Trying to figure out what to do

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to the group. Where are you located? We may have a member in your area.

I too noticed my dd head shape right before her 2 month appointment. The ped told us to try repo until 4 months. By 3 months I was paranoid and asked if we could go to Cranial Tech for a free evaluation. They were 2 1/2 hours away but he wrote us a referral. It turns out she had tort and moderate asymmetry (11mm cranial vault and 9 mm ear). The tort makes it very difficult to repo. They also determined she was born with the asymmetry (we kind of thought this based on pics). There are some pics of her in the na folders (one under plagio kids and one in b & a). They sent the evaluation info to the ped and he wrote the RX. At 4 1/2 months she got her first doc band. She got her 2nd DOC band at 6 months. She graduated at 8 1/2 months. She went down to 3 mm cranial vault and 4 mm ear which is in the normal range.

I just felt something wasn't quite right with her head. My husband could kind of see it. My mil could see it too. She agreed with me, which helped. The doctor didn't blow me off or say it would definitely correct. He had 2 other patients that were treated with bands.

The question you have to ask yourself is ... if nothing changes with your dd headshape will you be happy in 10 years?

mom to na

DOC Grad 2/20/04

Trying to figure out what to do

Hi. I'm new here and in a position many of you probably have been in. Our DD came to us at 2mo (adopted) with the start of plagio. She was born with an asymmetric face and spent the first two months in her carseat with a foster family. (They said she slept better in there than a crib) We put her in a bassinett with a positioner, gave her tummy time, etc. But probably weren't vigilant enough as it didn't seem "that bad" and the ped kept saying it'd get better as she got older. Then after her last growth spurt her head started to look really funny to us. I got the ped to consent to x-rays which showed no premature fusing. She's 5mo now and while we are wondering if it's time to seek treatment, the ped still says she'll get better once she's sitting up.How did you decide it was time to seek out treatment? How do you know that you're not just overly sensitive to your own child's head shape? (or even more so for a female over a male) I've certainly seen worse plagio go untreated so I wonder if we're overreacting.For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Hi. I'm new here and in a position many of you probably have been

in. Our DD came to us at 2mo (adopted) with the start of plagio.

She was born with an asymmetric face and spent the first two months

in her carseat with a foster family. (They said she slept better in

there than a crib) We put her in a bassinett with a positioner, gave

her tummy time, etc. But probably weren't vigilant enough as it

didn't seem " that bad " and the ped kept saying it'd get better as she

got older. Then after her last growth spurt her head started to look

really funny to us. I got the ped to consent to x-rays which showed

no premature fusing. She's 5mo now and while we are wondering if

it's time to seek treatment, the ped still says she'll get better

once she's sitting up.

How did you decide it was time to seek out treatment? How do you

know that you're not just overly sensitive to your own child's head

shape? (or even more so for a female over a male) I've certainly

seen worse plagio go untreated so I wonder if we're overreacting.

[Guest guest]

At around 6 months, started sitting up, and sleeping on his tummy, so he was hardly ever on the flat spot anymore, but we did not see any change from 6 to 8 months so we decided we'd better start investigating some alternative.

I've very glad we did. He has a very nicely shaped head now and I really think that if we had not done anything it would still look as bad as it did. I think you need to go with your gut feeling. If it's not that bad, and it doesn't improve, will you be ok with not having done anything about it. If not, you might want to investigate banding her.

I thought I might be over reacting as well. Our ped didn't really recommend it, the neuro didn't really recommend it (but said it would not get better on it's own!). So we went to Cranial Technologies for a free consultation. Having the precise numbers of assymetry and seeing that they exceded those necessary for our insurance coverage, made me feel more comfortable in knowing that I wasn't over reacting....

Good Luck!

and (DOCgrad 13-Feb-04 /10-14mos./ PA)

Filyaw <filyaw@...> wrote:

Hi and welcome to the group. Where are you located? We may have a member in your area.

I too noticed my dd head shape right before her 2 month appointment. The ped told us to try repo until 4 months. By 3 months I was paranoid and asked if we could go to Cranial Tech for a free evaluation. They were 2 1/2 hours away but he wrote us a referral. It turns out she had tort and moderate asymmetry (11mm cranial vault and 9 mm ear). The tort makes it very difficult to repo. They also determined she was born with the asymmetry (we kind of thought this based on pics). There are some pics of her in the na folders (one under plagio kids and one in b & a). They sent the evaluation info to the ped and he wrote the RX. At 4 1/2 months she got her first doc band. She got her 2nd DOC band at 6 months. She graduated at 8 1/2 months. She went down to 3 mm cranial vault and 4 mm ear which is in the normal range.

I just felt something wasn't quite right with her head. My husband could kind of see it. My mil could see it too. She agreed with me, which helped. The doctor didn't blow me off or say it would definitely correct. He had 2 other patients that were treated with bands.

The question you have to ask yourself is ... if nothing changes with your dd headshape will you be happy in 10 years?

mom to na

DOC Grad 2/20/04

Trying to figure out what to do

Hi. I'm new here and in a position many of you probably have been in. Our DD came to us at 2mo (adopted) with the start of plagio. She was born with an asymmetric face and spent the first two months in her carseat with a foster family. (They said she slept better in there than a crib) We put her in a bassinett with a positioner, gave her tummy time, etc. But probably weren't vigilant enough as it didn't seem "that bad" and the ped kept saying it'd get better as she got older. Then after her last growth spurt her head started to look really funny to us. I got the ped to consent to x-rays which showed no premature fusing. She's 5mo now and while we are wondering if it's time to seek treatment, the ped still says she'll get better once she's sitting up.How did you decide it was time to seek out treatment? How do you know that you're not just overly

sensitive to your own child's head shape? (or even more so for a female over a male) I've certainly seen worse plagio go untreated so I wonder if we're overreacting.For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was in denial about the severity about my son 's plagio until he was 6 months old. I kept hoping that the repositioning and him being up off his head were helping. Finally it took my husband and mother in law to say something that really hurt me. But it was true. We then went for a consultation for the Starband. We are still waiting on our insurance company and haven't gotten the band yet. Now I see how badly he does need the Starband and I am glad we are doing it. Before I just told myself that it would correct itself and that his hair would cover it. I also struggle with the guilt.

I hope this helps. I think everyone here is feeling exactly what you are.

Sara,( 7 months)

Mishawaka, IN

[Guest guest]

When I was waiting for my son's appointment for a DOC Band, I met a

Dad who said " I thought my son was getting better... " Another Mom

and I agreed. We both had said the same thing. Sometimes you need

to call in the experts, much as we like home remedies. I know we are

all acting in the best interest of our kids and doing what is best

for them. Much as we hate to see the little ones in the " helmet " ,

they will appreciate it in their teen years... especially if they

decide to shave their heads. HA! Sorry... bad humor. Hang in there!

> Hi,

> I was in denial about the severity about my son 's plagio until

he was 6

> months old. I kept hoping that the repositioning and him being up

off his

> head were helping. Finally it took my husband and mother in law to

say something

> that really hurt me. But it was true. We then went for a

consultation for

> the Starband. We are still waiting on our insurance company and

haven't gotten

> the band yet. Now I see how badly he does need the Starband and I

am glad we

> are doing it. Before I just told myself that it would correct

itself and

> that his hair would cover it. I also struggle with the guilt.

>

> I hope this helps. I think everyone here is feeling exactly what

you are.

>

> Sara,( 7 months)

> Mishawaka, IN