New member help!

[Guest guest]

Hi,my 7 month old baby son Connor got his helmet fitting on Monday and it has

been a nightmare so far, can anyone help me on how to get through these 1st few

days and weeks?

[Guest guest]

What seems to be the problem?

Leila,

Maysa, 16 months, 5 days till graduationwww.mymaysa.wordpress.com

From: gemini7698 <gemini7698@...>Subject: New member help!Plagiocephaly Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009, 5:15 AM

Hi,my 7 month old baby son Connor got his helmet fitting on Monday and it has been a nightmare so far, can anyone help me on how to get through these 1st few days and weeks?

[Guest guest]

First, are there any bad pressure points?  It could just need a better adjustment, which is common for a new helmet.  All of the pressure points don't make themselves known during the fitting visit and often take a day or two to work themselves out.  Talk to the ortho about that and the break in period.  Elaine did not adjust well at all and the first couple days were a nightmare even though she only wore it a few hours.  Most kids adjust without issue, some not so much.  What we did was extend the break in period from 1 week to 2.  About 1/2 way through the second week she was fine once she had it on.  Putting it on and taking it off was still full of fussing for a couple months.

 

Beyond that, make it as fun as you can.  The more you find the helmet to be this awesome fun thing, the quicker they will warm up to it.  We spent a lot of time the first couple months calling it her " silly hat " and giggling when it was going on.  We told her it made her pretty and really just made over her and it. 

 

Elaine (twinA) plagio & tort, 11mos, 2nd helmet since 1/5/09

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 5:15 AM, gemini7698 <gemini7698@...> wrote:

Hi,my 7 month old baby son Connor got his helmet fitting on Monday and it has been a nightmare so far, can anyone help me on how to get through these 1st few days and weeks?

[Guest guest]

Welcome-

Has it gotten any better since writing your original post? Is he just having

trouble sleeping or is the whole time it's on? What kind of band is it? I think

one of the first things to tackle is your confidence putting it on and taking it

off. It seems that a lot of babies fuss at that point the most. Position him so

that you can easily line up the one ear hole (opposite the velcro closure) and

just be swift about it and matter of fact about (try not to show your stress

because they pick up on that).

If it's red spots, make sure they go away within an hour (or at least fade

almost completely). If not, don't the band back on until you can get in for an

adjustment.

If you think he's hot, dress him REALLY lightly, even at night to sleep. His

hands and feet might feel cold to the touch, but they are just fine, that helmet

really traps the heat in. I switched my son to all shorts and t-shirt sets at

night and after about a week to 10 days, he woke up with a dry head. During the

day, especially now that it's getting into summer temps, no socks and a onesie

would be perfect. Their body temp does eventually adjust to the added heat, it

just takes a little time.

Some babies just take a little longer to adjust, but eventually they all do

adjust. Some will continue to have problems sleeping at night. If sleeping is

the issue, you can try memory foam on top of the mattress (under the sheet), if

you feel comfortable with that. It will help his head rest more softly into the

mattress.

I hope it gets better for you! Please keep us posted. Good luck!

Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

Jordan-5

>

> Hi,my 7 month old baby son Connor got his helmet fitting on Monday and it has

been a nightmare so far, can anyone help me on how to get through these 1st few

days and weeks?

>