Advice on community nurse's diagnosis of plagiocephaly

[Guest guest]

Hello...

I'm new to the group and have just found out that my 8 week old baby

boy has Plagiocephaly and I'm not sure what to do now. The birth was

an extraordinarily difficult one resulting in a vacuum extraction

and leaving me with no feeling in my legs. What I would like advice

on is where to go from here....my clinic nurse says to try

repositioning techniques for a month but I'm worried that we might

be wasting valuable time and maybe I should get him to a

specialist. Does anyone know if this condition is cause by leaving

a baby for too much time in a baby capsule? My little boy sleeps

well in his capsule but when I try and put him down in his crib he

becomes unsettled. I'm extremely worried and haven't been given

much information so I'm a bit scared. The nurse made out that his

head will go back to normal in time but I've been reading a few

articles on the net and it seems far more serious than she made

out. I would appreciate any help you can give....

Thanks in advance...

Jodie

dd 14/12/02

ds 10/12/03

[Guest guest]

Jodi,

You are very lucky that your son was diagnosed so early. That being

said, I'm not aware of anyplace thatands babies before 16 weeks so you do

have some time to work on repoing. Dependnig on how long it will take you

to get in to see the specialist (sometimes there is a couple of months

wait), you might want to go ahead and make the appointment and you can

always cancel it later.

Good Luck!

~~Buffalo, NY

Mama to:

, Jordan (cranio,plagio & tort~Starband 10-24-03) &

Click below to see our boys!

http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/t/twinsjordanjohn/

Advice on community nurse's diagnosis of plagiocephaly

> Hello...

>

> I'm new to the group and have just found out that my 8 week old baby

> boy has Plagiocephaly and I'm not sure what to do now. The birth was

> an extraordinarily difficult one resulting in a vacuum extraction

> and leaving me with no feeling in my legs. What I would like advice

> on is where to go from here....my clinic nurse says to try

> repositioning techniques for a month but I'm worried that we might

> be wasting valuable time and maybe I should get him to a

> specialist. Does anyone know if this condition is cause by leaving

> a baby for too much time in a baby capsule? My little boy sleeps

> well in his capsule but when I try and put him down in his crib he

> becomes unsettled. I'm extremely worried and haven't been given

> much information so I'm a bit scared. The nurse made out that his

> head will go back to normal in time but I've been reading a few

> articles on the net and it seems far more serious than she made

> out. I would appreciate any help you can give....

>

> Thanks in advance...

> Jodie

> dd 14/12/02

> ds 10/12/03

>

>

>

> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodie,

Welcome to the group, and congratulations on your new son! I

totally understand your concern with the diagnosis of plagio, but

your son is so young, that you have all of your treatment options

ahead of you.

I think the youngest a baby will be helmeted or banded, which is one

of the treatment options, is about 4 months of age or so. So while

your son is still too young to try helmet therapy, you can give

aggressive repositioning a go.

Aggressive repositioning means keeping the baby off of the flat area

24 hours a day, or as much as humanly possible. With a baby as

young as your son's, you will face unique issues with trying to repo

his head off of his flat area at night, while still maintaining

sleeping on his back, which is the safest way to reduce risk of SIDS

(cot death). Some parents here at the group have tried some

homemade ideas, such as sewing a back of rice or a small sleep wedge

to one side of the back of the baby's sleeper, to try and tip the

baby up a bit on one side, encouraging him to turn his head off of

the flat area. Another idea is buying a Head and Back to Sleep

Sleep Positioner (avail in U.K. and U.S.), which has memory foam

under the head portion of the positioner to help soften the sleep

surface. During the daytime, try to avoid using products that make

contact with the back of the head, such as bouncie seats or swings.

If you have to use the devices, you may want to use a piece of foam

behind the head, a rolled up towel to prop off of the flat area, or

a Boppy Noggin Nest in the seat area. There is and innovative baby

seat for babies 6 weeks or older called the Bumbo Baby Sitter you

can check out, too; the website is www.bumbobabyseat.com I'm sorry,

but I'm not familiar with the term " capsule! " Try to use a front

carrier such as the Baby Bjorn baby carrier when you're out and

about, and keep stroller time to a minimum. When you have to use a

stroller, put a rolled up towel on the side of the head that needs

to be propped off of the flat area.

There is a ton of aggressive repositioning products, tips, ideas,

and studies in the LINKS section of the group, REPOSITIONING folder,

as well as the FILES section of the group, REPOSITIONING

HEADQUARTERS folder. There are even websites designed by other moms

who want to share how they were able to successfully repo their

babies! When you have time, browse around these sections of the

group and see if you get some good ideas for repositioning your

son. I would strongly recommend that you take some top and side

view photos from the same angle every week to see if you are making

progress with repo. If it turns out that you don't see results from

repo, you'll have the photos to discuss with your son's pediatrician

that you require a referral.

I noticed the tag of your email is " au. " Are you in Australia? If

so, I just wanted to let you know that we have a few helmet

facilities listed in Australia (New South Wales and ) in the

HELMET/BAND DATABASE in the DATABASE section of the group. There is

even an email address listed of a group member who got a helmet at

one of those locations who is willing to be contacted offlist if you

have any questions about her type of helmet.

If it turns out down the road that you pursue helmet treatment for

your son, you are not alone! The majority members here used a

helmet or band, and can answer your questions and concerns every

step of the way.

Would you keep us posted on how repositioning is going? Please let

me know if I can be of help.

Take care,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> Hello...

>

> I'm new to the group and have just found out that my 8 week old

baby

> boy has Plagiocephaly and I'm not sure what to do now. The birth

was

> an extraordinarily difficult one resulting in a vacuum extraction

> and leaving me with no feeling in my legs. What I would like

advice

> on is where to go from here....my clinic nurse says to try

> repositioning techniques for a month but I'm worried that we might

> be wasting valuable time and maybe I should get him to a

> specialist. Does anyone know if this condition is cause by

leaving

> a baby for too much time in a baby capsule? My little boy sleeps

> well in his capsule but when I try and put him down in his crib he

> becomes unsettled. I'm extremely worried and haven't been given

> much information so I'm a bit scared. The nurse made out that his

> head will go back to normal in time but I've been reading a few

> articles on the net and it seems far more serious than she made

> out. I would appreciate any help you can give....

>

> Thanks in advance...

> Jodie

> dd 14/12/02

> ds 10/12/03

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodie,

Welcome to the group. I see that you've received some really good

replies so I'll just add,

http://www.geocities.com/alittleone2000/plagiopage.htm

http://www.bumboseat.com/

Please kee up posted.

PS. I think the Bumbo Baby seat would be a great help to you.

> Hello...

>

> I'm new to the group and have just found out that my 8 week old

baby

> boy has Plagiocephaly and I'm not sure what to do now. The birth

was

> an extraordinarily difficult one resulting in a vacuum extraction

> and leaving me with no feeling in my legs. What I would like

advice

> on is where to go from here....my clinic nurse says to try

> repositioning techniques for a month but I'm worried that we might

> be wasting valuable time and maybe I should get him to a

> specialist. Does anyone know if this condition is cause by leaving

> a baby for too much time in a baby capsule? My little boy sleeps

> well in his capsule but when I try and put him down in his crib he

> becomes unsettled. I'm extremely worried and haven't been given

> much information so I'm a bit scared. The nurse made out that his

> head will go back to normal in time but I've been reading a few

> articles on the net and it seems far more serious than she made

> out. I would appreciate any help you can give....

>

> Thanks in advance...

> Jodie

> dd 14/12/02

> ds 10/12/03

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodie,

Don't worry, at 8 weeks you still have time. And actually, most insurance companies require you to spend sometime repositioning the child before they will consider coverage of a band.

If, however, cranial systenosis was suspected (early closure of the skull sutures), you would want to have your baby evaluated by a neurosurgeon.

I'm not sure what you mean by a capsule? I know that too much time in a swing, bouncy seat or car seat can contribute to positional plagiocephally. This conditional is typically caused by the baby always having their head in the same position against a hard surface.

You should be able to get some good advice on some repo tips. We have a lot of parents with repo experience in the group so I'm sure they will chime in here.

In the mean time you can set a date for yourself, say in a month or two, and if it does not seem to be improving, or not improving as much as you'd like, then make sure you get a referal to a neurosugeon or cranio-facial specialist.

and /DOC/10-7-03 @10mos./PA (Graduating tomorrow 13-feb-04 !)kahlua_kat2000 <kahlua_kat2000@...> wrote:

Hello...I'm new to the group and have just found out that my 8 week old baby boy has Plagiocephaly and I'm not sure what to do now. The birth was an extraordinarily difficult one resulting in a vacuum extraction and leaving me with no feeling in my legs. What I would like advice on is where to go from here....my clinic nurse says to try repositioning techniques for a month but I'm worried that we might be wasting valuable time and maybe I should get him to a specialist. Does anyone know if this condition is cause by leaving a baby for too much time in a baby capsule? My little boy sleeps well in his capsule but when I try and put him down in his crib he becomes unsettled. I'm extremely worried and haven't been given much information so I'm a bit scared. The nurse made out that his head will go back to

normal in time but I've been reading a few articles on the net and it seems far more serious than she made out. I would appreciate any help you can give....Thanks in advance...Jodiedd 14/12/02ds 10/12/03For more plagio info