Re: anyone decide against helmet?

[Guest guest]

we didn't go with a helmet. in the almost 2 months between my

daughter's PT suggesting we see a specialist and us actually getting

the appointment i did some aggressive repositioning and we saw a lot

of improvement. the cranio-facial specialist we saw said she looked

fantastic, and that even if i were pushing him for a helmet (i wasn't)

that he would say she doesn't need one.

i didn't ever get numbers on maggie's asymmetry from anyone, but at

worst she was a very borderline borderline. from the photos here and

elsewhere, i'd guess 7 mm or so. she still has a tiny bit of asymmetry

in her ears but none in her face. her smile is a bit off, but the

cranio-facial specialist said that was muscular and due to the

torticollis not being quite gone, and not skeletal.

i would have gone with the helmet if there was any asymmetry in her

face. if i still see asymmetry in her smile in a few months i will go

back to the cranio-facial specialist and make sure he still thinks

it's muscular.

hope this helps!

>

> I am very aware of all the good reasons for getting a helmet, but I

> would really appreciate hearing from those who chose against using the

> helmet. What were your reasons for deciding against it? How severe was

> your case? Are you happy with your choice or do you regret it? How has

> your child progressed without it? Specifically, what factors led to

> your decision? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback. I hear lots of

> feedback about people who went with the helmet, but i'd really like to

> hear alternate thoughts. Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

I am a repo mom. My plagio baby is 5 years old now and her head

looks great. HOWEVER, her plagio was not very very severe. I joined

this group when my daughter was about 3 months old. I was not all

that into getting a band for her, but decided I would do it if it was

what she needed. In the first week or two of my joining this group I

had posted pictures and a woman told me that since my dd was so young

and since her plagio didn't seem severe, I ought to try repositioning

her ans see what that does before I banded her. She really was

young, and from what I had read on the board, babies who started

their bands at 6,7,8 months old were still getting very good

correction, so I decided to give it a go.

I called the craniofacial clinic at our Children's Hospital and made

an appointment for right after her 6 months well-baby visit would be

and then I started repositioning her. From that moment on,

everything that happened in her life happened on her right side (her

flatness was on the left).

My other kids helped and she did A LOT of tummy time. Although she

did also spend a lot of time in positions where whatever she was

leaning on could act as a holding point so the the rest of her head

could catch up to the bulge. I also changed her sleeping

arrangements. Instead of sleeping in her bassinette anymore, we

slept together on the couch or recliner so that I could position her

and hold her where she would not be resting against the flat spot.

Then at her 6mo well-baby visit her pede and i evaluated the change

(w/o taking any measurements) and we decided we were seeing good

progress. I decided not to go to the specialist or pursue a band and

the rest is history. Repositioning was a 24/7 job but SO REWARDING.

You can look at her progress pictures in the Before and

After/Repositioning section of the Photos section under S.

There is a difference though between deciding not to band and just

seeing what happens and dediding not to band so that you can

reposition. Repo is hard work but so worth it if your chid is young

enough and mild enough to benefit from it.

How old is your baby?

Becky, repositioning moderator

, repo grad

Pittsburgh, PA

>

> I am very aware of all the good reasons for getting a helmet, but I

> would really appreciate hearing from those who chose against using

the

> helmet. What were your reasons for deciding against it? How severe

was

> your case? Are you happy with your choice or do you regret it? How

has

> your child progressed without it? Specifically, what factors led to

> your decision? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback. I hear lots of

> feedback about people who went with the helmet, but i'd really like

to

> hear alternate thoughts. Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

My guy just turned 5 months. We have been repositioning since around

two months and have seen some improvement but he still has a flat

right side. He has a little ear asymmetry but that has gotten way

better. I can't see any forhead bulging or facial asymmetry. We are

in PT for torticollis. The ped and physical therapist are not

encouraging a helmet at all, but haven't come right out and said we

don't need one, and it seems moms on here really push for it. I don't

know to what degree his severity is, they just say mild to moderate.

Can I still see results from repositioning at this age or is he too

old? Thanks so much for your feedback.

> >

> > I am very aware of all the good reasons for getting a helmet, but

I

> > would really appreciate hearing from those who chose against

using

> the

> > helmet. What were your reasons for deciding against it? How

severe

> was

> > your case? Are you happy with your choice or do you regret it?

How

> has

> > your child progressed without it? Specifically, what factors led

to

> > your decision? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback. I hear lots

of

> > feedback about people who went with the helmet, but i'd really

like

> to

> > hear alternate thoughts. Thanks!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I would say 6 mo is a good point to decide about a band, so long as

you are seeing some results from repo and the plagio is not severe.

You may still repo after this, but it gets progressively harder to get

them to cooperate. You can even make the decision to band later, but

you'll miss some of the faster growth.

I would recommend taking pics every 2 weeks and comparing. There are

parents (including Becky who is a moderator in this group) who were

able to avoid banding entirely because of successful repo. Good luck

with it.

-christine

sydney, 3 yrs, starband grad

> > >

> > > I am very aware of all the good reasons for getting a helmet, but

> I

> > > would really appreciate hearing from those who chose against

> using

> > the

> > > helmet. What were your reasons for deciding against it? How

> severe

> > was

> > > your case? Are you happy with your choice or do you regret it?

> How

> > has

> > > your child progressed without it? Specifically, what factors led

> to

> > > your decision? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback. I hear lots

> of

> > > feedback about people who went with the helmet, but i'd really

> like

> > to

> > > hear alternate thoughts. Thanks!

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Please look at the before and after/repo pics in the photos section

if you haven't already. There is also a severity assessment chart at

the Cranial Tech

website...http://www.cranialtech.com/MedicalInfo/identify.html. You

can look at that and see what you think. You can also take a photo

from a birdseye angle - DIRECTLY down on your child's head from the

top - and post it in the photos section. The moms here will be happy

to share our opinions - we have moderators here (like me) whose

plagio babies are in kindergarten by now so we have been looking at

heads for a very long time. If you woud feel better, you can take

the picture and email it to me offlist, res103198 (take

the spaces out before and after the @). I am happy to look at it and

try to give you some guidance.

If you are seeing results from repositioning, then I do think it is

safe for you to keep repo'ing until your son's 6mo checkup. When

6mo's comes up, you look at your son's head and decide whether you

could be satisfied if his head never got any better. I encourage

you, if you haven't already started, to take periodic birdseye photos

of your son's head so that you can objectively look at the progress

you and your son are making. Then if you feel like you need input,

you can post them here and ask for opinions. If you worry that you

can't correct it to your satisfaction by repositioning, it is not a

cop-out to seek band/helmet treatment at that time.

It is good that you have him in treatment for his tort because tort

can throw a major wrench in the works regarding repositioning. if a

baby physically cannot keep of his flat spot then you are reay

fighting against the current, but if youa re getting the tort under

control, then you may see good repo results as well. You may need to

repo longer, because sometimes changes and ilnesses wil cause a

child's tort to act up, and at those times you are going to have to

renew your efforts to keep him off the flat spot, but again, if you

are seeing satisfactory results, then forgoing the band is something

to think about.

Please let me know how things are going and feel free to email me or

send me s shout-out here on the list. Just post " Becky--'s mom "

in the subject line.

Take care and keep in touch.

Becky, repo mod

, repo grad

> > >

> > > I am very aware of all the good reasons for getting a helmet,

but

> I

> > > would really appreciate hearing from those who chose against

> using

> > the

> > > helmet. What were your reasons for deciding against it? How

> severe

> > was

> > > your case? Are you happy with your choice or do you regret it?

> How

> > has

> > > your child progressed without it? Specifically, what factors

led

> to

> > > your decision? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback. I hear

lots

> of

> > > feedback about people who went with the helmet, but i'd really

> like

> > to

> > > hear alternate thoughts. Thanks!

> > >

> >

>