Re: Should I go forward with the helmet?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This sounds similar to 's case and I'm EXTREMELY glad we

helmeted him. He was a couple months younger though when we

started, but we kept the helmet on longer. So, he was in the helmet

from 14 to 20 months. I'm starting to lose track, but I believe

there were a few mm improvement from 14 to 20 months, and it was all

from the back. If your boys have forehead asymmetry, I think you

might expect even more. This is a noticeable improvement. 's

head is also about 95%. Interestingly your ortho told you something

very different than ours did. He told us that since was pretty

much staying on the same head growth curve that he probably would

continue to do so, and he did. I think it may have dropped a few

percentiles in the past 15 months, but that is all. (Last checkup

we were told it is at 94%, and he started at 99% at birth.) I'm

not sure, but I believe bigger heads may tend to close off at an

older age too. We supplemented the helmet with aggressive

alternative treatments. Having an older son with very mild plagio,

I strongly recommend trying to treat 8-10mm asymmetry while you

still have a chance. had no problems adjusting to the helmet,

and he almost preferred to wear it.

BTW, that concerns me that your son hates people touching his head.

My older son was the same way, and now I think it might have been

connected to the plagio. After we started treating him with

alternative treatments at age 5, he became much more tolerant to me

stroking his head.

Best,

Kathy

On 9/13/2010 7:50 PM, leinatian wrote:

I went to the pre-screening today with the most

experienced orthotist here in Vancouver. He measured my

twin boys' heads and told me that as 13+ months old

babies, my boys have bigger than normal heads. He showed

me the head size chart and pointed out that my babies

heads are larger than 95% of the same aged babies. Yes,

they grew very fast in their first year and they are

taller than a lot of the 2 year old babies I've seen. The

measures are 8mm and 1cm though.

The orthotist told me that since my babies have larger

heads, which means they may (or may not) grow slower in

the next few months, but it could be generic too (since I

have big head =)especially when I was 1,2 year old) and

they are already quite old for helmets(>13.5months), I

may see a very small result, plus they may not tolerate

the helmets as well as other younger babies. Actually one

of my little boys is so protective of his head that he

hate people touch his head. I am not sure if I should go

ahead helmeting him. Is it worth trying to lock him in

something he'd hate and fight so much and may not see much

of a result for 6 months?

Any people with similar situations? Any comment is

appreciated. Thank you!

[Guest guest]

I want to thank everyone who replied to my post. My boys were born with very small heads and they grew so much in the first year. It's very similiar to 's case except for this one thing. After reading everyone's reply, I decided to fit my boys into the helmets. I will keep updating here. Very happy and nervous. =)

Plagiocephaly CC: leinatian@...From: kathylorajensen@...Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:46:23 -0700Subject: Re: Should I go forward with the helmet?

Hi,This sounds similar to 's case and I'm EXTREMELY glad we helmeted him. He was a couple months younger though when we started, but we kept the helmet on longer. So, he was in the helmet from 14 to 20 months. I'm starting to lose track, but I believe there were a few mm improvement from 14 to 20 months, and it was all from the back. If your boys have forehead asymmetry, I think you might expect even more. This is a noticeable improvement. 's head is also about 95%. Interestingly your ortho told you something very different than ours did. He told us that since was pretty much staying on the same head growth curve that he probably would continue to do so, and he did. I think it may have dropped a few percentiles in the past 15 months, but that is all. (Last checkup we were told it is at 94%, and he started at 99% at birth.) I'm not sure, but I believe bigger heads may tend to close off at an older age too. We supplemented the helmet with aggressive alternative treatments. Having an older son with very mild plagio, I strongly recommend trying to treat 8-10mm asymmetry while you still have a chance. had no problems adjusting to the helmet, and he almost preferred to wear it.BTW, that concerns me that your son hates people touching his head. My older son was the same way, and now I think it might have been connected to the plagio. After we started treating him with alternative treatments at age 5, he became much more tolerant to me stroking his head. Best,Kathy On 9/13/2010 7:50 PM, leinatian wrote:

I went to the pre-screening today with the most experienced orthotist here in Vancouver. He measured my twin boys' heads and told me that as 13+ months old babies, my boys have bigger than normal heads. He showed me the head size chart and pointed out that my babies heads are larger than 95% of the same aged babies. Yes, they grew very fast in their first year and they are taller than a lot of the 2 year old babies I've seen. The measures are 8mm and 1cm though.The orthotist told me that since my babies have larger heads, which means they may (or may not) grow slower in the next few months, but it could be generic too (since I have big head =)especially when I was 1,2 year old) and they are already quite old for helmets(>13.5months), I may see a very small result, plus they may not tolerate the helmets as well as other younger babies. Actually one of my little boys is so protective of his head that he hate people touch his head. I am not sure if I should go ahead helmeting him. Is it worth trying to lock him in something he'd hate and fight so much and may not see much of a result for 6 months? Any people with similar situations? Any comment is appreciated. Thank you!

[Guest guest]

Okay, I just replied to your other post, now I see this one and I'm glad to hear

you are going forward. The few months will pass quickly and you will be glad

you did it. You're lucky you can---we lived near Vancouver when my son was

diagnosed with about 11mm and our physical therapist said she didn't think the

orthotist would be bothered to band him. Fortunately we moved down to the U.S.

a month later and he got a Starband here.

>

>

> I went to the pre-screening today with the most experienced orthotist here in

Vancouver. He measured my twin boys' heads and told me that as 13+ months old

babies, my boys have bigger than normal heads. He showed me the head size chart

and pointed out that my babies heads are larger than 95% of the same aged

babies. Yes, they grew very fast in their first year and they are taller than a

lot of the 2 year old babies I've seen. The measures are 8mm and 1cm though.

>

> The orthotist told me that since my babies have larger heads, which means they

may (or may not) grow slower in the next few months, but it could be generic too

(since I have big head =)especially when I was 1,2 year old) and they are

already quite old for helmets(>13.5months), I may see a very small result, plus

they may not tolerate the helmets as well as other younger babies. Actually one

of my little boys is so protective of his head that he hate people touch his

head. I am not sure if I should go ahead helmeting him. Is it worth trying to

lock him in something he'd hate and fight so much and may not see much of a

result for 6 months?

>

> Any people with similar situations? Any comment is appreciated. Thank you!

>

[Guest guest]

That is great news! Remember to be patient. Sometimes it might

seem like the helmets are not working, since at this age they

improve so slowly. Over time it definitely worked for us throughout

the second year. Our ortho allowed us to keep our Starband on much

longer than 6 months, and it continued to slowly help.

Best,

Kathy

On 9/16/2010 6:46 AM, R wrote:

Okay, I just replied to your other post, now I see this

one and I'm glad to hear you are going forward. The few

months will pass quickly and you will be glad you did it.

You're lucky you can---we lived near Vancouver when my son

was diagnosed with about 11mm and our physical therapist

said she didn't think the orthotist would be bothered to

band him. Fortunately we moved down to the U.S. a month

later and he got a Starband here.

>

>

> I went to the pre-screening today with the most

experienced orthotist here in Vancouver. He measured my

twin boys' heads and told me that as 13+ months old

babies, my boys have bigger than normal heads. He showed

me the head size chart and pointed out that my babies

heads are larger than 95% of the same aged babies. Yes,

they grew very fast in their first year and they are

taller than a lot of the 2 year old babies I've seen. The

measures are 8mm and 1cm though.

>

> The orthotist told me that since my babies have

larger heads, which means they may (or may not) grow

slower in the next few months, but it could be generic too

(since I have big head =)especially when I was 1,2 year

old) and they are already quite old for

helmets(>13.5months), I may see a very small result,

plus they may not tolerate the helmets as well as other

younger babies. Actually one of my little boys is so

protective of his head that he hate people touch his head.

I am not sure if I should go ahead helmeting him. Is it

worth trying to lock him in something he'd hate and fight

so much and may not see much of a result for 6 months?

>

> Any people with similar situations? Any comment is

appreciated. Thank you!

>