Re: Over 12 months showing great progress

[Guest guest]

Angie,

That is absolutely wonderful. I love to hear success stories for "older" babies.

My ortho also said the same thing about shaving the band.

Is all of the success due to the band or have you been trying other things as well?

, mom to , 25 months

STARband grad May 2009 (at 20.5 months)

Chiro and CST

land

Over 12 months showing great progress

My son was 12 1/2 months when we went for his initial consultation. He was just over 13 months when he got his starband. He has a host of issues contributing to his plagio and has microcephaly, so we figured he still had a lot of growing left. The orthotist said it was up to us because he was not sure what we would get out of it but was reassuring that he felt there was some room for improvement.

After only a few weeks in the band, we had one hot day that started a heat rash that progressively got worse. My son was out of the band for about 2 weeks, restarting the journey September 15th. They said to bring him back in when he'd been in the band 2-3 weeks.

We just went yesterday and the orthotist checked everything out and said it was looking good. I asked him to measure (hand measurements) because I thought his head was looking better. He said he normally wouldn't yet since he's been out so long and his growth is slow, but that he'd do it for me.

You should have seen what I can only describe as astonishment on his face when measuring. My son went from 418 to 423, so a mini growth spurt. He started at 93% and is now 87% and his cranial vault asymmetry already has gone from 13 mm to 6-7 mm. I almost cried! I was wondering if we would get any improvement and figured he'd be in the band for so long, but now the orthotist said one more good growth spurt like that and we may decide to take him out of it. He wants to strive for under 85% and under 5 mm, but heck, if the band fits longer why not keep him in it (he's so darn cute in his little speed racer helmet).

For someone else that had asked about having a band and it not being shaved, that might be the case for my son. It has not been shaved yet, and I figured it had to do with the in and out of it due to the rash. The orthotist didn't shave yesterday either after taking the measurements. I asked about it and he said he would only shave if warranted and would be seen by pink spots all over the back of the head versus just in the few pressure spots. I guess there is enough room in the band for the growth to be adequately redirected so shaving it may not be necessary in my son's case.

Thanks for all the info I've learned from all of you and from your stories of frustration and success!

Angie, mom to 6/20/08

[Guest guest]

Hi,

That is great news!

Thanks for sharing. It gives me hope that maybe will have a

little growth spurt in his Starband too. He is only a couple weeks

older. It would only take one for as long as the growth is in the

right areas.

- Kathy, mom to 16 months, 4 months in Starband

Angie Burton wrote:

My son was 12 1/2 months when we went for his initial

consultation. He was just over 13 months when he got his starband. He

has a host of issues contributing to his plagio and has microcephaly,

so we figured he still had a lot of growing left. The orthotist said it

was up to us because he was not sure what we would get out of it but

was reassuring that he felt there was some room for improvement.

After only a few weeks in the band, we had one hot day

that started a heat rash that progressively got worse. My son was out

of the band for about 2 weeks, restarting the journey September 15th.

They said to bring him back in when he'd been in the band 2-3 weeks.

We just went yesterday and the orthotist checked

everything out and said it was looking good. I asked him to measure

(hand measurements) because I thought his head was looking better. He

said he normally wouldn't yet since he's been out so long and his

growth is slow, but that he'd do it for me.

You should have seen what I can only describe as

astonishment on his face when measuring. My son went from 418 to 423,

so a mini growth spurt. He started at 93% and is now 87% and his

cranial vault asymmetry already has gone from 13 mm to 6-7 mm. I

almost cried! I was wondering if we would get any improvement and

figured he'd be in the band for so long, but now the orthotist said one

more good growth spurt like that and we may decide to take him out of

it. He wants to strive for under 85% and under 5 mm, but heck, if the

band fits longer why not keep him in it (he's so darn cute in his

little speed racer helmet).

For someone else that had asked about having a band and it

not being shaved, that might be the case for my son. It has not been

shaved yet, and I figured it had to do with the in and out of it due to

the rash. The orthotist didn't shave yesterday either after taking the

measurements. I asked about it and he said he would only shave if

warranted and would be seen by pink spots all over the back of the head

versus just in the few pressure spots. I guess there is enough room in

the band for the growth to be adequately redirected so shaving it may

not be necessary in my son's case.

Thanks for all the info I've learned from all of you and

from your stories of frustration and success!

Angie, mom to 6/20/08

[Guest guest]

Only the band - we had not explored anything else.

I know this has kinda been asked before but my son has a little bit different issues -

Does anyone know, I will ask the orthotist at the next visit but that's not for 3 weeks, what are the chances of the flattening occurring again once he graduates from the band? My son still cannot sit unassisted and hates tummy time - immediately rolls back over. Since he's not mobile, we keep him in a bumbo seat or his feeding seat or he's held as much as possible, but 2 naps a day plus sleeping through the night and time in his car seat, etc - I just hope we won't see any regression after all of this. I know most kids are more mobile and sitting up and crawling, etc, so they don't spend as much time on their backs - just curious.

Thanks.

Angie

From: <melanie.watson@...>Subject: Re: Over 12 months showing great progressPlagiocephaly Date: Saturday, October 10, 2009, 2:20 PM

Angie,

That is absolutely wonderful. I love to hear success stories for "older" babies.

My ortho also said the same thing about shaving the band.

Is all of the success due to the band or have you been trying other things as well?

, mom to , 25 months

STARband grad May 2009 (at 20.5 months)

Chiro and CST

land

Over 12 months showing great progress

My son was 12 1/2 months when we went for his initial consultation. He was just over 13 months when he got his starband. He has a host of issues contributing to his plagio and has microcephaly, so we figured he still had a lot of growing left. The orthotist said it was up to us because he was not sure what we would get out of it but was reassuring that he felt there was some room for improvement.

After only a few weeks in the band, we had one hot day that started a heat rash that progressively got worse. My son was out of the band for about 2 weeks, restarting the journey September 15th. They said to bring him back in when he'd been in the band 2-3 weeks.

We just went yesterday and the orthotist checked everything out and said it was looking good. I asked him to measure (hand measurements) because I thought his head was looking better. He said he normally wouldn't yet since he's been out so long and his growth is slow, but that he'd do it for me.

You should have seen what I can only describe as astonishment on his face when measuring. My son went from 418 to 423, so a mini growth spurt. He started at 93% and is now 87% and his cranial vault asymmetry already has gone from 13 mm to 6-7 mm. I almost cried! I was wondering if we would get any improvement and figured he'd be in the band for so long, but now the orthotist said one more good growth spurt like that and we may decide to take him out of it. He wants to strive for under 85% and under 5 mm, but heck, if the band fits longer why not keep him in it (he's so darn cute in his little speed racer helmet).

For someone else that had asked about having a band and it not being shaved, that might be the case for my son. It has not been shaved yet, and I figured it had to do with the in and out of it due to the rash. The orthotist didn't shave yesterday either after taking the measurements. I asked about it and he said he would only shave if warranted and would be seen by pink spots all over the back of the head versus just in the few pressure spots. I guess there is enough room in the band for the growth to be adequately redirected so shaving it may not be necessary in my son's case.

Thanks for all the info I've learned from all of you and from your stories of frustration and success!

Angie, mom to 6/20/08

[Guest guest]

Hi Angie,

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. My guess is the odds

of regression are low. However, since your son's case is different and

so you don't worry about it, personally I would try to keep him in the

band a little longer than otherwise.

-Kathy

Angie Burton wrote:

Only the band - we had not explored anything else.

I know this has kinda been asked before but my son has a

little bit different issues -

Does anyone know, I will ask the orthotist at the next

visit but that's not for 3 weeks, what are the chances of the

flattening occurring again once he graduates from the band? My son

still cannot sit unassisted and hates tummy time - immediately rolls

back over. Since he's not mobile, we keep him in a bumbo seat or his

feeding seat or he's held as much as possible, but 2 naps a day plus

sleeping through the night and time in his car seat, etc - I just hope

we won't see any regression after all of this. I know most kids are

more mobile and sitting up and crawling, etc, so they don't spend as

much time on their backs - just curious.

Thanks.

Angie

From: <melanie.watsoncomcast (DOT) net>

Subject: Re: Over 12 months showing great progress

Plagiocephaly

Date: Saturday, October 10, 2009, 2:20 PM

Angie,

That is absolutely wonderful. I love to hear success

stories for "older" babies.

My ortho also said the same thing about shaving the band.

Is all of the success due to the band or have you been

trying other things as well?

, mom to , 25 months

STARband grad May 2009 (at 20.5 months)

Chiro and CST

land

Over 12 months showing great progress

My son was 12 1/2 months when we went for his

initial consultation. He was just over 13 months when he got his

starband. He has a host of issues contributing to his plagio and has

microcephaly, so we figured he still had a lot of growing left. The

orthotist said it was up to us because he was not sure what we would

get out of it but was reassuring that he felt there was some room for

improvement.

After only a few weeks in the band, we had one hot

day that started a heat rash that progressively got worse. My son was

out of the band for about 2 weeks, restarting the journey September

15th. They said to bring him back in when he'd been in the band 2-3

weeks.

We just went yesterday and the orthotist checked

everything out and said it was looking good. I asked him to measure

(hand measurements) because I thought his head was looking better. He

said he normally wouldn't yet since he's been out so long and his

growth is slow, but that he'd do it for me.

You should have seen what I can only describe as

astonishment on his face when measuring. My son went from 418 to 423,

so a mini growth spurt. He started at 93% and is now 87% and his

cranial vault asymmetry already has gone from 13 mm to 6-7 mm. I

almost cried! I was wondering if we would get any improvement and

figured he'd be in the band for so long, but now the orthotist said one

more good growth spurt like that and we may decide to take him out of

it. He wants to strive for under 85% and under 5 mm, but heck, if the

band fits longer why not keep him in it (he's so darn cute in his

little speed racer helmet).

For someone else that had asked about having a

band and it not being shaved, that might be the case for my son. It has

not been shaved yet, and I figured it had to do with the in and out of

it due to the rash. The orthotist didn't shave yesterday either after

taking the measurements. I asked about it and he said he would only

shave if warranted and would be seen by pink spots all over the back of

the head versus just in the few pressure spots. I guess there is enough

room in the band for the growth to be adequately redirected so shaving

it may not be necessary in my son's case.

Thanks for all the info I've learned from all of

you and from your stories of frustration and success!

Angie, mom to 6/20/08

[Guest guest]

On Oct 10, 2009, at 6:28 PM, Angie Burton wrote:

> Does anyone know, I will ask the orthotist at the next visit but

> that's not for 3 weeks, what are the chances of the flattening

> occurring again once he graduates from the band?

Perhaps the question to ask the orthotist is precisely, " does anyone

know? " And I'd err on the side of caution. My orthodontist once

told me that " easy come, easy go " was the rule for teeth. As a

result, I wore a retainer twice as long as I wore braces, and I

probably should have worn it longer. It seems to me that a helmet

performs both those functions.

Besides the visible roundness of the head, if you have X-rays, you

might consider the position of the sutures and how they would

interact with external forces in the absence of a helmet. You know

how just a little push on the knob of a door can break a finger stuck

in the hinge? That's torque: the force applied at the doorknob is

multiplied by its distance from the hinge. If you consider the

sutures of the skull as hinges, and the plates of the skull as doors,

you would want the plates on each side to be as proportionately equal

as possible, so that no suture gets torqued more than its

counterpart, causing asymmetry.

I'm pulling this all out of my butt, though, just so you know. I've

been working on a theory to describe helmet rotation, and it bears on

regression as well, but I'm just a layperson.

--

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara age 18 months, STARband since 8/10