Re: When is the best time to start a band?

August 12, 2009

Joyce,

I haven't been on this board all that long, but I can't recall any discussion

that involved regret over getting a child in a band. If anything, I think many

of us only wish we had done it sooner! I have a friend whose daughter was in a

DOC Band at 4 months and the correction only took 4 weeks. They were very

pleased with the results and have only great things to say about Cranial Tech.

They started aggressive repositioning and keeping the baby off of the back of

her head at 4 weeks. After no visible improvement between 4 weeks and 4 months,

they got her in a DOC Band. My son was banded at 5 1/2 months and just

graduated last week (7 weeks in DOC band). We, too, were told by 2 doctors to

just let it round out on its own - and we lost about a month on that advice.

Maybe some kids will self-correct. I don't know. I just know we didn't want to

take that risk, since you can't turn back the clock. If you wait for it to

improve and it doesn't, it's often too late to get good results from the

band...or too late to band at all.

We started at 5 1/2 months and had really fast growth in the first three weeks

and then the growth tapered off significantly. I wish we had been in it a few

weeks earlier, to capture some of those bigger growth spurts. But, all in all,

we are very pleased with the results. The Cranial Tech team was

great...couldn't have been better to us. And we really felt like they always had

our son's best interest in mind. I would refer someone to them in a heartbeat

and without hesitation. It frustrates me that people (including our first

pediatrician) suggest that they might possibly be in it for the money...since

what they do for our children is so remarkable. We were really scared when we

realized what had happened to our son's head as a result of the plagio and

torticollis...so we will be forever grateful to those who helped treat him,

since his head looks normal again. And we trust that in treating his plagio and

tort, we may have prevented problems down the road, too (jaw, ears, vision,

etc.)

Stay plugged into this group and I think you'll find the reassurance you're

looking for right now. And trust that instinct you had to get him in a band when

you did. :-) Good luck and keep us posted on his progress. I bet it will be

quick.

Jill

Cade's mom (7mo., DOC Band graduate 8/5/09)

Austin

>

> My son, , got his DOC Band from CT a week and a half ago, just before he

was 4 months old. He has severe plagiocephaly and asymmetry. We already see a

difference, plus we're working on his torticollis. The issue is really outside

influences making me doubt what we just paid for.

>

> Insurance paid a little bit for the band and we're fine with what we paid, but

I worry that we jumped too early and should have waited til my son was spending

more time off his head. Have you had issues with getting a helmet too early?

Am I going to regret this decision? The pedi thinks 4-6 months is the best time

to have a band done since the skull is growing so fast, but then I have a gal on

a chat board who seems to like to sling pointed jabs (her daughter has brachy

and she does not want to get a helmet, saying they're only for " cosmetic "

reasons) and says she went to a cranio-surgeon or something and they recommend

waiting til 6 months, that Cranial Technologies is only out for the money, blah

blah blah.

>

> Can any of you make me feel better about my decision??

>

> thank you so much, I am SO glad this group exists.

> joyce

>

August 12, 2009

Hi Joyce-

I would have done anything to have had the option to band my son at 4 months of

age, or even 6 months, but doctor after doctor told us his head would round out

on it's own, so we didn't look into banding. So when more than a year went by

and his head had not changed for the better at all, I was at my wit's end,

trying to get someone to take my concerns seriously and we finally got a band on

his head at 17 months old. Because we got such a late start, his head is still

not perfect, through the DOCBand helped tremendously (there has been no natural

improvement in the year since he graduated). The one regret I still have is that

I trusted the doctors and didn't push for a band sooner.

In your specific situation, if he has severe plagio and facial asymmetry, I

think it's even MORE critical to band early. My son's plagio was considered high

moderate, and it could have been completely corrected if we had banded him

early. In my opinion, you are absolutely doing the right thing. Treatment should

be fast (assuming he grows at a good rate) and before you know it, he'll be out

of his band with a nice round head, and you'll be able to move one with life.

For me, my son will be 3 years old in a few weeks, and I'm still obsessing about

his head, and what could have been. So PLEASE don't let anyone make you feel bad

for doing this now. Braces are cosmetic too, but you probably wouldn't think

twice about getting them for in 12 years or so. You're a good mom!

Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

Jordan-5.5