably could have prevented the whole plagio issue had this been

>recognized by our pediatricians earlier than they did. Luckily, the

>doctor we saw at his 2 month appointment recognized the torticollis

>and plagiocephaly. We immediately began the stretches and

>repositioning therapy that very day and were amazed that Chandler

>ended up with full range of motion in only a few weeks. The flatness

>on his right side has also improved, but his ears are still out of

>alignment. We had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who advised us

>that even though Chandler's case of plagio is mild, he urged us to

>consider putting him in a helmet and wrote us a prescription. Last

>week, we had Chandler's casting done, which went much easier than I

>had expected- -no tears at all until he was all clean and decided he

>didn't want to put his clothes back on (ha, ha). Oh, I forgot to

>mention that we live in eastern NC and are quite a ways from the

>nearest CT, so we have chosen to go with an experienced ortho that

>our neurosurgeon recommended who makes the helmets himself. Today at

>3:30pm we will be having the helmet fitting and I am having mixed

>emotions- -happy to finally be on our way with getting a rounder

>head, but also worried about how Chandler will adjust. I've been

>reading posts on this board for several months and the messages that

>I've read have really helped me. None of you realized I was out there

>because I wasn't posting, but I just wanted each of you to know how

>wonderful it is knowing that there is a place I can turn when I need

>support.

>

>Oh yeah, I would like to know if any of your " plagio babies " were

>breech? I'm just curious if that really may have had something to do

>with this.

>

>Thanks for listening!!! I'll post again tomorrow and update everyone

>on how our first night with the helmet went.

>

>Grier

>Mom to Chandler (5 months- -In helmet as of 7/11/02)

>

>

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