Please Help a (We're New to All This)

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Today was one of the saddest days of our lives. For the 1st 2 months

of our baby's life, a preferred to lie to her right. We

mentioned this to our Pediatrician, but he assured us that this was

ok, and that everything would work out ok. We asked if we should

rotate her sleeping position but he said not to. He said we didn't

need to rotate her or anything, and that things would eventually

correct themselves.

At the age of 2 months, we noticed that our beautiful baby a's

head was beginning to be deformed. She preferred to lie to her

right, and it was becoming clear that the right back side of her head

was flattening and her right ear was further forward than her left.

So we started forcing her to lie more to her left, using a baby

positioner, and really encouraging her to avoid the right side. This

week (she's now 3 1/2 months old) we took her to see our Pediatrician

again and he referred us to a specialisit, as things just haven't

improved.

We took our baby a to the Craniofacial Specialist today and I

can't tell you how traumatic this was ... seeing her cry and cry and

cry while they took x-rays ... and knowing that this is all our

fault ... why did we let this happen???

So the specialist called her situation moderate to severe ... noting

that her right ear is more forward than her left ear, noting a very

significant flattening of the right " occipital " and " parietal " bones

(what does that mean?).

He said that there is some hope ... he recommended that we use a DOC

band immediately. He said that that it should correct her skull but

he doesn't think it will correct her ears.

We're SO sad ... I can't tell you how upset we are. We feel like we

failed our baby and now she's deformed.

Please help educate us ...

1. Is the DOC band the way to go? Or are other therapies more

effective? Or are there other brands of therapies?

2. Does the DOC band correct most cases (she's only 3 1/2 months

old)?

3. How well do babies tolerate the DOC band? a hates wearing

hats so we are concerned that she will not tolerate the DOC band.

4. Is the doctor right that her ears will never normalize? How will

she ever be able to wear glasses?

5. Can we have a sleep on a Tempur Pedic pillow that molds to

the head (this would reduce the pressure on her head).

6. In an article the doctor gave us, it says to minimize time in the

car seat or swing. Is there a way to reduce the tendency of

flattening the head when we do have to have a in the car seat?

7. Has anyone had success in fixing the head without a DOC band? We

are concerned that a will hate wearing it and that this will

change her from being a smiley, happy baby.

8. Should we get a second opinion?

9. Does anyone have tips on getting the insurance company to pay for

this?

10. How many hours a day should she wear the device? The doctors

here say 23 hours a day.

11. What else can we do?

Thanks in advance for any help you might give. We know we've asked a

lot of questions but we are really scared for our baby and don't know

much about this or have knowledge of good resources to turn to.

Matt &