Re: Is it possible she's gone from Plagio to Brachy? CHRISTIE REPO

[Guest guest]

Hi Christie,

Christie, if a baby has a bulge on one side of the head do you think

it would be best to position him on his back every night with his

head turned so it is resting on the bulging side or just don't worry

about the bulge and sleep him on his tummy every night? This is for

a baby old enough to sleep on tummy. I wonder if the bulge would

still be there if tummy slept however repo'ing by back sleeping on

the bulge is STILL back sleeping so is baby at risk for head

heightening?

I have a friend in the same situation as I was but I don't know what

to advise. My 2 year old has/had plagio (with flattening on one

side and bulge on other). I slept him on his back from 5 mnths to

12 mnths with his head resting away from flat side and on bulge

side. It worked in that he only has a minor bump on that side now

and the flat side is better. However, I have noticed that his head

does kind of go up some in the back (looking at side profile) and

now after reading the " plagio to brachy " post I'm wondering if I

caused this. Perhaps I should have never continued to place him on

his back to sleep? My friend is also putting her baby to sleep on

his back with head on the side that sticks out.

I have looked at a lot of the photos and it seems like a lot of

babies heads do go up a bit at the back even in the " after " photos.

I don't know if this is brachy or normal head shape?

Can you give any advice, opinions? Remy looks fantastic in her

latest photos you would have thought she'd had a helmet.

Thank you,

Jane.

> > I posted several weeks ago about my now 6mo DD and how I was

> > concerned she had plagio. The " flat spot " on her right side was

> > getting worse and after her last growth spurt, it really bulged

> out

> > near the top on the right side.

> >

> > So, I made the appointment with the only doctor in town who will

> band

> > (a craniofacial plastic surgeon) and have been trying really

hard

> to

> > repo while we wait for that appointment. I can tell my efforts

to

> > keep her off the flat spot are working, as the hair is growing

in

> on

> > the flat spot. But now, after another little growth spurt, I

> swear

> > that instead of the right side rounding, the left side is

> > flattening. DH noticed it last night and commented about how

flat

> > her head was seeming.

> >

> > Is this possible? Anyone else ever seen this while trying to

> repo?

> > It makes me think even more that we need to get her in a band

> soon.

> > Fortunately we only have a little over a week til our appt.

[Guest guest]

Jane,

Thank you for asking about how I thought about repo; I don't think

everyone who repo's would take it to the kind of analytical level

that we found was a good fit for us, but I'm happy to share it with

you if it doesn't bore you to tears!!

Our philosophy on aggressive repo was twofold: keep Remy off of her

flat area as much as possible, and take every opportunity to

encourage that the bulging side of the back of her head rested

against something. However, to be even more specific about the

second part of our repo technique, we had to imagine a clock face

looking down at the top of Remy's head. Her nose was a 12 o'clock.

That meant her flat area was at 4,5, and 6 o'clock on

the " clockface. " I rotated contact that the bulging back side of

her head made with surfaces at the 7,8, and 9 o'clock positions. I

always kept in mind to apply passive pressure just to the left of

her bulging back side of the head in hopes of " squishing " it over

(at least that is the way I always thought about it whenever I

pictured the best way to place her head when she was in my arms,

carseat, stroller, high chair, etc.) We did not ever encourage

constant contact directly on the bulge, because I did not see that

as an ideal static holding point.

I felt I could manage this bulging area repo position rotation (of

the 7,8, and o'clock position) when I was awake and Remy was

napping. You may have heard me mention before that she napped in my

right arm for three straight months. I actually placed her facing

slightly outward, so that the parts of her head I wanted to make

contact with, rested against the hardest surface I had to offer, my

breastbone. I feel that her many, many sleeping hours added up to a

good repo result.

For nighttime repo, I would not be able to effectively rotate her

head around to ensure that she didn't accidentally make constant

pressure onto her bulging area. Since Remy was a brachy/plagio

combo, we were hoping to see some growth outward from the back of

her head overall. Constant pressure for 8-10 hours a night directly

on the bulge might be effective in holding that part of her head

while the flattened area grew out, making it more symmetrical all

across the back of her head.... but it would also be " restricting "

her head growing outward on one half of the back of her head,

meaning a less-desireable cephalic ratio. Instead of facing this

daunting, all-night-long task, we opted to encourage Remy to sleep

on her sides (she was 5 months old.) Remy really enjoyed sleeping

like this, and it worked out well. My preferred side for her to

sleep on, was directly on the side of her head, on her ear, that was

on the flat side of her head. I felt that using the side of her

head as a holding point, combined with gravity, would encourage the

flat side of her head to grow out (the flat side was closest to the

mattress, with the weight of the bulging side of her head above

it.) The times when Remy wouldn't cooperate, I co-slept with her (I

use " slept " lightly since I was awake most of the night!) and made

sure her head was placed on my " favorite " side throughout the night.

I feel that aggressive repositioning is so, so difficult because you

really only have one passive point of contact at any given time in

hopes of passively reshaping your baby's head with repo. It really

almost drove me bonkers thinking in this fashion while we repo'd

Remy all those months - very mentally exhausting.

Thank you for the compliment about Remy's repo result!

Congratulations on the hair growth on the plagio area of your baby's

head; you must be doing an outstanding job keeping pressure off of

that area as much as possible!! I'm sorry, I can't remember if you

mentioned it before, but when is your appt. at the specialist?

Please keep us updated!

Take care,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> > > I posted several weeks ago about my now 6mo DD and how I was

> > > concerned she had plagio. The " flat spot " on her right side

was

> > > getting worse and after her last growth spurt, it really

bulged

> > out

> > > near the top on the right side.

> > >

> > > So, I made the appointment with the only doctor in town who

will

> > band

> > > (a craniofacial plastic surgeon) and have been trying really

> hard

> > to

> > > repo while we wait for that appointment. I can tell my

efforts

> to

> > > keep her off the flat spot are working, as the hair is growing

> in

> > on

> > > the flat spot. But now, after another little growth spurt, I

> > swear

> > > that instead of the right side rounding, the left side is

> > > flattening. DH noticed it last night and commented about how

> flat

> > > her head was seeming.

> > >

> > > Is this possible? Anyone else ever seen this while trying to

> > repo?

> > > It makes me think even more that we need to get her in a band

> > soon.

> > > Fortunately we only have a little over a week til our appt.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Christie,

I wouldn't have thought of side sleeping child on the flat spot to

sleep. In fact with our son we always turned his head onto the

bulging side (while he lay on his back) and now I'm feeling very bad

that I may have caused head height in the back. Do you have any

idea about this? Now at age 2.4 his bulging side is still a bit

rounder than the side that was flatter but his head does go up at

the back but it's not a bracchy headshape. Some children's heads do

seem to slant up when viewing from the side. I'm so confused as to

whether his head is supposed to be this way or not.

I will pass on all your repo tips to my friend and she will probably

sleep him on his sides which is what I would do (now that I know

more). Surprisingly side sleeping doesn't cause the sides of the

head to go higher - I don't get that?!

I don't have an appointment for baby - different poster. I do have

a baby though and he is 7 mnths who I repo - mostly just tummy

sleeping him now (he has a little bit of flatness).

Thanks, Jane

> > > > I posted several weeks ago about my now 6mo DD and how I was

> > > > concerned she had plagio. The " flat spot " on her right side

> was

> > > > getting worse and after her last growth spurt, it really

> bulged

> > > out

> > > > near the top on the right side.

> > > >

> > > > So, I made the appointment with the only doctor in town who

> will

> > > band

> > > > (a craniofacial plastic surgeon) and have been trying really

> > hard

> > > to

> > > > repo while we wait for that appointment. I can tell my

> efforts

> > to

> > > > keep her off the flat spot are working, as the hair is

growing

> > in

> > > on

> > > > the flat spot. But now, after another little growth spurt,

I

> > > swear

> > > > that instead of the right side rounding, the left side is

> > > > flattening. DH noticed it last night and commented about

how

> > flat

> > > > her head was seeming.

> > > >

> > > > Is this possible? Anyone else ever seen this while trying

to

> > > repo?

> > > > It makes me think even more that we need to get her in a

band

> > > soon.

> > > > Fortunately we only have a little over a week til our appt.

[Guest guest]

Jane,

With Remy, who had a brachy/plagio combo, we made the decision to

not apply constant pressure to the bulging back side of her head.

Because of her brachy-like headshape, we were willing to accept some

asymmetry at the back of the head, as long as we were able to get

some growth outward at the back of her whole head. This was just

our personal opinion, because with repo, you can't apply passive

pressure to two places at once (on the bulge, and on the

headheight); you can only do that with a helmet or band. Also, we

did not want to increase her headheight any more than it already was

(it was fairly high up there, as can be seen in her 5 month side

view before repo progress photo.) It doesn't sound like your older

son was in the exact same headshape situaition as Remy, so if I were

you, I wouldn't feel bad at all about the repo decisions you made!

From what you have described with your son, it sounds like he didn't

ever have that classic brachy headshape. You may have decided that

increased symmetry at the back of his head, gained by placing him on

his bulging, back side of the head to sleep, might be worth a little

increased head height. The head height issue never really bothered

me too much, EXCEPT that Remy's head was so short from front-to-

back, and squared-off so sharply, that it looked strange. I think

that if she had a more normal length to her head, I wouldn't have

minded a little extra head height if the back of her head got more

symmetrical.

Remy's head is still not symmetrical, and I'm sure it's not a model

of headshapes whatever the ideal is, but we are at peace with how

she looks now. It was definitely a process to get to that point,

but it is a tremendous relief that we finally feel that way.

I hope this explanantion has helped a bit,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> > > > > I posted several weeks ago about my now 6mo DD and how I

was

> > > > > concerned she had plagio. The " flat spot " on her right

side

> > was

> > > > > getting worse and after her last growth spurt, it really

> > bulged

> > > > out

> > > > > near the top on the right side.

> > > > >

> > > > > So, I made the appointment with the only doctor in town

who

> > will

> > > > band

> > > > > (a craniofacial plastic surgeon) and have been trying

really

> > > hard

> > > > to

> > > > > repo while we wait for that appointment. I can tell my

> > efforts

> > > to

> > > > > keep her off the flat spot are working, as the hair is

> growing

> > > in

> > > > on

> > > > > the flat spot. But now, after another little growth

spurt,

> I

> > > > swear

> > > > > that instead of the right side rounding, the left side is

> > > > > flattening. DH noticed it last night and commented about

> how

> > > flat

> > > > > her head was seeming.

> > > > >

> > > > > Is this possible? Anyone else ever seen this while trying

> to

> > > > repo?

> > > > > It makes me think even more that we need to get her in a

> band

> > > > soon.

> > > > > Fortunately we only have a little over a week til our appt.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Christie,

I hopefully will feel better about it soon too! Possibly I will

still see minor changes as he grows. I know this is contrary to

what I've read - that the headshape doesn't change after age two.

However, we just recently noticed some changes and this was last

month when he was 2.3 yrs old! The back of his head evened out a

bit and in turn his ears are now alligned! I really thought I was

imagining it but my husband confirmed that his ears now line up and

it was only in January that I had my poor husband check out his ears

(which were then off by approx. half an ears width). Also, when

comparing side profile photos from last July (so age 20 mnths), the

bottom of the head has rounded more shrinking the length of the flat

spot.

So I was feeling good about this but still noticing back head

height. I wonder how others are doing who posted here in the past

but there are not many updates about older children (nor on the

OlderPlag board), maybe this is good news. Maybe it becomes less

obvious. Thanks so much for your advice. Jane.

> > > > > > I posted several weeks ago about my now 6mo DD and how I

> was

> > > > > > concerned she had plagio. The " flat spot " on her right

> side

> > > was

> > > > > > getting worse and after her last growth spurt, it really

> > > bulged

> > > > > out

> > > > > > near the top on the right side.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > So, I made the appointment with the only doctor in town

> who

> > > will

> > > > > band

> > > > > > (a craniofacial plastic surgeon) and have been trying

> really

> > > > hard

> > > > > to

> > > > > > repo while we wait for that appointment. I can tell my

> > > efforts

> > > > to

> > > > > > keep her off the flat spot are working, as the hair is

> > growing

> > > > in

> > > > > on

> > > > > > the flat spot. But now, after another little growth

> spurt,

> > I

> > > > > swear

> > > > > > that instead of the right side rounding, the left side

is

> > > > > > flattening. DH noticed it last night and commented

about

> > how

> > > > flat

> > > > > > her head was seeming.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Is this possible? Anyone else ever seen this while

trying

> > to

> > > > > repo?

> > > > > > It makes me think even more that we need to get her in a

> > band

> > > > > soon.

> > > > > > Fortunately we only have a little over a week til our

appt.