Re: Needing advice or reassurance or something...

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to the board. Good for you for getting the ball rolling right

away! There are Starband (Orthomerica) and a Hanger locations in Seattle

(below). I don't know if the Hanger location in Seattle does helmets. You'd need

to call and ask.

My son has a DOC band from Cranial Tech, and I love it, but I really don't think

you need to make such a long trip to Cranial Tech when you have two providers in

your town. Keep in mind that you would have to go every week for check-ups, not

just a couple times. Also, your baby must be three months old to be banded

anyway. Also, banding young increases the likelyhood that your baby will grow

out of the first band and you will have to purchase a second band to complete

the treatment. This is especially true if you go with Cranial Tech.

I would suggest checking out the Orthomerica and Hanger locations and getting

measurements done. Then, you can either continue repositioning/chiro/PT (do add

the physical therapy!) or go right for the helmet. I'm going to disagree with

some of the others (sorry - you're all awesome!) and say that I think you should

continue with those strategies a little longer -maybe give it the six weeks the

chiro suggests- before persuing the helmet beyond the initial consult unless

your baby's measurements turn out to be severe. My son has been in his band four

weeks starting at nine months old, and we've already seen a huge improvement, so

I don't think a 3 or 4 month old is at a disadvantage or too old. Also, your

insurer might require you to try repositioning for a certain amount of time

before banding. Even though many haven't had luck, you never know, it might

work!

Finally, please don't worry about the look of the helmet. It will still be your

precious son inside! I promise you'll get used to it. As difficult as it can be,

keeping a positive attitude will help you and your family get through this

ordeal. And, get some sleep : )

Orthomerica

Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center

4800 Sand Point Way, N.E.

Seattle, WA 98105

206-386-6100

http://www.orthomerica.com/technology/scan_locations.htm

Hanger

600 Broadway

Suite 190

Seattle, Washington 98122

Tel: (206) 323-4040

Fax: (206) 324-0943

http://www.hanger.com/locations/Pages/Display.aspx?AVC=032000

Good luck!

>

> Our beautiful baby boy was born with a flat spot on the left side of his head.

We noticed it immediately, but waited until our 1 month appointment to talk with

our pediatrician. She recommended waiting until our 2 month because she said

these issues usually work out on their own. Despite our best tummy time and

repositioning efforts, his head looks worse now. So we were referred to a

pediatric chiropractor. We are now doing cranial adjustments (very gentle

manipulation) 2x/weeks for the next 6 weeks. In my mind, his head is still

getting worse. Convex on the right side and concave on the left; plus he looks

so crooked when viewing him from the back. He almost 11 weeks and starting to

lift his head, and I am noticing a moderate torticollis...so I have been doing

neck stretches and tummy time with him. Our chiropractor says she sees this

issue all of the time and that we should see a 50% improvement within 6 weeks,

but in the meantime...this is eating me up inside and causing a strain on my

marriage (because I am obsessing). I love my son so much and want to clear this

up as soon as we can. We are in Seattle and the nearest Cranial Tech is in

Pasadena. The Children's Hospital up here do helmets, but we would rather pay

the travel expenses and get a custom fit band than have our baby wear what looks

like a bike helmet with a strap if it comes to that. I would love advice. I

would love to hear stories. I just feel so awful about this whole situation.

>

[Guest guest]

so is baby 3 mos?? I think the chiro is a great option to try if they have

experience,also could try cranial sacral therapy first as well. I feel that

helped my sonmy , we did that along with the helmet early on and saw fast

improvement I would also get an eval now if you are concerned so you can see if

there is actual improvement or not and maybe do photos to compare its hard to

see change day to day. at this age I would avoid helmet if possible, but if you

need to go that rout there is a great Hanger ortho in Bellvue ,WA. That is

where we did my sons helmet with greta results.

le

12 mos

Hanger grad

>

> Our beautiful baby boy was born with a flat spot on the left side of his head.

We noticed it immediately, but waited until our 1 month appointment to talk with

our pediatrician. She recommended waiting until our 2 month because she said

these issues usually work out on their own. Despite our best tummy time and

repositioning efforts, his head looks worse now. So we were referred to a

pediatric chiropractor. We are now doing cranial adjustments (very gentle

manipulation) 2x/weeks for the next 6 weeks. In my mind, his head is still

getting worse. Convex on the right side and concave on the left; plus he looks

so crooked when viewing him from the back. He almost 11 weeks and starting to

lift his head, and I am noticing a moderate torticollis...so I have been doing

neck stretches and tummy time with him. Our chiropractor says she sees this

issue all of the time and that we should see a 50% improvement within 6 weeks,

but in the meantime...this is eating me up inside and causing a strain on my

marriage (because I am obsessing). I love my son so much and want to clear this

up as soon as we can. We are in Seattle and the nearest Cranial Tech is in

Pasadena. The Children's Hospital up here do helmets, but we would rather pay

the travel expenses and get a custom fit band than have our baby wear what looks

like a bike helmet with a strap if it comes to that. I would love advice. I

would love to hear stories. I just feel so awful about this whole situation.

>