hi...new to group & have questions on repositioning-LONG

September 17, 2002

hi everyone! it's great to find a group a/b this. my daughter is 5

months old, and at her 4 month checkup her pediatrician noticed that

her head was flatter on the right side, b/c she sleeps on that side

ALL the time. i had thought it was just something that was birth

related & would straighten out on its own, but the dr. explained to

me that she would have to be repositioned so that she slept on her

left side in order to try to round her head out. since then, i've

been reading all about this problem, and am pretty upset that even

having read a ton of baby books, healthcare books etc prior to my

daughter's birth, i had never even heard of plagiocephaly, and that

now it may have progressed to the pt where she'll have to wear a

helmet (her pediatrician is re-evaluating her progress at 6 months

and referring us to a specialist if she can't see enough

improvement). ANYWAY, groups like yours make the difference, and my

husband and i are really working hard to try to get her to sleep on

her other side (btw, sleeping is the only time she ever rests on that

side, since she spends next to no time in swings, car seats, etc).

so finally to my question ) she is bound and determined to sleep

on her right side no matter what we try. i have tried sneaking in

every 20 mins and turning her head, placing stuff under her right

shoulder, under her entire right side, having her sleep at a slant,

using sleeping positioning aids, etc. the ONLY thing that has worked

so far is using a 20 lb rice bag to basically scrunch her against the

bumper in her crib, while she sleeps on her side, so that she has no

room to turn on her other side. but this is extremely confining and

she tends to also get really hot/sweaty during the night when she's

confined this way. has anyone else used some other method which has

worked? i sure would like to figure out a method which would allow

her to be more comfortable, although she does seem to sleep ok.

also any wisdom on repositioning in general would be great...success

stories, things to avoid, etc.

thanks a bunch!

gerri

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