Re: questions about banding an older baby

[Guest guest]

Hi Tamra,

Don't blame yourself, doctors are always saying it will round out

on its own. I wish they wouldn't do that, but how are parents to

know? I would recommend you go back to back to CT for another eval.

If you do need to band CT is a good place to go. They seem to have

the most experience with older babies, and 12 mo is really not that

old anyway. Of course starting sooner is better, but you still have

time to get good correction.

I'll try to check out the pictures later if you get a chance to post.

-christine

sydney 2yrs starband grad

>

> My son is 12 months old. He was born with torticollis, and

plagio.

> The plagio worsened a bit in the first few months of his life,

> because we didn't have a diagnosis and didn't know about

> repostioning, etc. The plagio was " mild to moderate " , and the

> craniofacial specialist did not think a helmet was necessary.

This

> was at around 5 months old. Although he did offer to write the rx

> for the band (if we insisted)...but he said my son's head shape

would

> round out on it's own just fine, as we were also doing PT for his

> torticollis. We didn't do the band. Well, at 12 months, I'm not

> seeing a huge improvement. I don't see that his head shape is

> growing evenly. His torticollis is not completely resolved

either,

> but it has improved. I could kick myself for not banding him early

> on. I'm just sick about it. Now I'm wondering...if we do it now,

> what's it like banding an older baby? Will we get good results?

Is

> it more difficult for the kids to adapt to it? I'm worried

because

> my son hates it when anyone touches his face (ie brushing teeth,

> wiping face off, etc. and he won't keep any type of hat on his

head

> either. He always pull it off, even if it has a strap). Will he

be

> able to keep the band on and sleep with it on without pulling it

> off?

>

> I should add that we did have a consult at CT when my son was

around

> 4-5 months old. They said he was " borderline " for a helmet. I

want

> to say he measured 6mm of difference at the time. From eyeballing

> him, I don't think this measurement has increased, but I do notice

> more of a bulging area above his ear that is not symmetrical with

the

> other side, plus he has some facial asymmetry that has not really

> improved (one cheek/jaw slightly larger and I notice one ear

slightly

> lower). I will try to post some picture later on today.

> Thanks,

> Tamra

>

[Guest guest]

Ok, I posted some pictures in the photos section. They're

under " Gavin ML " The problem is not so much his flat spot anymore

(which was on the right side and has improved, although not to 100%),

but the problem is his torticollis/slight tilt, and bulge on the left

side around and above the left ear. It's like that bulge

contributing to pull his head over, you know? Is it just my

imagination? Would banding him help this problem? Am I making too

big of a deal out of this?

Tamra

> >

> > My son is 12 months old. He was born with torticollis, and

> plagio.

> > The plagio worsened a bit in the first few months of his life,

> > because we didn't have a diagnosis and didn't know about

> > repostioning, etc. The plagio was " mild to moderate " , and the

> > craniofacial specialist did not think a helmet was necessary.

> This

> > was at around 5 months old. Although he did offer to write the

rx

> > for the band (if we insisted)...but he said my son's head shape

> would

> > round out on it's own just fine, as we were also doing PT for his

> > torticollis. We didn't do the band. Well, at 12 months, I'm not

> > seeing a huge improvement. I don't see that his head shape is

> > growing evenly. His torticollis is not completely resolved

> either,

> > but it has improved. I could kick myself for not banding him

early

> > on. I'm just sick about it. Now I'm wondering...if we do it

now,

> > what's it like banding an older baby? Will we get good results?

> Is

> > it more difficult for the kids to adapt to it? I'm worried

> because

> > my son hates it when anyone touches his face (ie brushing teeth,

> > wiping face off, etc. and he won't keep any type of hat on his

> head

> > either. He always pull it off, even if it has a strap). Will he

> be

> > able to keep the band on and sleep with it on without pulling it

> > off?

> >

> > I should add that we did have a consult at CT when my son was

> around

> > 4-5 months old. They said he was " borderline " for a helmet. I

> want

> > to say he measured 6mm of difference at the time. From

eyeballing

> > him, I don't think this measurement has increased, but I do

notice

> > more of a bulging area above his ear that is not symmetrical with

> the

> > other side, plus he has some facial asymmetry that has not really

> > improved (one cheek/jaw slightly larger and I notice one ear

> slightly

> > lower). I will try to post some picture later on today.

> > Thanks,

> > Tamra

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi! I looked at Gavin's photos and it was hard to see the flat spot,

so it would appear that it is mild? Or maybe it looks worse in

person? (I know my son's plagio looks worst when his head is tilted

downward a little, rather than straight on from the top or back).

From the flat spot and the overhead head shape, I would say it is

mild and I probably would not band or pursue banding based on that

(in my opinion). But I do kind of see the bulge that you are

concerned with (I probably wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't

told us where to look). Unfortunately, I don't know for sure if

banding would help. My initial thought is that it would not, because

if the plagio is really mild to start with, it will be hard to get

good holding points with the band in order to make it effective.

Also, I'm not sure about the bulge in particular. The way the helmet

works is that it cannot push part of the head back into place (how I

wish it could!), it can only keep the prominent parts from getting

worse (in this case, the bulge), and encourage growth in the flatter

areas. So I guess if it worked, it would in essence give him a bulge

on the other side too? That would be the only way to make it

symmetrical, I would think, and I'm not sure that would be the

answer you would be looking for.

You can definitely go back to CT for a follow up evaluation (not

sure they are free the second time around though, I've heard you pay

$100, but I could be wrong there). Overall, I would say the facial

asymmetry is mild, and may possibly look worse to you because he

still does have the head tilt from tort. Of course, YOU are his

mother, so you need to follow your heart and do what you think is

best for Gavin.

Having said all that, if you do decide to band, it will probably not

be as hard as you think for him to adjust to it. My son was 17

months old when he got his DOCBand and I had all the same worries as

you - he's already really set in his ways, would this be too much of

a change, didn't like hats, etc. The very first night he slept in it

for 13 hours and didn't make a peep. By day 2, he was wearing it 23

hours a day, and he's never once tried to take it off on his own. He

loves his " hat. " So I wouldn't let that be the ultimate deciding

factor for you. I have yet to hear of a baby that could not tolerate

the band at all, some just take a little longer to get used to it

than others.

Good luck with your decision! I do know what it's like to fret about

the " what ifs " and " I should haves. " If you have any further

questions, please let me know. By the way, which CT would you go to?

We go to Charlotte.

Jake-20m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand 15 weeks)

Jordan-4

> > >

> > > My son is 12 months old. He was born with torticollis, and

> > plagio.

> > > The plagio worsened a bit in the first few months of his life,

> > > because we didn't have a diagnosis and didn't know about

> > > repostioning, etc. The plagio was " mild to moderate " , and the

> > > craniofacial specialist did not think a helmet was necessary.

> > This

> > > was at around 5 months old. Although he did offer to write

the

> rx

> > > for the band (if we insisted)...but he said my son's head

shape

> > would

> > > round out on it's own just fine, as we were also doing PT for

his

> > > torticollis. We didn't do the band. Well, at 12 months, I'm

not

> > > seeing a huge improvement. I don't see that his head shape is

> > > growing evenly. His torticollis is not completely resolved

> > either,

> > > but it has improved. I could kick myself for not banding him

> early

> > > on. I'm just sick about it. Now I'm wondering...if we do it

> now,

> > > what's it like banding an older baby? Will we get good

results?

> > Is

> > > it more difficult for the kids to adapt to it? I'm worried

> > because

> > > my son hates it when anyone touches his face (ie brushing

teeth,

> > > wiping face off, etc. and he won't keep any type of hat on

his

> > head

> > > either. He always pull it off, even if it has a strap). Will

he

> > be

> > > able to keep the band on and sleep with it on without pulling

it

> > > off?

> > >

> > > I should add that we did have a consult at CT when my son was

> > around

> > > 4-5 months old. They said he was " borderline " for a helmet.

I

> > want

> > > to say he measured 6mm of difference at the time. From

> eyeballing

> > > him, I don't think this measurement has increased, but I do

> notice

> > > more of a bulging area above his ear that is not symmetrical

with

> > the

> > > other side, plus he has some facial asymmetry that has not

really

> > > improved (one cheek/jaw slightly larger and I notice one ear

> > slightly

> > > lower). I will try to post some picture later on today.

> > > Thanks,

> > > Tamra

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I looked at Gavin's pics too, and I had a hard time assessing him. He

seems to have a tilt, so in all the photos his head is slightly

leaning. Or is it just fuller (more volume) on one side? I didn't see

flattening, but it just didn't look symmetrical to me. I think I would

take him back to CT for an evaluation before deciding to band or not.

Its not obvious that he needs to be banded, but it might be helpful.

Or maybe the pictures and the title make it look more asymmetric than

it is.

-christine

sydney 2 yrs starband grad

> > > >

> > > > My son is 12 months old. He was born with torticollis, and

> > > plagio.

> > > > The plagio worsened a bit in the first few months of his life,

> > > > because we didn't have a diagnosis and didn't know about

> > > > repostioning, etc. The plagio was " mild to moderate " , and the

> > > > craniofacial specialist did not think a helmet was necessary.

> > > This

> > > > was at around 5 months old. Although he did offer to write

> the

> > rx

> > > > for the band (if we insisted)...but he said my son's head

> shape

> > > would

> > > > round out on it's own just fine, as we were also doing PT for

> his

> > > > torticollis. We didn't do the band. Well, at 12 months, I'm

> not

> > > > seeing a huge improvement. I don't see that his head shape is

> > > > growing evenly. His torticollis is not completely resolved

> > > either,

> > > > but it has improved. I could kick myself for not banding him

> > early

> > > > on. I'm just sick about it. Now I'm wondering...if we do it

> > now,

> > > > what's it like banding an older baby? Will we get good

> results?

> > > Is

> > > > it more difficult for the kids to adapt to it? I'm worried

> > > because

> > > > my son hates it when anyone touches his face (ie brushing

> teeth,

> > > > wiping face off, etc. and he won't keep any type of hat on

> his

> > > head

> > > > either. He always pull it off, even if it has a strap). Will

> he

> > > be

> > > > able to keep the band on and sleep with it on without pulling

> it

> > > > off?

> > > >

> > > > I should add that we did have a consult at CT when my son was

> > > around

> > > > 4-5 months old. They said he was " borderline " for a helmet.

> I

> > > want

> > > > to say he measured 6mm of difference at the time. From

> > eyeballing

> > > > him, I don't think this measurement has increased, but I do

> > notice

> > > > more of a bulging area above his ear that is not symmetrical

> with

> > > the

> > > > other side, plus he has some facial asymmetry that has not

> really

> > > > improved (one cheek/jaw slightly larger and I notice one ear

> > > slightly

> > > > lower). I will try to post some picture later on today.

> > > > Thanks,

> > > > Tamra

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the responses! Yes, his tort is mild. But some days he

tilts more than others. The flat spot isn't nearly as flat as it was

in the early months. In fact, most people wouldn't notice it,

especially since he now has more hair. So I know he wouldn't need to

be banded for that reason. My main concern now is the bulge above

the left ear area. I know the tilt makes it look more prominent, and

vice versa, that the bulge can make the tilt look more extreme. But

he is definitely not symmetrical. I just wonder if the tilt is

making the bulge worse, or if it's the other way around....that this

bulge is making it so that it is harder to hold his head straight.

That's why I was wondering if maybe the helmet would help. I do

understand that we can't push that flat spot back in, but maybe it

would help to keep it from growing out more, and give the other side

a chance to " catch up " ? I will definitely contact CT to get him

another consult.

I just want to say that these boards are so helpful! I get so much

information here.

Thanks!

> > > > >

> > > > > My son is 12 months old. He was born with torticollis, and

> > > > plagio.

> > > > > The plagio worsened a bit in the first few months of his

life,

> > > > > because we didn't have a diagnosis and didn't know about

> > > > > repostioning, etc. The plagio was " mild to moderate " , and

the

> > > > > craniofacial specialist did not think a helmet was

necessary.

> > > > This

> > > > > was at around 5 months old. Although he did offer to write

> > the

> > > rx

> > > > > for the band (if we insisted)...but he said my son's head

> > shape

> > > > would

> > > > > round out on it's own just fine, as we were also doing PT

for

> > his

> > > > > torticollis. We didn't do the band. Well, at 12 months,

I'm

> > not

> > > > > seeing a huge improvement. I don't see that his head shape

is

> > > > > growing evenly. His torticollis is not completely resolved

> > > > either,

> > > > > but it has improved. I could kick myself for not banding

him

> > > early

> > > > > on. I'm just sick about it. Now I'm wondering...if we do

it

> > > now,

> > > > > what's it like banding an older baby? Will we get good

> > results?

> > > > Is

> > > > > it more difficult for the kids to adapt to it? I'm worried

> > > > because

> > > > > my son hates it when anyone touches his face (ie brushing

> > teeth,

> > > > > wiping face off, etc. and he won't keep any type of hat on

> > his

> > > > head

> > > > > either. He always pull it off, even if it has a strap).

Will

> > he

> > > > be

> > > > > able to keep the band on and sleep with it on without

pulling

> > it

> > > > > off?

> > > > >

> > > > > I should add that we did have a consult at CT when my son

was

> > > > around

> > > > > 4-5 months old. They said he was " borderline " for a

helmet.

> > I

> > > > want

> > > > > to say he measured 6mm of difference at the time. From

> > > eyeballing

> > > > > him, I don't think this measurement has increased, but I do

> > > notice

> > > > > more of a bulging area above his ear that is not

symmetrical

> > with

> > > > the

> > > > > other side, plus he has some facial asymmetry that has not

> > really

> > > > > improved (one cheek/jaw slightly larger and I notice one

ear

> > > > slightly

> > > > > lower). I will try to post some picture later on today.

> > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > Tamra

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>