Re: Daddy doesn't like the band

July 31, 2010

I live in Eastern Carolina too (New Bern)- the bands just aren't that

common around here! We've been out a handful of times with the band

on- it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Remember, it's just a short

period of time- your son will be out of the band before you know it!

Maybe if you take dad to the next appt. and mention that the helmet

isn't being worn 24 hours a day, the response that you get will be

enough to motivate dad

On 7/31/10, crutledge92 <crutledge92@...> wrote:

> Alright Guys, I've been following you for 3 months now and I've run into

> my 1st dilemma. Trevor is 5 months old now, got his Hanger band 1 week ago

> and pretty much, Daddy just does not like it. He was all for it at our

> initial appts, but now that he has it, DH says " his head really isn't that

> bad. " And I agree, at some angles it looks " not so bad " , then at other

> angles it looks terrible. He has probably been in the band for a total of

> 6 hours in the past week. Granted, we did go to Busch Gardens for 3

> days(for the older kids) and it was very hot. He was OK with him wearing it

> on the 4 hour trip though, but as soon as we would stop to eat, he would

> take it off before we got out of the car. I think he is embarrassed of it.

> I am a nurse and work 12 hour night shifts over the weekend so I take care

> of Trevor Mon thru Fri, then Daddy takes over Fri afternoon and does baby

> duty until Mon morning. (we do this to avoid daycares.) As soon as I lay

> down to take a nap (before coming in for the night shift) or in the mornings

> when I come in and put the band on, then go to bed, within 5 minutes of

> lying down, I can hear the infamous sound of the rip of the velcro. I don't

> even bother to get up and argue about it. At that point of being awake for

> sometimes 28-30 hours I'm too tired to deal with it. I don't understand why

> he won't accept it. I try over and over to explain the benefits of the band

> now. He is not in the medical field, so I have done all the research and

> pretty much all of the decisions. I guess my question is, if he only wears

> it part-time while I am doing baby duty, will he pretty much still get alot

> of benefit from it? Or am I just wasting my time? I'm too embarrassed to

> even tell the orthotist this. sorry I was so winded. I just needed to get

> this off my mind. By the way, Trevor has a 10mm plagio on the right side.

> Thanks guys,

>

> P.S. I even decorated it in the Disney Cars theme since Daddy likes cars

> so much, and it was initially blue from Hanger so it is cute-not the medical

> white. The back has Mater (Tow Mater) on it with the words " just fixin' my

> flat. " When Daddy came home from work and saw it all he had to say was

> " your words aren't centered. " I guess that was a clue, huh?

>

July 31, 2010

With part time wear, it is possible that the band won't fit after a while if he grows a significant amount while not wearing it. But, I guess that part time wear is probably better than nothing since any amount he grows while in the band will help. But, there is no doubt that DH is sabatoging the amount of correction possible.

I am lucky that, even though my partner was okay with skipping the band, she supported me in the decision to get the band because I wanted my daughter's head corrected. In a sense, she supported it because she knew how much it meant to me.

Maybe at a time when you are rested, you can have a serious talk with him. Tell him how much it means to you and ask him if he will humor you (even if he doesn't see anything wrong). And, maybe you can also point out that you don't want the money wasted. Or, pull out your research on the medical effects of an uncorrected head and appeal to that side of him.

I hope that others have ideas for you as well.

From: crutledge92 <crutledge92@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Sat, July 31, 2010 5:02:17 AMSubject: Daddy doesn't like the band

Alright Guys, I've been following you for 3 months now and I've run into my 1st dilemma. Trevor is 5 months old now, got his Hanger band 1 week ago and pretty much, Daddy just does not like it. He was all for it at our initial appts, but now that he has it, DH says "his head really isn't that bad." And I agree, at some angles it looks "not so bad", then at other angles it looks terrible. He has probably been in the band for a total of 6 hours in the past week. Granted, we did go to Busch Gardens for 3 days(for the older kids) and it was very hot. He was OK with him wearing it on the 4 hour trip though, but as soon as we would stop to eat, he would take it off before we got out of the car. I think he is embarrassed of it. I am a nurse and work 12 hour night shifts over the weekend so I take care of Trevor Mon thru Fri, then Daddy takes over Fri afternoon and does baby duty until Mon morning. (we do this to avoid daycares.) As soon as I lay down to take

a nap (before coming in for the night shift) or in the mornings when I come in and put the band on, then go to bed, within 5 minutes of lying down, I can hear the infamous sound of the rip of the velcro. I don't even bother to get up and argue about it. At that point of being awake for sometimes 28-30 hours I'm too tired to deal with it. I don't understand why he won't accept it. I try over and over to explain the benefits of the band now. He is not in the medical field, so I have done all the research and pretty much all of the decisions. I guess my question is, if he only wears it part-time while I am doing baby duty, will he pretty much still get alot of benefit from it? Or am I just wasting my time? I'm too embarrassed to even tell the orthotist this. sorry I was so winded. I just needed to get this off my mind. By the way, Trevor has a 10mm plagio on the right side. Thanks guys, P.S. I even decorated it in the Disney Cars theme since

Daddy likes cars so much, and it was initially blue from Hanger so it is cute-not the medical white. The back has Mater (Tow Mater) on it with the words "just fixin' my flat." When Daddy came home from work and saw it all he had to say was "your words aren't centered." I guess that was a clue, huh?

August 1, 2010

Hello,My daughter's orthotist says that there is no real benefit to wearing the helmet part-time. Compliance is so important when it comes to helmet therapy. I did exactly as our orthotist instructed(wear 22.5 hours per day) and my daughter received great correction. If daddy is not going to follow treatment guidelines, you are pretty much wasting your time. Why put the little one through treatment, if he's not going to receive maximum benefit?My daughter is in my care all the time, so it didn't take me long to get over the stares and curiosity. I tried to use it as a chance to educate. Though, in all honesy, I never really cared what other people thought. My daughter getting the treatment she needed mattered way more to me than what others thought. My husband wasn't used to beinig out

in public w/ our daughter and I could sense that he was a little uncomfortable with it when he was, so I do think it's a very natural reaction. In fact, some parents forgo treatment because they are embarrassed about their child being different even temporarily. However, as a parent, it's necessary to put those feelings aside in the best interest of your child. After all, it's not about the parent's feelings, it's really about the child getting what he/she needs. I tried to also think about how my daughter might feel if she had future medical problems or was teased about her head shape(kids can be so cruel.)On a side note, what a terrible waste of money if you are not going to follow through with treatment. I think of the unfortunate chilldren who can not undergo treatement because of financial constraints. Some parents are just absolutely heartbroken when they can not afford to correct their child's head. It sounds like you have

done all the research and realize the benefits of treatment for your little one. Perhaps, it's time for a talk with your husband. Maybe he just needs a little convincing. Better yet, take him to the orthotist with you and let him/her talk with him to explain everything. For effective treatment, he really needs to be on board. By the way, if you are not compliant, it only takes three days of not wearing the helmet for it to not fit anymore. This 3-day window may be even smaller for your son since he is so young and growth rate is faster than the age my daughter was she was banded(8 months.)Good luck and I hope this helps.-Amy From: crutledge92 <crutledge92@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Sat, July 31, 2010 5:02:17 AMSubject: Daddy doesn't like the band

Alright Guys, I've been following you for 3 months now and I've run into my 1st dilemma. Trevor is 5 months old now, got his Hanger band 1 week ago and pretty much, Daddy just does not like it. He was all for it at our initial appts, but now that he has it, DH says "his head really isn't that bad." And I agree, at some angles it looks "not so bad", then at other angles it looks terrible. He has probably been in the band for a total of 6 hours in the past week. Granted, we did go to Busch Gardens for 3 days(for the older kids) and it was very hot. He was OK with him wearing it on the 4 hour trip though, but as soon as we would stop to eat, he would take it off before we got out of the car. I think he is embarrassed of it. I am a nurse and work 12 hour night shifts over the weekend so I take care of Trevor Mon thru Fri, then Daddy takes over Fri afternoon and does baby duty until Mon morning. (we do this to avoid daycares.) As soon as I

lay down to take a nap (before coming in for the night shift) or in the mornings when I come in and put the band on, then go to bed, within 5 minutes of lying down, I can hear the infamous sound of the rip of the velcro. I don't even bother to get up and argue about it. At that point of being awake for sometimes 28-30 hours I'm too tired to deal with it. I don't understand why he won't accept it. I try over and over to explain the benefits of the band now. He is not in the medical field, so I have done all the research and pretty much all of the decisions. I guess my question is, if he only wears it part-time while I am doing baby duty, will he pretty much still get alot of benefit from it? Or am I just wasting my time? I'm too embarrassed to even tell the orthotist this. sorry I was so winded. I just needed to get this off my mind. By the way, Trevor has a 10mm plagio on the right side. Thanks guys,

P.S. I even decorated it in the Disney Cars theme since Daddy likes cars so much, and it was initially blue from Hanger so it is cute-not the medical white. The back has Mater (Tow Mater) on it with the words "just fixin' my flat." When Daddy came home from work and saw it all he had to say was "your words aren't centered." I guess that was a clue, huh?

August 1, 2010

Sorry for what seems like the lack of sympathy in the post but you

dont have a lot of time. The more your wear it the better the

results, especially detremental if he isnt wearing it when he is

laying down, in a carseat or such. Sorry but daddy needs to be told

to suck it up, be a man and get over it to do whats right for his son.

This isnt the 1st or last time hes going to have to do that for his

children. Who cares what other ppl think or see, they dont have to

live with the results. If he doesnt follow the wearing regime he

might as well just throw the money he spent away. You can try to

argue, be sympathetic or convincing all you want but in the meantime

you are losing valuable time.