Guest guest Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Hey Leila! It's from BabyCenter ('s Mom). The same thing just happened to me a couple weeks ago and I'm STILL beating myself up for not saying anything. The baby I saw looked between 8 and 10 months old and had noticeable brachy. I saw him and his mom in the parking lot at Wal-Mart but I hesitated at first. When I finally gathered up the courage to say something, I couldn't find her. And I don't care either if the mom would have gotten offended, at least she would have learned about brachy, and maybe she would have even researched it when she got home. I WISH I would have said something! Next time, I'm NOT going to hesitate! And that's nice how you saw another baby in a DOC Band! I have yet to see one (besides at the CT office). > > We went to the park this weekend and had a picnic there. We sat on the grass right where the tracks of the little choo-choo train go. The girls love to see it pass by and always wave bye-bye to the passengers. After our picnic lunch, we went for a ride ourselves on the train. Guess what? As we passed the area where just 10-15 minutes prior we were having lunch, another family was sitting there with a baby in a stroller wearing a DOC band! I wanted so bad to go back to that spot and have a conversation with the family, but the girls wanted a ride in the carousel instead, so we did that. Then just after that, we went for ice cream and just sat outside the icecream shop. Soraya, my oldest was taking her sweet time eating hers in 90+ degrees weather, so I had to help her. A family of four passed us by. One of their boy was 3 or 4, the other was in the stroller 10 to 12 months old. I don't like to stare but it seemed to me like the baby > had brachy. He was pretty bald so it wasn't too hard to spot. Then I looked at his brother and his head was fine. By then they had passed me and I had to revert my attention back to Soraya who, as expected, was making a mess eating her ice cream. My husband who was a little further down the path keeping an eye on Maysa who was going her own way came back my way and said: " Did you see that baby? he reminded me so much of Maysa when she was a baby " . My husband never sees anything like that so for him to say that means that the baby really did have a misshapen head. > > Why all this story? Because I keep kicking myself for not pointing it out to his parents and educate them about plagio/brachy. I don't even mind if they had gotten mad or if they had gotten offended. I'll probably never see these people again. I really really wish I had said something because I still have that picture in my head of that little boy in his stroller with a head as flat as a board and I wonder if he'll ever get help. > > I hope that this family meets up with the one with the baby in the DOC band and strikes up a conversation... > > Leila, > Maysa, 19 mo, DOC band Grad 5.26.09 > www.mymaysa.wordpress.com > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Working as a child life specialist in the health care field, I think we need to be careful when offering up unsolicited advice. I know we all wish someone would have told us about the potential dangers that could lead to plagiocelphay, brachy, etc., but not everyone may be as open to advice or has the same resources that we may have. What if this child was much older but had other medical problems that caused the brachy in the first place? I see many children who are chronologically much much older than they appear. Maybe this family doesn't have insurance & can't afford treatment? Saying something could further add to potential guilt they already may be feeling. Maybe this mom was recommended to a specialist & just decided against it. This could be a potential stressor in a marriage if the parents don't agree on the course of treatment. I have friends who were told that their child needed a helmet & opted to not get one & those kids are just fine now. Just because it was right for me & my family doesn't necessairy make it doable for every family. I, myself, contemplated not doing the helmet. Obviously, I chose differently, hence being a member of this group. I just think there is too much background that we are unaware of to just approach a stranger & bring up potential problems with their child. I know the desire to say something is only meant with the most caring & supportive intentions, it just may not be received that way. That's my two cents and would be interested to hear what others think. Geanine, mom to who is in week 8 of his Starband > > We went to the park this weekend and had a picnic there. We sat on the grass right where the tracks of the little choo-choo train go. The girls love to see it pass by and always wave bye-bye to the passengers. After our picnic lunch, we went for a ride ourselves on the train. Guess what? As we passed the area where just 10-15 minutes prior we were having lunch, another family was sitting there with a baby in a stroller wearing a DOC band! I wanted so bad to go back to that spot and have a conversation with the family, but the girls wanted a ride in the carousel instead, so we did that. Then just after that, we went for ice cream and just sat outside the icecream shop. Soraya, my oldest was taking her sweet time eating hers in 90+ degrees weather, so I had to help her. A family of four passed us by. One of their boy was 3 or 4, the other was in the stroller 10 to 12 months old. I don't like to stare but it seemed to me like the baby > had brachy. He was pretty bald so it wasn't too hard to spot. Then I looked at his brother and his head was fine. By then they had passed me and I had to revert my attention back to Soraya who, as expected, was making a mess eating her ice cream. My husband who was a little further down the path keeping an eye on Maysa who was going her own way came back my way and said: " Did you see that baby? he reminded me so much of Maysa when she was a baby " . My husband never sees anything like that so for him to say that means that the baby really did have a misshapen head. > > Why all this story? Because I keep kicking myself for not pointing it out to his parents and educate them about plagio/brachy. I don't even mind if they had gotten mad or if they had gotten offended. I'll probably never see these people again. I really really wish I had said something because I still have that picture in my head of that little boy in his stroller with a head as flat as a board and I wonder if he'll ever get help. > > I hope that this family meets up with the one with the baby in the DOC band and strikes up a conversation... > > Leila, > Maysa, 19 mo, DOC band Grad 5.26.09 > www.mymaysa.wordpress.com > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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