8 Month Old Son Diagnosed W/ Plagiocephaly

I am not an expert on this, but the more you carry him, the less his head is laying against a carseat, swing, bouncer, crib bed, etc. Get a sling that's comfy for you and carry him a lot.

TUMMY TIME!!!! Can he sit up yet? I would also encourage him to sit freely if he can If you need to keep him on his side at night I would get the little triangle wedges you put babies in between to prop them and keep them from rolling around. My 5 month old son uses them as we were told he was developing a flat spot on his right side due to his preference for that side. Though he does not need a helmet we were told to rotate him around pronto to fix it before it gets to that stage. I would put up a mirror at the side of crib or a baby wave machine for him to look at to encourage him to look and stay to his side. Also try a Baby Bjourn to carry him with you facing outward so he gets a variety of scenery and is not laying down at all. Best of luck!

Sorry this is so long, but I've been through it all and hope this is helpful! My son had this too, but at a much younger age! Does he have tortilcollis also? That's usually what makes the flats spots because the child doesn't turn and move his head. Have you seen a physical therapist? If not you might want to do that also. You will need to do stretches to stretch out those tight muscles. This is what my son was diagnosed with first and that caused the plagiocehpaly. Be very careful using blankets and pillows. I don't think I would recommend that because of suffocation risks. Boppy makes a product called a Noggin Nest and it cost us about $20, but that was about 4yrs ago. We used it in the car seat and the swing. It helps take pressure off the back of the head when they're laying in the seats. We found it at Babies R Us. Did your Dr. also send you to see a pediatric eye dr. and a pedi. neurologist? Our's did because torticollis can cause all kinds of other problems with vision, motor skills, jaw problems, etc. As for the helmet, my husband and I were devastated when we found out our son had to wear one. We thought it was going to be horrible, that our son was going to be miserable, etc. We were totally wrong. Our son got used to it pretty quickly. The best thing was that it really protected him when he started learning to walk. None of those horrible bumps and bruises on his face and head from falling and of course reshaped his head nicely! I don't know where you're at but if you have a Hanger Orthodics, I recommend going there. They don't do casting, which I've heard can be very uncomfortable and somewhat traumatic on the kids. Hanger cut some kind of cloth to make a stocking cap for my son and then used a "wand/scanner" attached to a computer and ran it around my son's head. It immediately showed up on the computer and that's how they made the helmet fit to him specifically. We had to go back every so often for check ups and adjustments. They would do it right there in the office, and the helmet was guaranteed. We would only have to buy one through the whole process. They also let you choose a color or pattern to put on the helmet for no extra fee! Their insurance people worked out everything with our insurance company for us and they were wonderful as well. I agree with what some of the other responses, tummy time (especially if he's not sitting up yet), different positions in the crib, moving toys to the other side, etc. Do a google search for torticollis and find some stretches and other ways to hold him. One thing I can warn you about being out in public, be aware that several people will probably come up to you. Most were nice and just wanted to know why he was wearing it but some were kind of rude and made ridiculous comments! I wish I had been a little more prepared for this. One time we took him to a restaurant and the guy who seated us AND our waiter actually flicked his helmet and laughed. I was so shocked! If I hadn't been in such shock and could've thought fast enough, I would've flicked them in the head and asked them how they liked it. I couldn't believe they had the nerve to do that! I hope all this helps! I wish I would've known about this message board back then or could've talked to someone else who had been through it when we were starting all of this.

We had one at 9 months, We put everything on the side he resisted to look, even sit from that side when you feed him, put things on the wall on that side of crib & changing table from how you lay him. They should give you some streaching exercises too. This was about the time of year we had ours too, they get hot & sweaty, we would take it off every 3or4 hours for 5 minutes to let it air out. good luck.

I wanted to offer a support website www.craniokids.org Most of these members are parents of children who have craniosynostosis, which is why we joined, but there are sections for children with plagio and also a helmet section. Have a look around and you will likely find lots of suggestions and you can ask your own questions as well. Good luck!!!!

My son was also diagnosed with Plagiocephaly at about the same time as your son. He wore his up until his first birthday. We never worried about positioning him in his crib because by then he was sleeping all over the place and on every side and back, we wouldn't have been able to control how and which side he slept on. We also had purchased the triangle wedge for other reasons as well, and he would be turned 180 from that when we would go in in the morning to get him up. :)

If your son is sitting up independently, then great, give him lots of play time. The only time we took his helmet off was during bath time and for the remainder of that hour. My son also took to his helmet very well and slept through the night the first night and every other night.

I agree that some people are very curious about the helmet, but you will see, you will find so many other children with them once your son has one and then there after. The first time my son wore his out of Cranial technologies, we were in the elevator and some women were spekaing Spanish saying that my son must have been in some kind of accident. They then asked me and I explained to them why were having him wear this. To make it easier on myself (selfish I know) I would decorate his helmet with different paint and stickers and change it every so often.

I never used anything in the car with his car seat. Even with the helmet on, the helmet is correcting your son's head whether you position him with something or not. For safety purposes though, I personally wouldn't.

Congratulations on choosing to do this though. I wish you and your son all the best. Before you know it, he will have a perfectly shaped head and will not have any recollection of this.

I certainly understand your concern, as my 23 month old daughter was also diagnosed with this at the same age as your son. What we did was switch which end of the crib her head would be at every night since she liked to look out towards her room. Really, the worst part of it all was getting the cast made, which actually wasn't too bad.

When our daughter's head would grow enough to make the helmet uncomfortable, we could take it back into the orthotist's office and have them adjust it and then it would be just fine. She wore her helmet for about 5 months and it has dramatically improved the condition to the point where it is not noticeable (but I know where the flat spot still is, because I'm the mommy:))

This is what her helmet looked like... http://www.fit-well.com/pap.html

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

hi-
I’m sorry your stressed :( I just wants to let you know that you do NOT want to place anything behind him in a car seat - in the case of an accident – the blanket/towel will compress and decrease the efficiency of the car seat. You just want to limit the time he is in his car seat. Make sure not to put a pillow under him in bed (he can suffocate).
Here are several websites with additional positioning and treatment information:
1) http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/positional_pla...#
2) http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/conditions/a/plagiocephaly...
Here are guidelines you can read through that talk about treatment:
3) http://www.bcchildrens.ca/NR/rdonlyres/BF316617-733C-49AB...

I would encourage you to always ask your doctor before doing anything. One of the most important things is to give him lots of belly time

Good luck!!