Re: flat head-not to do helmet

[Guest guest]

I would check out the older board. I am sure there are some

cases where a baby's head does round out on its own BUT why chance

it? If you aren't happy with your baby's current head shape then I

would seriously consider the band. You can always go to a CT or

Starband facility to get an evaluation. CT does them for free..I'm

not sure about Starband facilities. What did the cranial specialist

say? Most babies adjust very quickly and their disposition is

unchanged. My son wore his band from 7.5 months to 9.5 months and

honestly it was NOT that bad. He was the same happy baby, he

continued to sleep through the night (except the first 2 nights while

we figured out what clothing to have him sleep in), he looked so cute

in his band and the time flew by. He is now almost 20 months and is

doing great. There are also possible medical risks of not banding

(assuming the head doesn't round out)...TMJ, headaches, vision issues,

hearing issues, etc. There are also some cosmetic issues assuming the

head doesn't round out...teasing, glasses not fitting right, bike

helmets not fitting right, etc. There are parents here that are just

now banding their 17-18 month old babies because the headshape has not

improved and if the sutures fuse around 24 months then there are

obviously some children's heads that don't grow out of it. One more

thing in trying to decide what to do...when my son was banded we were

out to a restaurant. The waitress stopped to ask what the band was on

for. When I told her, she said that she wishes her 15 year olds

parents did that for him as he still has a flat head.

Good luck in your decision.

PS: If your friends haven't been through the banding process, then

they really don't know what they are talking about. We had friends

and family tell us the same thing but once they understood our

decision and the risks of not banding they chilled.

>

> My 8 month old baby's head is flat. We went to see a cranfacial

> specialist... We have a option to put him on helmet. A lot of our

> friends suggest us not to put him through it and say he will

eventually

> grow out of it. Is it true? Any one out there decided not to do

helmet

> and happy with the decision....

>

[Guest guest]

I'm one of the parents that is just now banding her son at 17 months

old, and I can tell you the greatest amount of self-correction that

we saw was between 4 and 8 months old. I don't think I've seen much

change in the last 8 months or so. We took him to a cranio surgeon

last month and he said he wouldn't band him because of his age, and

that we would continue to see improvement all the way through his

teens and the sutures don't fully fuse until their mid-20s. But I

told him I wanted to try or I would always regret it and he wrote

the script. My son measured 15mm asymetry for both cranial vault and

ears, so he must have been REALLY severe a year ago, I just didn't

get the measurements and everyone said it would work out on its own

so I just believed that to be true. Well it wasn't. The one ped I

took him to last month said it would round out by the time he was 3.

But I just couldn't take that chance. So he just got his band last

week, and he's doing outstanding as far as adjusting to it. Slept

the first night for 12 hours without making a peep. He does sweat a

bit, but he doesn't have any red spots or anything, so I couldn't be

happier. Now we just have to wait 4 months and see if it improves at

all!

By the way, my mother understood my concerns about his shape, but my

husband insisted the doctors knew what they were talking about and a

band wasn't necessary. And no one else really noticed anything wrong

with his head, until I pointed it out. In the end, my husband let me

make the decision because he knew it bothered me more than anything.

All of our friends and family and people at school have all been

really supportive, so if you feel in your gut you should do it, then

do it, and don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Only you can

know what's best for your son.

Good luck!

Jake-17m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DocBand 2/11/08)

Jordan-4

> >

> > My 8 month old baby's head is flat. We went to see a cranfacial

> > specialist... We have a option to put him on helmet. A lot of

our

> > friends suggest us not to put him through it and say he will

> eventually

> > grow out of it. Is it true? Any one out there decided not to do

> helmet

> > and happy with the decision....

> >

>