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

[Guest guest]

I'd say get the helmet and get it now. If you see the asymmetry now, you always

will and will always wonder if you should have gotten it corrected. I'm going to

take a guess here and say that you are against and your wife is for it. It

always seems that way. That's even more reason to just get it done. You don't

want this between you later on.

My question is always why not do it? The babies do not mind. Really. If it's the

cost of the helmet, then you have to make the judgment for yourselves whether

your family can find the funds or not. If you can afford it there is no reason

not to do it other than that it is a bit of an inconvenience to go to the

appointments. I think the reason most parents want to avoid it is they are

uncomfortable with the potential stigma. Honestly, that's something you just

need to get over. Most who've been through it will tell you it's not as bad as

you think. Besides better you suffer a few funny looks than you kid have a

lopsided head forever.

From my experience and from what I have read here repeatedly it is not going to

get better on it's own. For us it actually looked worse as the baby got older

and lost some of the babyfat that was masking the problem. You will also have

more trouble getting full correction waiting even another 6 weeks. On the advice

of ill-informed pediatricians we waited until 9 months and that's my biggest

regret. Six months and 2 bands later, we can still see asymmetry. We should have

been in the band at 5 months, out in 3-4 and had better results.

The hardest part is the decision and the wait to start. After that you're just

surprised at how much easier it is than you expected and you're happy to see

progress.

Good luck,

ED

>

> 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.

>

[Guest guest]

Very well said Ed. Completely agree. , Tampa, FL, 29 mos, Starband grad Mar 2010

Plagiocephaly From: edpsp@...Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:12:34 +0000Subject: Re: baby is at 7.5 months with 8 mm diagonal to diagonal, doctor says wait till 9 mo

I'd say get the helmet and get it now. If you see the asymmetry now, you always will and will always wonder if you should have gotten it corrected. I'm going to take a guess here and say that you are against and your wife is for it. It always seems that way. That's even more reason to just get it done. You don't want this between you later on. My question is always why not do it? The babies do not mind. Really. If it's the cost of the helmet, then you have to make the judgment for yourselves whether your family can find the funds or not. If you can afford it there is no reason not to do it other than that it is a bit of an inconvenience to go to the appointments. I think the reason most parents want to avoid it is they are uncomfortable with the potential stigma. Honestly, that's something you just need to get over. Most who've been through it will tell you it's not as bad as you think. Besides better you suffer a few funny looks than you kid have a lopsided head forever.From my experience and from what I have read here repeatedly it is not going to get better on it's own. For us it actually looked worse as the baby got older and lost some of the babyfat that was masking the problem. You will also have more trouble getting full correction waiting even another 6 weeks. On the advice of ill-informed pediatricians we waited until 9 months and that's my biggest regret. Six months and 2 bands later, we can still see asymmetry. We should have been in the band at 5 months, out in 3-4 and had better results.The hardest part is the decision and the wait to start. After that you're just surprised at how much easier it is than you expected and you're happy to see progress. Good luck,ED >> 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.>

[Guest guest]

My specialist (cranial facial plastic surgeon) recommends banding at 10 mm or

above as a guideline. Every baby is different, and 8mm of asymmetry may not be

very obvious on you son. Some parents have banding at this number but I'm not

sure if I would have. I think waiting may be a good idea. You should be doing

all you can to keep your son off his flat spot and encourage him to rest on the

prominent area to the extent possible. This is usually easiest with babies under

6 mo, but your efforts can still help. Also be sure there is no torticollis

involved. Tort is the shortening of the neck muscle on one side and encourages

the baby to favor one side of the head, limits neck motion (baby can't turn head

as easily to one side). Tort is a contributor to plagio, and can be corrected

with physical therapy where you learn stretches to do with your baby at home.

Lots of tummy time is important too, especially if he's not crawling yet.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad

>

> 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.

>

[Guest guest]

If you think his head looks fine, then there is nothing wrong with waiting. If

you don't think it looks fine, then I would get a band. But, after 9 months you

may not get the results you want. I wish we had banded my son at four months

instead of six months; he isn't growing as much and now we are seeing very

small/hardly noticeable changes.

Ramona

> >

> > 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.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, our ortho recommends banding at 10mm or above and 6mm-10 is

optional. Great point about the tort! Frequently when there is

plagio, there is also tort. You may want to consider a PT eval with

someone familiar with tort. We missed the tort in our boys, since it

was mild and we didn't know what to look for. If tort is involved, it

is less likely there will be improvement without a band, and the plagio

may even get worse. We believe one of our boys improved a tiny bit

after 6 months, and the other kept getting worse until we finally

banded at 12 months. Also, I think someone already mentioned that if

it was hand measurements, they are not necessarily accurate. Our hand

measurements were 15mm, but the scan only showed about 8mm. I assume

it go the other way too, and the scan provide higher asymmetry

measurements.

-Kathy

christineashok wrote:

My specialist (cranial facial plastic surgeon) recommends banding

at 10 mm or above as a guideline. Every baby is different, and 8mm of

asymmetry may not be very obvious on you son. Some parents have banding

at this number but I'm not sure if I would have. I think waiting may be

a good idea. You should be doing all you can to keep your son off his

flat spot and encourage him to rest on the prominent area to the extent

possible. This is usually easiest with babies under 6 mo, but your

efforts can still help. Also be sure there is no torticollis involved.

Tort is the shortening of the neck muscle on one side and encourages

the baby to favor one side of the head, limits neck motion (baby can't

turn head as easily to one side). Tort is a contributor to plagio, and

can be corrected with physical therapy where you learn stretches to do

with your baby at home. Lots of tummy time is important too, especially

if he's not crawling yet.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad

>

> 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.

>