My 4 mo old may need helmet therapy Please help!

August 20, 2002

Hi Mom to CJ!

Welcome to the group! Your little one is still at a great age for

repositioning to work, and it can work, but the key is to keep on top of the

game and take photos from all angles to note progress, or worsening, and know

when to say when. Although I asked my ped for a referral for the band at my

son's 4 mos. check-up, our issues were facial asymmetry, ear misalignment,

the flat right back, and to top it off, having him in daycare where I would

be out of control of the repositioning. You really need to weigh your

circumstances, look at what you can and can't do, and with your little one

not dealing with facial asymmetry, your already at a better start for

repositioning to work for you. If you are a SAHM, or have a home sitter, I

would say repositioning can be very effective for you and do it at all costs.

Give yourself a month, and take lots of pictures. I like 's idea of

getting the ball rolling now, its better to cancel an appt. than add on

another 2 months of waiting time just to get in. Even though I got the

referral at his 4 mos. check-up, he waited another 3 weeks to get into the

band, which is actually really good time compared to other members that have

waited months. I always think that even if you are going to go the helmet

route, repositioning is still in your best interest to prevent it from

worsening while your waiting for the helmet/band. Good luck to you and keep

us posted!

' Mom

August 20, 2002

Hello everyone!

I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check up

with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought his

head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux and

some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months and

decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his tummy

when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said I

could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen the

amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't want

to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the back

is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

Your son it still young enough to see good results by repositiong him

off his flat area. When awake spend as much time on tummy as

possible. Avoid the use of carseat carriers, swings, and even bouncy

seats if you can during the day. Carrying him around in a sling or

front pouch is much better. When he sleeps, alternating side

positions in a sleep positioner would be best. (At least until he

starts rolling.) I wouldn't sleep him on his tummy -- there are

other ways to get him to sleep off the flat area without incurring

SIDS risks.

In the meantime, it might be a good idea to set the ball rolling to

see a specialist. It could take a long time to get an appointment.

And if you think you might want to go the helmet/band route, check

the www.plagiocephaly.org & www.cappskids.org websites for 'plagio

friendly' doctors. The ideal spciailist will give you ideas for

sleep repositioning as well as consider a helmet if necessary. Some

are just plain anti-helmet. Seeing one of those just wastes valuable

treatment time. (This happened to us.)

Good luck. Repositioning is a 24/7 job, but worth it if you can

avoid banding.

-

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check

up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought

his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux

and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen

the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't

want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

Hi & welcome to our group!

We're glad you found us. PLEASE stop blaming yourself for your son's

headshape! The guilty feelings you are having are very common amongst

us plagio parents, but really, you've done everything right for your

son. Especially with his reflux & apnea issues. We have another

member, , whose son had reflux & plagio, I know she'll reply to

you.

You are correct, the earlier you begin helmet therapy the faster the

correction will be. 4 mos is the best age to begin for the fastest &

best correction. But if you also wait & see over the next 2 mos, if

you were to begin at 6 mos, that's still a super age to begin. You

can try repositioning over the next 2 mos, your son is at a young age

where repositioning can be successful enough to possibly avoid the

need for a helmet. Check out www.plagiocephaly.org/support for great

repositioning tips & other plagio info.

I'm not sure about massaging the head, it sounds like you may be

describing cranial sacral therapy? Other members have done this,

hopefully they'll offer their personal experiences.

Again --------- I cannot stress this enough.....You are not

a " terrible mother " for one second! You are super, and have done

everything as you have been told to do...now you are addressing your

son's plagio & trying everything possible to help correct that!

Hang in there......where abouts do you live?

welcome again!

Debbie Abby's mom DOCGrad

MI

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check

up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought

his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux

and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen

the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't

want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

Hi,

Your son is still at a great age to get great results with

repositioning. You have to be diligent with it!! It is a 24 hour a

day job. For some repositioning doesn't work. It didn't work for me.

I don't think I was diligent enough with it. You may want to check

out this link:

http://www.plagiocephaly.org/support/repotech.htm

It will give you some really good ways to reposition your son. If you

do plan on banding, I suggest you start the process now. It takes a

while to get an appointment with a specialist. A lot of peds like to

have x-rays or a CT scan done to rule out craniosynostosis. Which is

premature fusion of one or more sutures. In the meantime try the

repositioning, it may work for you!! Good luck and please keep us

posted.

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check

up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought

his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux

and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen

the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't

want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

Hi and welcome to the group. My peds doctor told us to wait also,

then I told my mother, and she told me to call back and demand that

we do something now. They did! Now we are starting our second month

of a local helmet and his head is so much rounder. I would speak my

mind. Tell them, demand that something be done,now. Good luck.

Heidi, mom to Jeffry, local helmet, MN

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check

up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought

his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux

and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen

the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't

want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

I see that you've already gotten lots of great advice... your son is at a great age for repositioning to be a success (if only I could go back to when Cole was 4 months old!). Be glad that your ped is so on top of things too. Many of us have had pediatricians who showed no concern about our infant's head shape. It is definitely the kind of thing that can get worse instead of better if left alone. Cole started sitting up at 4 1/2 months, and his head got worse (not better as the doc predicted) between 4 and 6 months. He is a brachy baby (flat straight across the back). He doesn't have facial asymmetry either, but he does have a very wide head. The tendency with brachy is for the head to grow tall and/or wide, which can be very abnormal looking. I definitely don't think we are buying into designer babies... we just want our little ones to look normal and be able to fit into bike helmets, baseball caps, etc. You could take pictures over the next 4 weeks (every week perhaps) from different angles (especially the side and top of the head)? Then you would have great information for deciding on whether to pursue a band or continue with repositioning. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Kia (mom to Cole, born 11/20/01, STARBand 6/18/02)

-----Original Message-----From: mom2tcj [mailto:mom2tcj@...]Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 1:33 PMPlagiocephaly Subject: My 4 mo old may need helmet therapy Please help!Hello everyone!I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check up with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought his head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux and some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months and decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his tummy when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said I could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen the amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't want to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6 months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the back is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the beautiful children we have!For more plagio info

August 20, 2002

You are soooooooo lucky that your pediatrician had noticed it! Ours

completely dismised it!

I would start the ball rolling toward a helmet even if you never go

that route.

My son is 4 months old Saturday.....we are just beginning the process

and he will probably be closer to 6 months by the time he is actually

wearing the helmet.

We have also been told that he will have to wear it less time because

we have caught it so young.

I would also try repositioning. We have been working on that for a few

weeks. Its tough, but has worked for some. This web page has a great

story:

http://www.geocities.com/alittleone2000/plagiopage_ourstory.htm

We just decided that because our son is in daycare and we have no

control over such a large part of the day that the helmet is best.

Best of luck to you!

('s mom - will be in Doc helmet soon)

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

August 20, 2002

Hi, I know many members have already given you some great advice and support, but I will throw my 2 cents in for what it is worth.

I have two boys, Claeb 2 and Lucas 6 1/2 mths and both have relux. I know with both of ours we were able to delay using medication with the use of a speacial formula. Lucas is just now getting ready to start helmet therepy next week.

Please dont blame yourself, you ARE a great mom! I know many have blamed oursleves, me included, when actually there is nothing to be blamed for. Researching has much information as you can is a great way to help your baby. Repositioning can help a lot and do wonders. I too concur with Debbie, and would go ahead and set up a appt with a "plagio friendly" Dr. That way in case you decide to go the helemt/band route you are already that much closer. Do you know does your son have tort? Treatment of the tort with PT and OT can help resolve a lot of plagio issues.

This group is great place to get all kinds of support and advice. I am sure you will find lots of encourgement here, we are glad to have you,

My 4 mo old may need helmet therapy Please help!

Hello everyone!I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check up with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought his head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux and some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months and decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his tummy when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said I could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen the amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't want to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6 months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the back is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the beautiful children we have!For more plagio info

August 20, 2002

Kia,

Thanks for your response! I am overwhelmed at the the response from everyone! You are all so awesome! Kia I hope I didn't sound offensive about designer babies, I apologize if I did. My husband is having a tough time with this. He thinks I am over reacting. He gave me a hard time when we had to get the monitor for . You said your son is a brachy---my son has a large forhead almost kind of bulging---when I tried to ask the dr if that was related to his head flattening she didn't answer -- I think she thought she was answering my questions but wasn't --- you know what I mean?? Anyway do you think that his big forehead could be related? My husband has kind of a big forehead so we don't know if it's hereditary or plagio??? Well so far I have decided that I will work hard on repostioning and try to get the appt with a specialist, I agree I would rather cancel the appt then to have to wait 2 months! YIKES! that is sooooo terrible. I will keep everyone posted! Thanks for your help and prayers! I will keep everyone in my thoughts also! Sorry I can't do the chat tonight, we have a wedding to go to, hopefully my mom will be good about keeping off his back! Love to all, Phyllis

Kia wrote:

I see that you've already gotten lots of great advice... your son is at a great age for repositioning to be a success (if only I could go back to when Cole was 4 months old!). Be glad that your ped is so on top of things too. Many of us have had pediatricians who showed no concern about our infant's head shape. It is definitely the kind of thing that can get worse instead of better if left alone. Cole started sitting up at 4 1/2 months, and his head got worse (not better as the doc predicted) between 4 and 6 months. He is a brachy baby (flat straight across the back). He doesn't have facial asymmetry either, but he does have a very wide head. The tendency with brachy is for the head to grow tall and/or wide, which can be very abnormal looking. I definitely don't think we are buying into designer babies... we just want our little ones to look normal and be able to fit into bike helmets, baseball caps, etc. You could take pictures over the next 4 weeks (every week perhaps) from different angles (especially the side and top of the head)? Then you would have great information for deciding on whether to pursue a band or continue with repositioning. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Kia (mom to Cole, born 11/20/01, STARBand 6/18/02)

-----Original Message-----From: mom2tcj [mailto:mom2tcj@...]Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 1:33 PMPlagiocephaly Subject: My 4 mo old may need helmet therapy Please help!Hello everyone!I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check up with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought his head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux and some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months and decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his tummy when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said I could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen the amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't want to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6 months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the back is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the beautiful children we have!For more plagio info

August 20, 2002

Hi Phyllis,

My daughter, is flat on the right side and a little on the

left side. Her forehead bulges too! If you go to post 40869 you can

see pictures of that Cranial Technologies (the company that

makes the DOCband) took. You can really see how big her forehead is.

I see that you've already gotten lots of great advice...

your son is at a great age for repositioning to be a success (if only

I could go back to when Cole was 4 months old!). Be glad that your

ped is so on top of things too. Many of us have had pediatricians

who showed no concern about our infant's head shape. It is

definitely the kind of thing that can get worse instead of better if

left alone. Cole started sitting up at 4 1/2 months, and his head

got worse (not better as the doc predicted) between 4 and 6 months.

He is a brachy baby (flat straight across the back). He doesn't have

facial asymmetry either, but he does have a very wide head. The

tendency with brachy is for the head to grow tall and/or wide, which

can be very abnormal looking. I definitely don't think we are buying

into designer babies... we just want our little ones to look normal

and be able to fit into bike helmets, baseball caps, etc. You could

take pictures over the next 4 weeks (every week perhaps) from

different angles (especially the side and top of the head)? Then you

would have great information for deciding on whether to pursue a band

or continue with repositioning. Good luck and let us know what you

decide! Kia (mom to Cole, born 11/20/01, STARBand 6/18/02) -----

Original Message-----

> From: mom2tcj [mailto:mom2tcj@y...]

> Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 1:33 PM

> Plagiocephaly@y...

> Subject: My 4 mo old may need helmet therapy Please help!

>

> Hello everyone!

> I have a 4 mo old son who may need helmet therapy. We had a check

up

> with the pediatrician on Thursday (Aug. 15) she said she thought

his

> head was getting to flat on the back. My son suffers from reflux

and

> some apnea (he's on a moniter at night) so I have always kept him

> upright and on his back. Now I feel terrible that I caused this

> problem to happen. The dr wants to wait and see him in two months

and

> decide then what to do. She also said for me to keep him on his

tummy

> when awake and even let him sleep on his side or tummy. I asked her

> if I could massage his head and see if that seemed to help she said

I

> could try. Has anyone ever tried that? With what I have read on the

> internet I wonder if we should not wait the two months. Does anyone

> think that we could start helmet therapy now and it could lessen

the

> amount of time he would need to wear one? I keep thinking of the

> growth spurt his head will have in the next two months. I don't

want

> to wait and then have him need a helmet and have to wear it for 6

> months. It seems to me that his head is not that bad. I mean the

back

> is flat but his face is not misshapen or asymetrical. Are we just

> playing into designer babies? Please help me! I am so upset, I feel

> like a terrible mother that this has happened. Thank you all in

> advance for your advice. May God continue to Bless us all and the

> beautiful children we have!

>

> For more plagio info

August 20, 2002

Hi and welcome, I'm the other Heidi on the board.

My daughter was dx with Torticollis and plagio at 12 weeks. I

made an appt with a band friendly specialist and scheduled it out 6

weeks. I have a PPO and did not need a referral. I also went in for

a free consult with Cranial Tech; they do the DOC bands. Cranial

tech measured her head so I had numbers and I could see if we were

making progress. I am lucky because I live 10 minutes from the

clinic. I tried to take photos but found it had to get the correct

angle. I used my camcorder; it worked better for me. Well the long

and short of it is repositioning is working for us. I cancelled my

appt w/ specialist.

Some doctors with say the head with round out on its own. I do not

agree with that. It takes hard work to keep on the repositioning.

And to say it will round out on its own makes us think that we can

just sit back and it will correct itself with out any help from us.

Aggressive repositioning is the way to go even if you end up going

the band route. If nothing else you do not want the child's head to

get worse while you are waiting for the band. Between getting a

referral, the appt with the specialist, the insurance approval and

casting, you could be a couple months away from getting the band.

Hang tough. I know you already got most of this information. I am

replying to you because we are seeing great results with

repositioning. I don't think you will find too many parents that had

results with repositioning on the board, just because once our babies

are fine we move on to something else. I don't think there are even

stats on how successful or unsuccessful repositioning is but if

anyone know of any maybe they will post them.

Heidi – IL mom to 6, 4 and 18 weeks

(tort/plagio)

http://www.cranialtech.com