Re: baby is at 7.5 months with 8 mm diagonal to diagonal, doctor says wait till 9 mo

June 25, 2010

Hi,

Yes, our older son was most likely on the cusp. I'm guessing around

6-7mm, which is less than 8mm. We didn't get a helmet since we didn't

know about them, and our pediatrician gave us no info. (Even if we had

know, given his personality and our situation then, we may not have.)

From pictures, it looks like his head rounded out a tiny bit through

toddlerhood, and nothing since then, unless it might have improved a

very tiny bit recently with alternative treatments. It is too subtle

to say. He still has very mild plagio, and I'm guessing 5-6mm. You

definitely cannot count on it improving much on its own. Our son's

head also started to look better at 7 months, but it was mostly his

hair hiding it.

Our younger son had about 8mm, but I didn't consider him on the cusp

since this was at 11.5 months and his head even looked flat and bad.

We really wished we had known to get him a helmet younger!!! His head

got worse after 6 months due to unresolved torticollis, which was so

mild we didn't realize he had it. Even within normal range, his head

doesn't look completely recovered. It might be the ridging that makes

it look worse. His head now looks comparable to his older brother's in

severity even though his measurements are lower.

If you are going to do a helmet, the sooner the better. You get more

results for the money, time, and effort.

Good luck,

Kathy, mom to 24 months and 5.5 years

B wrote:

Hi all,

Wife just got off the phone with the pediatrician. She told him about

our appt with Hanger Orthopedics, and their determination that our 7.5

mo. old boy has a mild to moderate (8 mm) plagiocephaly (difference

between the diagonals). Our pediatrician has been telling us from the

beginning that he did not think our son had enough lopsidedness to need

the helmet treatment. Today he told us basically the same and that we

can wait until 9 months to decide, since the skull doesn't fuse until

around 16 months. To me, our boy's head has been looking less and less

lopsided. I wonder if that extra 1.5 months will allow his head to look

even better? That was what our pediatrician has been telling us, that

he expects our boys head shape to improve and improve. Any one else go

through this, with their child being on the cusp of needing or not

needing helmet treatment? thanks.

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