My 6 mon. old daughter recently saw a neurosurgeon because her pediatric thought the back of her head was very flat (more on the right side) and not round. The neurosugeon suggest a few changes we could try, as well as, taking weekly pics of her head to see if there is any improvment. He gave us a script to get a helment to correct the shape of her head, but said it was up to us weather or not we want to get it. That was about a month ago, we tried his suggestion and her head looks the same to me. The doctor told us that by the age of three you may not even be able to tell, ecspecially once her hair grows in. My question is, is it worth getting the helment to correct her head shape, which she will have to wear for 3-4 months straight, or just wait and see how she develops? I'm so afriad that if we don't get the helment she won't grow out of it. I keep telling myself just be happy that she's 100% healthy and don't worry about cosmetic blemishes. I just don't want her to grow up and be insecure about it, when we could of done something to fix it.
Thank you to all of you that shared your helpful advice and experience. We will be taking our daughter, Emily, to be sized for her helment on Wednesday. I am very anxious and excited for the end result, but still worried about how she will react to having to wear it. It's our first hurtle as parents, and I'm sure there will be many more to come. Thanks again! T. D
I'd do it. It's only for 3-4 months. Baby's develope so quickly, it may not even be that long. My son had to wear boot casts on his feet soon after he was born because his big toe was WAY over (away from the others) on both feet. He wore them for a month. He's 7 now, his feet are beautiful and I still have the little boots.
I say do it.
hi T., you should do whats in your heart. but if it were my cild i would to everything possible to make him or her perfect. see i have a special needs child. he has severe brain damage. i wish i could fix his lil brain & make him perfect but there is nothing more i can do but love him. i see children all the time with helmets. they look so cute....you can get diffrent colors or prints on them. its just adorable. my son gets braces for his feet. they have cute spiderman's on them. so dont be scared. its not for a lifetime. just for a short period. well good luck on your decison. take care C. & cameron
www.cameron42704.zoomshare.com
T., I see that you have received some good advice. I also have a severely disabled child. She wore a helmet for a good 8 months. We aren't sure if it made much of a difference (due to other issues). Our daughter is beautiful no matter what. Her head is still slighlty mishapen, but with her long hair you can barely tell. The helmet won't hurt your child, slight discomfort as she gets used to it. It is truly what you feel in your heart. A good place to get a helmet is at Hanger Prosthetics at CCMC in Hartford. I believe the ladies name was Meagan. She was awesome. If you do get one, don't worry about other people if they stare. Just know that you are doing what you feel is best for your child, and that's the only thing that should matter!!
my daughter had this problem too but she was a bit younger..the doctor suggested keeping her off her head as much as possibleor we would have to get the helmet too. we ended up laying her on her side or belly for sleeping.within time it did work
My nephew had a very flat head in the back due to sleeping continuously on his back. My brother did get the helmet and he wore it for 3 months. It did help with the shape, and I think they were happy they did it. If you think it will help I would say do it.
Best of luck to you!!
Hello, My name is H.. I have 3 children. I totally understand how you feel. My daughter's head was really flat in the back, flat like a pancake. I never got a helmet. What I did is I didn't let her sleep on her back. I would have her sleep on her side, taking turns on the left side and ride side. My daughter was 4 months at that time. She is 9yrs old now and her head is nice and round. I'm sure your daughter will be fine. Good luck, I hope this has help you some.
H.
I've known MANY people who have done this. It might make your child's life easier down the road, and isn't that what every parent wants for their child?
I'd do it. It won't hurt anything to go forward with it.
Good luck!
T.,
Please, please get her the helmet and use it. I did not have to deal with this issue with my daughter but I have seen first hand what can happen. I'll try to make this short :)
I have two friends with sons both about to be 4. Neither of my friends had it easy... one boy "John" was born with a club foot and had to have repeated surgeries and wear casts, the other boy "Tom" was born premature and spent the first few months of his life struggling in the hospital.
Both mothers were told that they "should" get a helmet. John's mother choose not to get a helmet and Tom's mother did. John's mother said "he has been through enough and the Dr. said you can't usually tell the difference by age 3-4 anyway". I admit that Tom's mother was upset about him wearing the helmet and didn't like answering questions or the stares that some people gave but she stuck with it.
Well, you absolutely CAN tell the difference. John's head is severely mishapen and almost gives him a "handicapped/special" look. His mother really regrets her decision. I'm sure that she thought it wouldn't be noticeable and therefore not a big deal, but now he has to live with a deformed head for the rest of his life. In contrast, Tom looks perfectly fine. His mom put up with a little aggravation at the beginning and it was well worth it. She used to take it off for pictures and he doesn't even remember that he wore it.
I'm sorry for going on so long... Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
~C.
From my experience a childs head is never right after birth and it takes sometime for their heads to shape. I think you need to do what you feel is right, what is your gutt telling you, then go with it! Keep us all posted and God Bless!
in this case it is up to you. Do what your heart tells you. Your child needs this helmet for a medical reason. Then don't worry about what others may think. It is important you do what ever it takes for your child. I know a child who had the same situation as yours. Her parents as with the other reader choose the helmet and the little ones head fixed its self she looks great.. she said she is soooo happy she went with the helmet. When people asked her why or looked at her she told the onlookers the truth...good luck B.
Hi T.!
I can tell you that I have seen the effects of the helmet and they work! I had a little girl in my infant class room used one for 3-4mts. Her head is now a perfect round shape and her parents were happy they decided to do it. I guess it depends on how you feel about the whole process. I also had two little girl whos mother decided not to go with the helmet at 3 one's head was not noticable and the other was (they were twins). If it were my child and it was severe I would consider it. However if its not then why bother?
Hi T., I'm Kathy's friend, Chrissy (Ava's Mom). My friend Diane's son had to wear one of those helmets and I'm sure she'd talk to you about her experience. From what I experienced through them, it's worth it. A few months of the inconvience is definitely worth the result. Her son is almost 5 and you'd never know that there was ever anything different about his head. If you'd like to talk to my friend, I can arrange something. Good luck. Maybe sometime, You, Kath, and I can get the kids together for a playdate.
Hi T.,
I assume she's been diagnosed with plagiocephaly? My son had the same thing. He is so laid back, all the moving and positioning in the world didn't phase him. We started him with a helmet when he was about 7 months old and it was the best thing we ever did. If it's an option for you, I highly advise you to do it for her. Sure, it sucks when people stare but you have to reshape the skull while it's pliable, waiting is not an option. Insurance covered 80% of the cost for the helmet and all follow up head scans (that's where the improvements will really be noticeable). Good luck!
T.,
You are right that she is healthy and that is great, but if there is something you could do to help her and it isn't going to hurt her in anyway then why not give it a shot. I understand it may not fix it, but if it does then good for you. If it doesn't work then like you said, she is very lucky and to have her health and you may just have to teach her that if she doesn't grow out of it, but I would try it.
A.
Hi T., I had some experience with this because my daughter has Torticolis. I am not sure if you have hear of this but basically it has to do with her neck. Anyway, I had her sleeping on her side at first and then the physical therapist and I found her left side getting flat so I was recomended to rotate her to the other side to even out her head, the other suggestion that I received was Tummy Time!!!! The more they are off their head the better. I also started researching this because a helmet was suggested too, I found special pillows that have an "O" shape for baby to lay in to prevent the flat head effect. My daughter started rolling over and sleeping on her belly very early so her head shape self corrected and now she is fine. I hope this helps.
T.,
You may want to look into the other long-term effects plagiocephaly can have if not treated- the ones aside from just how she'll look in the end.
http://www.plagiocephaly.org/what_is.htm
Just a thought, so you can make a fully educated decision that's best for you, your daughter, and your family.
I think if it were me, I'd go for the helmet. An inconvenience now could mean saving a lifetime of difficulty.
HTH!
H.
