Re: Re: Newly diagnosed plagio

[Guest guest]

Thanks, everyone for your input. I'm still on the fence. To me her

head doesn't look bad....of course, I'm prejudiced!!

I posted pictures - they're in the E album (don't ask...I guess I

wasn't paying attention), the last ones, right now, under Siena May.

Please tell me what you think.....Is Dad right, or am I blinded by my

love for her??

nwilkens2275 wrote:

Welcome-

It's kind of funny. It sounds like you're in the exact opposite

position of a lot of families here, where the mom thinks they should

band, but the dad is against it or thinks it will be fine on its

own. It's kind of refreshing to know that dads can obsess too!

Anyway, to answer your questions, I think a lot of moms will tell

you that repoing after 6 months old can be difficult: as the child

becomes more mobile, it's harder to control how they sleep. I am a

mom who did try repo and took for granted that the doctors were

right when they said it would "work itself out," but it didn't. My

son still has high moderate plagio and just got his band at 17

months old. I would not recommend waiting that long or putting off

the decision more than another month or 2. I regret not banding him

sooner, so the earlier you have the opportunity to do it, the better.

Having said that, I don't know how mild or severe your daughter's

plagio is. Can you post photos for us to look at? The one piece of

advice that a lot of mom's will give you is to ask yourself the

question: "if her head stays exactly this way for the rest of her

life, will I be happy with it?" If the answer is yes, don't band, if

the answer is no, then maybe banding is the best way to go. I have

heard of moms who didn't band their child until 9 or 10 months old

and see great results, so it's feasible to attempt repo for a little

longer and then decide. But as a mom who waited too long, I always

have to say, the earlier the better.

Good luck with your decision!

Jake-17.5m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DocBand 2/11/08)

Jordan-4

>

> Hello, everyone.

>

> Never realized there were so many of us. Here is our current

situation:

>

> We'd mentioned the flatness of the back of our daughter's head to

her

> pedi. from 2mo. checkup on. At 6 mo., she sent us to neurosurgeon

> (Children's Hosp. Boston), who said she was "just below the line"

> where they'd recommend a helmet. He said it was up to us whether

to

> try repo or helmet, but gave us prescript for helmet, since her dad

> was so concerned.

>

> I'm, initially, against it, but dad is consumed with thinking that

> she'll have a "weird" shaped head and will be made fun of or

resent us

> for not doing something.

>

> We're trying repo now - sleep positioner at night/nap, alternating

> sides, limited use of bouncy seat and swing, tummy time, etc.

>

> Dad will not let it go, and I'm starting to wonder if we should

wait

> or just helmet......now it's starting to consume me!!

>

> Any advise from those of you who have been through similar would

be so

> appreciated!!!

>

> Thanks!!

>

-- Rae Gulliver

Administrative Assistant

Tufts University Advancement Information Systems

80 Street, 2nd Floor

Medford, MA 02155

p.617-627-5636 f.617-627-4014

[Guest guest]

Of course she is gorgeous and perfect just the way she is, as all of our babies are!! But given the shape and especially the fact that dad feels so strongly, if it were me, I think I would go get evaluated for a band. Get some measurements and see what they say. CT will do it for free and other places charge just a small amount for measurements. I feel that a neurosurgeon might not recommend a band unless the baby is severe, which your cutie clearly is not. But that doesn't mean that she wouldn't benefit from a band. Did the neurosurgeon give you any numbers?

For what it's worth, I can see some asymmetry in the top-of-the-head shot. It looks to be in a similar range to what my son had, although it's very hard to tell just from pics. He was considered moderate when we began (11mm asym with some brachy as well) and now after 6 weeks in a Starband his head looks almost completely round to me (although the numbers say we have a couple more mm to go). Now he is a boy, and there is baldness in our family (haha), so part of my decision was that if he wants to shave his head one day to go bald gracefully, I wanted him to have that option. It never looked that bad to me, but I could see it, and I didn't want to regret not doing it.

My thought is that getting another eval will make Dad happy, and will arm you with more information, which is generally a good thing. Also, if you can find out whether insurance would cover it, that is another factor. If it is close to free, it's a lot easier decision than if you'll be shelling out $3000 bucks.

Good luck with your decision. We have been very happy with our decision to band, even though we will probably have to pay ourselves. The weeks flew by much faster than I thought they would.

-Pam

On 2/29/08, Rae Gulliver <rae.gulliver@...> wrote:

Thanks, everyone for your input. I'm still on the fence. To me her head doesn't look bad....of course, I'm prejudiced!!I posted pictures - they're in the E album (don't ask...I guess I wasn't paying attention), the last ones, right now, under Siena May.

Please tell me what you think.....Is Dad right, or am I blinded by my love for her??nwilkens2275 wrote:

Welcome-It's kind of funny. It sounds like you're in the exact opposite position of a lot of families here, where the mom thinks they should band, but the dad is against it or thinks it will be fine on its

own. It's kind of refreshing to know that dads can obsess too!Anyway, to answer your questions, I think a lot of moms will tell you that repoing after 6 months old can be difficult: as the child becomes more mobile, it's harder to control how they sleep. I am a

mom who did try repo and took for granted that the doctors were right when they said it would " work itself out, " but it didn't. My son still has high moderate plagio and just got his band at 17 months old. I would not recommend waiting that long or putting off

the decision more than another month or 2. I regret not banding him sooner, so the earlier you have the opportunity to do it, the better.Having said that, I don't know how mild or severe your daughter's

plagio is. Can you post photos for us to look at? The one piece of advice that a lot of mom's will give you is to ask yourself the question: " if her head stays exactly this way for the rest of her life, will I be happy with it? " If the answer is yes, don't band, if

the answer is no, then maybe banding is the best way to go. I have heard of moms who didn't band their child until 9 or 10 months old and see great results, so it's feasible to attempt repo for a little

longer and then decide. But as a mom who waited too long, I always have to say, the earlier the better.Good luck with your decision!Jake-17.5m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DocBand 2/11/08)Jordan-4

>> Hello, everyone.> > Never realized there were so many of us. Here is our current situation:> > We'd mentioned the flatness of the back of our daughter's head to her

> pedi. from 2mo. checkup on. At 6 mo., she sent us to neurosurgeon> (Children's Hosp. Boston), who said she was " just below the line " > where they'd recommend a helmet. He said it was up to us whether

to> try repo or helmet, but gave us prescript for helmet, since her dad> was so concerned.> > I'm, initially, against it, but dad is consumed with thinking that> she'll have a " weird " shaped head and will be made fun of or

resent us> for not doing something.> > We're trying repo now - sleep positioner at night/nap, alternating> sides, limited use of bouncy seat and swing, tummy time, etc.> > Dad will not let it go, and I'm starting to wonder if we should

wait> or just helmet......now it's starting to consume me!!> > Any advise from those of you who have been through similar would be so> appreciated!!!> > Thanks!!>

-- Rae Gulliver

Administrative Assistant

Tufts University Advancement Information Systems

80 Street, 2nd Floor

Medford, MA 02155

p.617-627-5636 f.617-627-4014