Conflicted, *Updated

 So, Liam saw PT today for his flat head. It's been an interesting day. To recap, his Pedi has told us repeatedly she isn't concerned about it, and it will basically improve itself with tummy time, etc. Also of note, Liam has always hated tummy time. But he has been sitting for 4 months now, and also sleeps on his side sometimes. So it's not like he spends his days lying on his back. Also, of note, his Pedi is 32 (working in HR for the same company has some perks!). I like her a LOT. But, again, she is 32. I am 33. This is vaguely unsettling to me.


The PT told me she believes his head is mis-shapen a moderate to severe degree, with it being wider than it is deep, and obviously flat on the back, more so on one side than the other. She seemed to think he is an ideal candidate for the "helmet", (DOC band) but would've preferred to start him on it months ago rather than this late, at 10 months. She also said she doesn't believe his head is going to fix itself much beyond what it already has.  He would likely have to wear it for 3-4 months, 23 hours per day. (UGH). She said kids generally acclimate to it fairly well, and that it doesn't hurt them.


So obviously this was frustrating for us to hear, since we've been just doing nothing and waiting for it to resolve itself. I emailed his doctor, expressing my frustrations. She wrote back right away, saying that we've received several different perspectives on his head shape because there is not a ton of research about severity, time to improvement, and interventions that best improve the shape. She said from the information that she has read most recently about positional plagiocephaly (flat head due to positioning), there has not been a clear or dramatic improvement with the DOC banding. This is also consistent with what she's seen in practice. She said usually, therapy and strengthening (more tummy time, less time on the back, etc) are enough to change the pressures on the head and allow it to round out with time. Unfortunately, not all children respond the same way to more conservative management with positioning and play therapy, but it is difficult to tell who will respond have good improvement and which children will take longer to respond or not have as much improvement in head shape as expected over time.

She also agreed with my suggestion that L's less than "laid back" personality would likely make all of this more difficult for everyone. He isn't just going to go with the flow with a damn helmet on his head!


Insurance doesn't cover the band, and it costs about $3k. Money isn't really the issue here, but still. It's a large expense that isn't guaranteed to work, and it's going to be at least somewhat traumatic for L.

So I guess I'm looking for experiences/assvice here. Thanks, much!







Upon further conversations with his Pedi, we've learned that she has seen families not follow through with the DOC Bands due to the huge committment it takes. Largely, it sucks, the kids don't like it, and people give up.  And I can see that happening.  Who wants to put their babies through something shitty?  Not I.  But I also don't want to regret fixing something that could've and possibly should've been fixed, and wasn't.
So he has an appt on Monday for the "casting".   The journey begins!