Re: Any recomendations on a second DOC band?

[Guest guest]

My son didn't get his DOC band until he was 9 months and at 12 months was reevaluated for a 2nd band.  We also saw significant improvement with the first band, but he still had some deformity in his right side.  I think the flatness was more obvious to us than it was to everybody else.  CT couldn't guarantee his head would improve with the 2nd band, so we decided not to get it.  He is now almost 2 and, while we notice some flatness, no one else notices.  When their hair grows in more and gets thicker, it is much less noticeable.  Hope this helps!

[Guest guest]

If her head " seems very flat " to you, then I would say you should get the 2nd

band. Most babies do tolerate it, even if they don't like hats. My daughter

never kept her hat on (and still doesn't now that she's nearly 5). However I

haven't seen her head. I would be happy to give an opinion based on her photos

if you wan to post them to the group or email them.

It is definitely hard to see our child's head as " normal " once we know about

plagio.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad

>

> My daughter is 9 months, 3 weeks old and had a DOC band until 9 months old.

Her head still seems very flat to me although there has been definite

improvement from the beginning. Her measurements at the end of the first DOC

band only put her at the very tail end of the bell curve of averages. The

clinician said that we might see about half again as much improvement with a

second band but will never see perfect which I understand and accept. Insurance

will cover the second band and my out of pocket cost will be $1000 (actually

half that once her father pays his half of the court ordered medical support).

>

> I can't decide if her head really has that much flatness to it or if I have

just managed to train myself to see it well enough that now I can't ignore the

remaining flatness. My family says they can't see it but I think they are just

patronizing me. It also seems worse to me now then it did when she stopped the

first DOC band.

>

> Also what if I pay for the helmet but my daughter has trouble adjusting to it?

She barely tolerated the first helmet and now I can't even get a warm winter hat

on her head. She'll tolerate a hooded sweatshirt but that's it.

>

> Any advice would be welcome

>

[Guest guest]

I'm just not sure what to do. 3 weeks ago, I barely even saw the flat spot. But

now, everyone we see has noticed she's out of the band and they ask questions

which makes it hard for me to forget the flatness and go on with our lives. I

know these people are not trying to be rude or anything like that. They are

asking purely out of curiosity (not surprising since I am usually around

scholarly types...) but it makes it very hard to ignore the remaining problem

My daughters hair is growing in and it seems like not having the helmet is

allowing the hair to grow in faster or maybe it's just time for her hair to come

in. I had really hoped the hair would hide the flatness but it just seems to be

putting a spotlight on it. The hair is following the flat spot and doesn't curve

or pouf out any on that side of her head. now her head just looks bigger with

the same un-hidden flat spot. I liked her better bald...

I'm still trying to decide on the band. And now that I've mentioned going ahead

with the 2nd band to my ex, he is dragging his feet wanting a second opinion. I

should have known he was full of poop when he said he had no problem paying the

$500 for a second band.

>

> My son didn't get his DOC band until he was 9 months and at 12 months was

> reevaluated for a 2nd band. We also saw significant improvement with the

> first band, but he still had some deformity in his right side. I think the

> flatness was more obvious to us than it was to everybody else. CT couldn't

> guarantee his head would improve with the 2nd band, so we decided not to get

> it. He is now almost 2 and, while we notice some flatness, no one else

> notices. When their hair grows in more and gets thicker, it is much less

> noticeable. Hope this helps!

>

[Guest guest]

I think you really need to do the second band now. Your daughter is young

enough to still get significant improvement. If you don't do it now, you may not

be able to stop thinking about it.

My son was in a Starband from 6-9 months, which totally corrected his asymmetry

but left him still a bit flat on back. I knew I was still seeing the wrongness

in his headshape --- sometimes more than others, of course --- but tried to get

on with my life. I started wishing I'd done a second band when my son was a

year, then got really panicked about it at 15 months. The doctors said it was

too late then. Then at 19 months I tried again and the doctors said they would

have done it earlier but definitely not so late. Now he's 2.5 and though I have

largely come to terms with it and no one else sees a problem, I think about it

at least once a day!

Of course, you may not be as obsessive as I am, but if this sounds even remotely

like a scenerio that would happen to you, just go for it now! Don't wait for

your husband to be as enthusiastic as you. Excuse me for sounding sexist, but

mothers are programmed to pay attention to every little detail of their

children's wellbeing, while fathers are more tuned to the big picture (everyone

survives, something resembling food on the table, something resembling clothes

on children, house has roof intact, etc.)

Good luck!

> >

> > My son didn't get his DOC band until he was 9 months and at 12 months was

> > reevaluated for a 2nd band. We also saw significant improvement with the

> > first band, but he still had some deformity in his right side. I think the

> > flatness was more obvious to us than it was to everybody else. CT couldn't

> > guarantee his head would improve with the 2nd band, so we decided not to get

> > it. He is now almost 2 and, while we notice some flatness, no one else

> > notices. When their hair grows in more and gets thicker, it is much less

> > noticeable. Hope this helps!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with ... if it's still troubling you, pursue the second band. My

son didn't even get his 1st band until 13 months and we saw significant

improvement. I am so thankful we banded him, even if it was late. He just got

his second band a few days ago and they told me too that we wouldn't see much

change. But I don't care. I'll know that I did everything for him while I had

the chance. And what if they're wrong? I'm hoping for that " last little bit "

of correction for him. I'm starting to wonder if it's a standard line that CT

says for the second band... " don't expect much change. " Setting themselves up

to under-promise and over-deliver. And I'm sure they don't want to get people's

hopes up, promising them something they can't guarantee. But your daughter is

still young enough where she has a fair amount of growth ahead of her to

" capture " with a band.

Keep us posted.

> > >

> > > My son didn't get his DOC band until he was 9 months and at 12 months was

> > > reevaluated for a 2nd band. We also saw significant improvement with the

> > > first band, but he still had some deformity in his right side. I think

the

> > > flatness was more obvious to us than it was to everybody else. CT

couldn't

> > > guarantee his head would improve with the 2nd band, so we decided not to

get

> > > it. He is now almost 2 and, while we notice some flatness, no one else

> > > notices. When their hair grows in more and gets thicker, it is much less

> > > noticeable. Hope this helps!

> > >

> >

>