Cranial helmets

Sascha3

Has anyone had their baby referred to a specialist for a cranial helmet to help with a flat head?

The back of my daughter's head is very flat.  So is her dad's, so I thought maybe it was just hereditary.  I know flat heads are much more common than they were in the past because of babies being put to sleep on their back.  My ped referred me to a specialist.  I know a couple other parents who have gone and were told it wasn't really necessary for their child.  I expected to hear the same but they told me her head is twice as wide as it is from front to back and they rated it as severe:(  I actually had an old coworkers wife who was a nurse that used to work with the cranial helmets, tell me that she could tell she needed a helmet just by looking at her face and how wide it is near her eye area.  I love her big head and round face, so I was slightly offended, but she did know what she was talking about apparently.

The helmet is usually worn for 2-6 months, typically 3.  23 hours a day.  It is mostly just cosmetic but not fixing it would contribute to migraines, TMJ and inner ear infections. 

I feel guilty, like people will think I leave her laying on her back all the time, but the truth is that she sleeps a lot.  She sleeps about 10 hours at night (not solid...waking twice to eat) and in the morning she gets up for an hour and half then goes back to bed for 2 hours, then she naps 2-3 more hours during the day.  She only recently started to stay on her tummy for tummy time...she used to cry if I put her on her belly and just roll over.  So she has spent a lot of time on her back.  She has recently started side sleeping so I hope that helps, but they recommend the helmets before they turn one year, because the longer you wait the longer they have to wear it, and it usually doesn't work after the age of 2.  So I am leaning towards just going ahead and doing it. 

Is anyone else dealing with this?

michelle_1221

So sorry you're going through this. First, it sounds like you feel guilty and you shouldn't!!!!! I'm guessing your LO was likely more susceptible because of her head shape of DH. And to boot I heard a story today about a 3 month old dying in their sleep so I'm still in the tummy was best camp and yes, it can contribute manageable issues. Assuming you went to a well known specialist that specializes in pediatrics, then I'd say you should take their advice. I would imagine the sooner the better. Did they also recommend PT? Good luck and hang in there!

kaybe24

I saw a baby at a restaurant last night with a helmet on. I admit I was curious why he was wearing it but didn't blame the parents in any way. He was still cute in it, it had a little baseball design in the back. I'm sure there are lots of reasons babies need to wear them beside sleeping on their back.

raefre

We actually just got our son a band (on Wednesday).  It was a 2 month long ordeal probably because I wasn't ready to accept it.

When our son was first born, we noticed that he was looking always to the left.  The pediatrician said to rotate which direction he was looking at, to turn his head and it will stay there, etc. Yeah. nothing worked.  

By three months, there was a significant flat spot to the back left and when I brought it up to the pediatrician, she recommended that we go see the cranial specialists and to enroll in physical therapy for the torticollis.  (The spot was so bad that one of my coworkers said his head looked like a conehead's head and my MIL asked if we were rotating him.)

We enrolled him in physical therapy but I did not contact the cranial people because I wanted the therapist's opinion.  The first appointment she said we should wait to see if therapy helped but by the second appointment she thought that we should go through with the band.  

 However, after his three month appointment, things did appear to get significantly better partly because he started sleeping on his belly and working on stretches for his torticollis.  We would do tummy time but now, whenever he is awake, he is either on his belly or working on sitting.  I still noticed that his ears were not even, that his left forehead protruded a bit more, his eye was slightly bigger and cheek more full.  You especially would notice it from looking down on his head and not from the front though.

Regardless, we still went through with the band. It was for a couple of reasons:

1) Our physical therapist is known to be conservative about these things but she still recommended it

2) I read online about adults with plagiocephaly and how they wished their parents would have done something about it instead of being forced to wear their hair a certain way. 

It was not covered on our insurance (well, it was considered out of network with where I wanted to go and we have a high deductible so I would essentially be paying out of pocket) and cost us $2500.  I am blessed that I have the resources to fix what is potentially a cosmetic issue.  He will be wearing it between 2 and 3.5 months based on his severity (which is different depending upon who you talk to) and his age (5.5 months).

raefre

Oh, a couple more things that have made me feel good about going through with this:

I was worried about what other people thought.  I cried when the doctor recommended the band and I cried when MH brought our son home with the band on.But all I can say is that he is absolutely adorable with it on. I would never have thought my son could have been any cuter until I see his sweet little face under the band. 

We've only had it for a couple of days and already a couple stopped to talk to us about it and told us that their daughter also had one.  It was encouraging. 

There is a company here in town who normally does vinyl wraps of cars but also do wraps of the band as a community service.  I want to contact them to see about getting one for our son.  My husband wants it to look like a helmet from Tron lol though he said it could also be done up like a storm trooper's or Maverick's helmet from Top Gun.

MH also said if he was a kid, he'd have loved to have had a helmet. He is a little weird though. MH made a good point too: the band is like having braces.  I don't have a problem with getting braces so why should I have a problem with my son getting a band.

One of the girls at work told me about her brother's kid had a flat spot as a baby and although he is 4 years old now, the flat spot is still visible under his hair. The reason her brother did not get it is that he and his girlfriend did not want their kid to "look like a dork" (her words) and didn't. But as she says, he now is a red-headed 4 yo dork with a flat spot, because yes, it is still visible. (Once again, her words not mine.)

We got pictures done of DS the Sunday before his band arrived. Super cute.

The bands can be started from 4 months to...18 months, but with taking longer or with not the same results the older they get.

If you have any questions, let me know...and don't feel like you were a bad parent.  There are so many other things to feel badly about (like beating your child) that this should not be one of them.  

Sascha3

Thanks so much for sharing your story!  That helps me to feel better knowing you had the same concerns.  I am almost positive we are going to go ahead and go forward with it.  They quoted the price to be no more than $1700 without insurance and we are waiting to see if our insurance will cover some of that...so it is expensive but not ridiculously so.  I am not super upset about it, but my guilt is making me worry that people will judge me.  Even worse are all the family members telling me not to do it and how it is a waste and she doesn't need it.  Unfortunately, they are not specialists and their opinion is irrelevant...but it gets to me to hear it.  They keep telling me it will even out, but the thing is that if I wait and see, either she will need it longer or it will be too late. 

Layla has brachycephaly...just flat in the back.  She only has a very slight assymetry...her right ear is slightly closer.  But the flatness is very pronounced...I will try to find a picture of it to post.  To the PP who asked...they haven't recommended PT.  He just told me to start rotating her from side to side every night.  She has started doing that on her own, but repositions frequently during the night, so rotating won't help too much.

I can pick out different designs through the company that makes them so she will have some cute butterflies or some stars:)  I was concerned it would rub her hair off because I love her long hair, but he assured me it may even grow quicker since she won't be rubbing her head.

So, how is your son handling it?  Does he seem uncomfortable or does it affect his sleeping?  Does he get sweaty?  Layla gets hot very easily so this is a concern of mine...especially in Vegas!

Sascha3

Here is a picture that shows the back of her head...

And his!  haha

raefre

Family can be that way. My mom and aunt as well as the girls at work and DH's family were like "Oh no don't do it." But after explaining our rationale, everyone was more understanding. 

I haven't seen any hair rubbing off and it really doesn't look like it is chafing at all.  We do have some red spots near the forehead that go away within the hour (which is fine) but everywhere else, there is a little room for twisting and moving and barely any red spots. 

It is awesome that the company that you are thinking of going through does the different designs already. Ours is plain medical white right now, though we could probably do our painting.  However, I only paint girly stuff and DH is not artistic at all. 

Our son doesn't even know it is there. It is us who notices it. He sleeps just fine, takes his normal naps, sleeps in exactly the positions that he likes (on his belly).

He hasn't gotten sweaty, even here in Arizona.  They do recommend that we keep things (car/house) cooler because infants are more prone to heat-related issues, but this isn't a problem since DH likes keeping the house around 70. 

During car rides, I make sure I'm blasting the air toward the back.  But I have limo tint in the back and 20% in the front (not legal here, but who notices?) and it helps keep the car cooler too. In their pamphlets, they say that if the baby is hot in the car, you can take it off but to remember that it only works while it is on.  They also have a suggestion of putting an ice pack in the car seat to keep it cool.

The one thing that I thought was interesting was that they say the band may develop a smell but that it is normal.  It happens more regularly in the summer (probably because of the increased sweat).  We clean the band with isopropyl alcohol but they do say that we can put it out in the sun to help remove the smell.

raefre

Ahhh your daughter is beautiful!

I was trying to find some pictures that really showed the flatness on DS's left side, but you could only see it barely due to the way the pictures were taken.
 

bigbear

I"m so sorry you are going through this, it is definitely stressful. But please do NOT blame yourself. It is very common and certainly not a parent's fault.

My DDs head looked just like your DDs up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago. My DD HATES tummy time too so we try to do it as much as we can but we couldnt force it either b/c she'd just scream her head off. but for about a month now my DD can sit on her own and that is all she wants to do. Well that and her jumparoo. But since she started sitting, her head started to look better. I'm not saying don't go forward with the band/helmet all I wanted to say is that one way or another it will get better and can be fixed And babies in helmets and bands look totally adorable. A friend's SIL's boy had to wear one (he was a twin and got totally squished already in the womb) so they made him a helmet that looked like a hockey helmet. They even made a little "stat card" like you would for a player. They added his weight, height, favorite food etc. It was super cute!!!

 

apiechta

We just "graduated" from the doc band.

 It made such a difference that even though I hated it at first I  am so happy we did it! Our son started wearing the band at 4 months 3 weeks--he wore it for 12 weeks.  I will admit that there were days he did not wear it as much as other days for reasons of heat.  I also took it off if we were going to a place where I didnt want to field a ton of questions.  

I was upset for the same reason you were...but through our treatment the OT determined that because he so clearly favored his left side that the problem began in the womb.  

Regardless--it was a great decision and seeing the changes--even in the symmetry pf his face..made it worth it...its better to wear it for a few months than have a funny head for life...good luck 

apiechta

Also, as for sleeping--i swear he started sleeping so well when he got it