Today we went to Childrens Hospital to have the girls heads looked at for their flat spots. They both favor one side when they sleep and have flattened them out because of that.
When we got there the receptionist asked "Is one older that the other?" She was referring to Mandy, who is 5 lbs heavier than Emily. It was a strange question because....how in the world did she think I could have done that? Had one girl and waited a month to have the other? They did know they were twins.
I have a few issues with this appointment.
When I made the appointment it was just to have their heads evaluated, however they were booked solid for this and it would have been a month or so to get us in so they put us in the Torticollis clinic since we could be seen sooner that way. At the appointment they told us both girls had Torticollis. This came as a surprise to us and we both don't agree with them. At my last appointment with their pediatrician I asked him if the girls had torticollis, he looked at them, had them look both ways and said No they did not. He pretty much hinted that I was being paranoid. Now all of a sudden we are in the Torticollis clinic (which we weren't supposed to be in the first place) and they have Torticollis?...just seems wierd to me.
Second, I have seen pictures of kids with torticollis, the girls do not tilt their heads and look one way. They just favor a side when they sleep. When awake they hold their heads straight and look both ways.
They showed us physcial therapy stretches to do with them....which I will do but again, I don't agree with them. I feel like because we were booked in the Torticollis clinic they are just going to say they have it.
Now on to the heads. Mandy is worse than Emily which I knew. Both girls facial features are symetric which is great. We already feel like we see an improvement in Emilys flat spot. The doctor didn't feel like she would need a helmet. However Mandy she thought would. I am on a hedge about this. Mandy is sitting up more in the bouncer, bumbo, etc... I feel like her head will start to round out some. I asked the doctor if it doesn't round out fully what does hair do to cover it up. She said she has seen kids who did not get the helmet and have a head full of hair and she can't even tell. Hair covers alot.
I have 2 friends whos kids had flat spots and they didn't get helmets. One of the kids was very bad and you can't even tell now. I do have a friend whos kid got the helmet and it was a big improvment in 6 weeks. BUT if the head is going to round out on its own and hair is going to cover up alot why does she need a helmet? I'm fine with waiting for it to round out naturally.
The husband and I have to discuss this more.
I've never commented before but this really hit home with me. My daughter wore a helmet from 4-6 months old. We worked with a company called Cranial Technologies and they were amazing. I didn't think my daughter had torticollis either but we started stretching her neck it was very uncomfortable for her. It was very stiff. She too favored one side over the other. We learned that the shape is not the only thing to be concerned about (TMJ, jaw misalignment, issues with glasses fitting correctly). Their website has tons of great information (cranialtech.com). We saw 3 different professionals and they all told us different things. We ultimately trusted Cranial Tech and had a really great experience. You will make the right choice! I just wanted to share a bit of my story. Good luck!!
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