Plagiocephaly= A Helmet for Logan

I decided to post about this in one BIG post rather than do a little bit over time as it happened, so here's the story:

When Logan was a newborn he slept on his back (as it is recommended that all babies should to help reduce the risk of SIDS). Unbeknownst to Aaron & I, he preferred turning his head to one side as he laid on his back or slept...

One day, when Logan was about 2 months old I noticed that his head looked very slightly asymmetrical. So, I started keeping an eye on it. It got worse over time. Like this (except the front of his head was not affected):

Logan was almost 4 months old, and I became concerned to started doing some research & found that it was likely one of the two following (common) conditions associated with a differently shaped head:

Plagiocephaly: Which is the flattening of either the back or side of the skull caused by repeated pressure from an outside source. There is nothing wrong with brain development, growth etc. Nothing is medically wrong.

OR

Craniosynostosis: This occurs when the sutures in the skull fuse prematurely, not allowing the head to grow properly. Can cause brain damage, & is only corrected surgically.

I brought this up at Logan's 4 month well check with his pediatrician. He confirmed that it was likely one of those two options. To rule out Craniosynostosis (where the sutures are closed) he ordered a CT scan to see if the bones were fused or not.

We got the CT scan, which only took about a minute (amazing), but had to wait a couple of days for the results. Thankfully, they told me Logan did not have Craniosynostosis!! So, he had Plagiocephaly. I had NO idea that Logan preferring to lay his head to one side could have ever caused this! I didn't even know this existed! I was very relieved that his condition was not serious, but I felt SO guilty that I could have easily prevented it (had I been warned). I did not want Logan growing up getting teased about his head (kids can be very mean), so I was determined to do whatever I needed to do to help fix my little guys head.

In my research, I learned that people would move all of their babies' toys to the other side of the crib to try to get them to turn their head the other way. They also said as little time on their back as possible could help (or at least keep it from getting worse). The other option is getting a custom helmet (or band) made for babies to wear for a few months to help get it back to (or very close to) a normal shape (they work similar to the way braces work on teeth). I decided to hold off on the helmet & tried the more passive options. So, I moved all of Logan's toys to one side (the way I wanted him to look). And, Logan started getting A LOT of tummy time! He pretty much was only on his back when he slept, was in his carseat, or was really fussy. Luckily, he's an easygoing baby and didn't mind it.

We did this for 3 months to no avail. His head was not getting better. I decided to look into getting a helmet for him. Logan's (new) pediatrician (we had moved at this point) diagnosed him with plagiocephaly & wrote a prescription for the helmet. There are a few companies that make these special helmets. I feel fortunate that one of the companies (Hanger Prosthetics) has an office right here in Richland!

So, I made an appointment with them & took Logan in about a week and a half ago. The prosthetist was extremely nice. He took some measurements of Logan's head to see how asymmetrical it is (I think Logan has moderate to severe Plagiocephaly). He also took a scan of his head with a high tech laser that gave us a 3d image of it. Since the laser only picks up the color white, Logan had to wear a white nylon on his head. It was pretty funny :)

We picked up the helmet today! It would've been just plain white.......

but I found a website {(www.blingyourband.com)} that makes cute vinyl decorations specifically for these little baby's helmets. Here it is now:

Logan only has to wear it 3 hours today, 6 hours tomorrow, 12 hours the next day, and so on. We are working up to 23 hours a day over the next week. And then, he will continue to wear it 23 hours a day for the next 6 months. He will go in every few weeks to have it adjusted & to take new measurements of his head ect. I hope he adapts well to it. So far, it doesn't seem to bother him much. Oh, & Aaron & I decided that if Logan is anything like his sister it's probably going to be a good thing he has a helmet while learning to crawl & walk....!

;)