Any first-time mom will ultimately hang on every word spoken by doctors and nurses before leaving home from the hospital. Yes, there were many things I was already in-the-know about, but other things were kind of new.
Like back-sleeping.
Not in regards to being the newest way to sleep your baby at night, but rather the downside that comes along with it. Sure, SIDS cases decrease, but plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) increases. In fact, it's becoming pretty common these days. So why didn't the doctors tell us that before we left? That little bit of information could've saved us the hassle we're going through now.
Apparently, plagiocephaly can happen for a number of reasons, but the most popular seem to be seen on babies that are really good sleepers and babies that have torticollis (stiff neck), which causes them to favor a certain side.
Our babies fell under both categories.
We noticed it somewhat early on the twins. We repositioned. We propped them up. We did tummy time. We let our pediatrician know our concerns. They monitored it at each visit, but didn't really give us much advice, other than keep doing what we were doing.
Our wee ones were able to hold their heads up around 4 1/2 to 5 months of age, so we started sleeping them on their bellies. I was terrified to give it a try, but as much as they were starting to roll, we couldn't keep them on their backs much longer unless we strapped them down. In the beginning I had a lot of sleepless nights, but they LOVED sleeping on their bellies. I think most babies do.
At their 6 month checkup, we again voiced our concerns and were referred to the Plastics department at Children's Hospital. It was there we learned a lot more about torticollis and plagiocephaly.
There are specific stretches and therapy that can be done to loosen the neck muscles. Had we known about the stiff neck and the exercises, we would've done them a lot earlier in the game. Maybe that would've nipped it.
We were told that our little ones are perfect candidates for helmet therapy. Thankfully they'll only have to be worn for 3 to 5 months, but sadly, not all insurance companies deem them medically necessary. Some companies like ours, consider them cosmetic, meaning it comes out of pocket unless you have Medical Assistance. Unfortunately, these helmets run from about $2,000 to $3,400 a piece. We're currently praying that our MA kicks in and covers it...
I write this so new moms and dads out there can nip it early. If you see your baby favors a side or if you see any flat spot forming, get the process started earlier. For some reason, the hospitals like to wait around the 6 month mark for helmet therapy. That's fine, but the exercises can be done early on, in order to prevent the helmet therapy in the first place. Most states offer free in-home therapy from birth to age 3. I recommend taking advantage of that as soon as you can.
I'm sad that the helmets will be coming soon, but I'm happy knowing that we'll have nice little round heads. I know our little ones will do great with them. Much better than Mommy will...
