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Repositioning
is likely one of the hardest challenges you will
face in your quest for a rounder head. You may
find yourself frustrated several times a day (or
night!), but repositioning is possible, and
has worked for some.
After
a plagio diagnosis has been made, your baby's doctor
may suggest repositioning. This is a great
place to start, providing baby is still young
enough. My personal recommendation would be to
first try repositioning with any baby under the age
of 5 months. Be sure to discuss a time-line
with the doctor. It is important to reassess
the situation in a period of time that is
appropriate for your child. For example, if
baby is diagnosed at 2 months of age, baby can be
reassessed after about 6-8 weeks. This still
leaves plenty of time to schedule for casting
appointments and such (check with your local helmet
provider to see how long the waiting lists
are!). If baby is 4 months old, a shorter
time-line should be used (4 weeks), as it is best to
make a decision as to whether or not baby will/will
not be using a helmet early on. That's not to
say that repositioning should be discontinued when
the set amount of time has passed! If
improvement is being seen, then perhaps
repositioning is all that will be necessary for your
situation. I believe that if a baby is over 6
months of age, and has moderate to severe
flattening, then further steps should be taken as
soon as possible. Mild cases will likely round
out on their own, or will be disguised with hair ( I
know we all hate that line!). Talk to baby's doctor about the severity
of your baby's situation.
Here
are some repositioning suggestions...
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TUMMY
TIME, TUMMY TIME, TUMMY TIME! This is very
important for ANY baby. Many babies don't
like it at first, but you can encourage it by
getting down there with him to play. Roll
up a towel and place it under his
chest/arms. This will lift his head a
little so he can see better. If baby is
really upset, try for short periods, several
times every day.
  Note
the rolled towel under baby's chest
-
Place
a rolled towel or receiving blanket behind the
shoulder on the flat side. Use it in the
crib (always use
caution when placing items in the crib, as you don't want baby
to smother!), car seat, bouncy seat, swing,
etc. The rolled towel will allow
for the head to naturally fall in the opposite
direction (below, left). Another thing to
try with rolls, is to put one on each side of
baby in the crib (below, right). Place 2
rolls down, about 6" apart, then place a
large receiving blanket over top and tuck the
sides under each roll. Place baby between
the 2 rolls, not on her side, but with the
shoulder of the affected side on top of that
side's roll. The other roll is to keep
baby from wiggling forward, and the receiving
blanket on top of the rolls will help the rolls
stay in place. I hope that makes sense!!
-
Try
using a mini Boppy pillow, or "U" neck
ring at the back of the neck. This will
help to support the head off of the flat
surface, even if the head should fall to the
flat side. This will work especially well
for those dealing with a scaphocephalic (long
from front to back, narrow from side to side)
head shape, or Brachycephalic (flat across the
back) head shape.
 
-
Dramatically
reduce the amount of time baby spends on his
back. This means cutting time in carseats,
carriers, swings, bouncy chairs, etc. to a
minimum. We all know how busy life can be,
and obviously these items need to be used from
time to time, but using them as little as
possible will help. Try using a front
carrier when out and about rather than using the
carseat/carrier combo. If you spend 1 hour
in the grocery store, that's one less hour that
baby spends on his back. Use the carrier
at home too, as an alternative to the bouncy
seat/swing. Babies LOVE to be held, and
you can work those leg and back muscles.
Young babies can't be spoiled by holding them
too much, so go for it! Take turns!
-
While
holding baby in the crook of your arm (while
bottle feeding, for example), work on using your
opposite arm. This will be tricky at
first, as we get pretty used to holding baby a
certain way! Right handed people usually
hold baby in the crook of their left arm, and
Lefty's vice versa. If your a Righty, and
baby's head is flat on the right side, you are
putting pressure on the flat spot by holding him
in the crook of your left arm. If you are
nursing, obviously you have to hold baby this
way for 1/2 of the feeding, but otherwise, try
the other arm.
-
If
your baby is a thumb sucker, he likely sucks the
thumb on the same side as his flat spot.
Try covering that hand with a baby mit (the kind
you get so baby wont scratch himself), to try to
encourage him to suck the thumb on the other
hand. If he's trying to suck his thumb through
the mit, show him his other thumb, and encourage
him to use it. This will encourage baby to
turn his head the other way to get to a thumb.
IMPORTANT! If
you plan to try repositioning, make sure you take
photos when you start. Take a picture of the
front, sides, back, and especially the top of the
head. No matter how good you think your memory
is, or how much you trust your doctor, neither of
you will remember how baby's head looked several
weeks ago. Even if it's 2 or 3. You see
your baby every day, and will not notice the slight
changes. Your doctor sees dozens of people
every day. How can he remember exactly how
YOUR child looked? If you REALLY want to know
if repositioning is working, refer back to the
photos. You'll be glad you took them. A
photo cannot lie, and if your doctor tells you
"it's getting better", but it's not (or
vice versa), you'll have the proof .
Here
are some products you might want to check out to
help you with repositioning
Symmetry Sleep System™ from
Basic
Comfort
Tummy Time Mats
and Noggin Nest by
www.plagiocephaly.info
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