Re: Should I go forward with the helmet?

September 14, 2010

I say YES. This is something that has been bothering you a lot, and if you don't

go forward I think you will always wonder " what if " . My daughter has a giant

head :-) It was 50th percentile at birth but by 6 mo it was 95th+. It was a

cause for concern, but her height weight were also high, so we just watched it

(and did an ultrasound at 6 mo). After 6 mo she stayed around 95th for

everything - head, length and height. She is still a big girl. She's 4.5 yrs,

still at the top end of the curve for height and weight. I haven't had her head

measured lately, but it is still big, and I would imagine around 95th. It is not

like her head growth slowed down and stopped growing. Of course it slowed with

age, but it kept pace with the rest of her growth which has always been good. My

daughter was banded early (age 5 to 10 mo) so I don't know what would have

happened if she was banded later, but I would certainly try and get some

correction. I know other babies banded even later and their parents are quite

happy that they went ahead with the band.

Some babies do have a hard time adjusting to the band, but it doesn't seem to

always be the ones you expect. I have seen many parents surprised to find that

their baby hardly noticed it, or got used to it quicker than expected.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad

>

> 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!

>

September 14, 2010

My daughter was 14 months 3 weeks when banded and it was totally worth it.

By the way, the best predictor of future head growth is past head growth. If you

notice on the charts, children's with 95 percentile heads have more growth than

children with small heads. My poor daughter's head was around the 1st percentile

when banded and she still had noticeable improvement. If she'd had a larger

head, she probably would have had more improvement. However, while in the band,

she did jump up to around the 5th percentile in her head size. She'd had not

weight gain for several months before the band (diagnosed failure to thrive due

to reflux, suspected Celiacs, and food allergies). I believe that she benefited

from the weight gain that occured right before she was banded.

By the way, she hated hats before her band and loved them afterwards. I was

totally surprised at how well she took to the band. She never tried to remove

it. My ortho told me that toddlers can become very attached to their bands and

that is just what happened. She insisted on wearing it out of the office on the

day of her graduation and we did a gradual withdrawal from wear. It was like a

security blanket for her and she loved it.

So, if you are on the fence, then you should do it. You'll have a month more of

correction than we got.