if your child wore a helmet

this could be long,sorry

my twins are almost 8 months

at our 7 month check up my ped asked if they were sitting up etc, i said girl twin yes no prob boy twin not yet..i expressed my concerns that he can sit up he just has no desire and likes to throw himself back ped said lets have him evaluated by EI just to make sure etc

i was not thrilled but know it is fro the better so we did it( he also said he thinks he could have slight slight torticollis)

so a OT therapist comes last week,says all his motor skills are right where a 7 month old should be and now a PT will come do the next evaluation

so she was hear today.she was very nice,showed me exercises to do with him. she said he is behind,not that behind and he will get there fine with a little therapy.she said he just needs to strengthen his neck muscles

so then she says she does not even think he has torticollis,the lean he sometimes has is prob just bc of the neck muscles

so then she goes..i am very concerned about the shape of his head..did ped ever discuss..i said yes at around 4 months he said he had a flat spot and told us to feed him on other side,move him to opposite side when he was sleeping,blanket trick etc ..which we did and next month he said it was ok

she says today it can hinder him and i need to call a neuro asap bc she thinks he needs to wear a helmet 23 hrs a day for a few months and 7 months is very late to start and it needs to be done asap

then she says he needs to have a mri done bc if he has scar tissue in his neck causing his neck muscles to strain he needs surgery

i was just shocked..i just kept nodding..it went from he is having trouble sitting up to he needs surgery and is in a helmet

i am trying to understand and grasp what just happened

any info or feedback anyone can give i would appreciate sorry so long

Re: if your child wore a helmet

So sorry you're going though all that! Hopefully she's just being overly cautious and it's not as serious as she's making it out. Even if not, it would be a stressful few months and then it would most likely all be behind you.

DD just started PT through EI and when the therapist was evaluating her she just said DD just needed to get stronger. Now that we've started, the therapist has started every session warning us of all the possibilities and they are scary. DD could dislocate her hip or end up with back problems. Next time, it was that she could end up with learning disabilities. I'm not sure if she's just pushing us to work hard with DD or if these really are likely possibilities. It's scary, but all we can do is work with her now and deal with today. Hopefully things turn out fine for both DD and your DS!

Re: if your child wore a helmet

I'm sorry she scared you. That's no fun at all.

I would say call your ped and see if they can give you a referral for a neuro. It can't hurt to go see one and they can definitely tell you if there are other problems or if a helmet is needed.

My guess is she's being overly cautious, but she is right that the earlier the better as far as helmets go. So just in case he needs one I'd go asap.

My DS wore a helmet from about 6 months to 9 months. It really was not a big deal at all and there were no other developmental issues.

if your child wore a helmet

Breathe!!!!

My ds had a bad flat spot. We saw a neurologist and since he was young dr suggested a wait and see. G's got better without a helmet but dr said we needed to make the decision. By 8 months or so.

I would see a neurologist. They will tell you if the think its an issue and a good one will not jump to an MRI. An MRI will include being knocked out so they will only do it if absolutely needed.

My neurologist is out here so I'm not sure it would help but my friend sees a great on for her son at Cohens. Let me know.

Even if he does need a helmet it's not the end of the world. If its a minor flat spot they probably won't do it. G still has his but you can barely tell and his hair covers it.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

DS had a helmet...at 4 months and wore it for almost 3 months. It is usually more of a cosmetic issue (which is why insurance doesn't cover it ) than a real health issue. He did not have torticolis, so I can't offer much insight - but I thought for that you really need to do exercises. I'm surprised they feel he might need an MRI - seems like an extreme reaction. I did consult two neurologists - one said yes to the helmet and the other said no it would go away on its own. We went with it because it was very noticable and I didn't want to take the chance it wouldn't correct. 7 months isn't too late for a helmet - it's just the earlier the start the quicker it improves and they usually wear it for a shorter amount of time. I believe the docs said by 1 to 1 1/2 it would really be too late for a helmet and you would see minimal change.

Definitely go to 2 neuro's and get opinions. I was so upset / stressed over the helemt but at the end of the day the time he had to wear it went very quickly and it was much worse for me than for him! (the stares, having to explain people are so ignorant!) But his head is perfect now

Re: if your child wore a helmet

if your child wore a helmet

I also have been down this road. I have twins that are now 21 months. Both of them had torticollis & one had placiocephaly (misshaped head) I had asked few different Drs and they all had different opinions. Our pediatrician is Seaford Pediatrics they didnt feel it necessary. Our P/T with early intervention said YES. My friend was also going thru this so I kind of followed her. She was going to Cranialtech in NJ. Yes, I know it's far considering you will have to drive there 1x week. If you look at the style of helmet verses the full helmets they have around here. I liked cranialtech better because more like a headband. Since they were for so many hours, I didn't want him to get to hot. He wore it for 10 weeks at age 6 to 8 months. My son is now VERY BLOND & has very little hair so am so glad I did this. If the shape of his head bothers you, then DONT HESITATE. We also had insurance cover ours & it was around $3000. Make sure you call insurance to see before going.

if your child wore a helmet

Also as far as my other twin, he had a very low tone trunk (no stomache muscles) so he was late sitting up. Is this why your son isnt sitting? Don't worry everything will be ok....he just needs extra help.

We also never had MRI done although recommened. We felt everything else was on par so didn't want to put my guy thru that.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

Hi Gina,

I just wanted to tell you dd has a minor flat spot and my ped is not concerned at all. I obsess over it , but they see no issue and she has no delays. Here is an article with a little more info on the "flat head phenomena" so to speak. It really put my mind at ease

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/babies-flat-heads-_n_3541978.html

if your child wore a helmet

I think most kids nowadays are going to have some form of a flat spot just because of the amount of time they are sleeping/napping on their backs. DS sleeps 10 hours a night didn't start sleeping on his side until recently and naps for about another 3 and even though we do a lot of tummy time it consists of him immediately rolling over on to his back and us rolling him back on his tummy. We wear him around the house, have him in his exersaucer and bumbo seat but he still has a flat spot. I'm sure this woman is being extra cautious, but it doesn't hurt to talk to a neurologist if only for peace of mind.

And I have always heard (don't know how true it is) that boys do things later than girls, my mom saw this with the four of her kids and I have had friends say the same thing. He may just need a little help.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

DD has torticolis. She's been in PT since she was one month old (she's 5 mos now). She also has a flat spot. Her ped is not concerned, but I am. At today's PT appointment, her therapist pointed out her lean when she's sitting and in the tripod position. He showed us some exercises in order to strengthen her muscles. That said, we're seeing the Director of Pediatric Orthopaedics at Mt. Sinai Hosp next week. I don't really care that her ped doesn't think her misshapen head is an issue. She's my child and, if a helmet will help and the ortho thinks it should be done, we're doing it. I'm babbling because your description sounds so similar to my DD.

if your child wore a helmet

I agree with you Goodthoughts. My Dr also said it was no big deal. If I show you before and after pics, you would see the change... totally amazing. I am so glad we did it.
Check with your insurance to see if covered & also go to cranial tech. It's an open type helmet.

The kind the Dr's provide around here are almost like motorcycle helmet with a little hole on top.

Message edited 7/22/2013 10:59:38 PM.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

thank you everyone so much!

Re: if your child wore a helmet

I delt with this with my daughter. I will probably get famed for this but looking back in hindsight I would have avoided alot of grief if I just put my daughter on her stomach to sleep. A medical study comes out and we just all follow it and always do what the peds tell us. We all slept on our stomach growing up. My daughters tort and plagio fell through the cracks thanks to seaford pediatrics not being thorough. She did not get PT till she was nine months old. I finally demanded a helmet at a year old. I feel that it did help a lot but she still does have a flat spot and I still notice one cheek is slightly more puffed then the other one. Go with your gut feeling. It still bothers me so much that I just listen to what the pediatrician told me just keep an eye on it. Always get a second opinion. My daughter also had the MRI because her tort wasn't resolved at a year. Wasn't resolved- the ped never felt their was a problem. I was never refered to anyone by my ped not even a neuro. I stress the second opion because at six weeks I did notice the problem and took her to a PT who dismissed the issue and said she would be fine when she could hold her head up. Even at six weeks I was the one who requested to go to the PT and not the ped. Any way hope my story can help others. Any doubt always get a second opinion and go with your gut. You have to be your childs advocate and if it bothers you go what your feel is right. Any questions feel free to FM me.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

I just wanted to add that my ped also thought the flat spot was not bad enough to warrant a helmet. I'm glad I pushed him for the neuro referral anyway. It looks so much better after the helmet. Maybe it would have gotten better on its own, but I really didn't want to take that chance. And our helmet was 100% covered by insurance.

Re: if your child wore a helmet

I had my DD eval at a neuro around the same age.

She was fine.

She does have a flattish head but the neuro said it won't affect her brain or anything else like that.

I also notice that a LOT of kids have flat heads.

Take him to the neuro and see what (s)he says. He may not even need one.

Don't freak out. The PT didn't say anything? From what I understand the PT knows all about the human body and muscles and their correlations and the OT, well, doesn't.


Go see your ped and a neuro. Sounds like the OT is a giant ass.

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Re: if your child wore a helmet

we are about to get ds a helmet too so i can commiserate. hope the rest of it is just her being an alarmist and it's nothing!!