The Shape of Things

Despite the fact that Theron and I have tried to be diligent about giving Sylvie plenty of tummy time and positioning her head to encourage it to round out, she has been diagnosed with plagiocephaly; specifically brachycephaly. Basically, those are both big, scary medical terms that mean her head is shaped funny. Our pediatrician referred us to a specialist who, after making sure there was no internal cause for the shape, (such as premature closing of the sutures of her skull), suggested that our best course of action is to have her fitted for a helmet or band which should reshape her head over the course of few months. I've been doing lots of research online and apparently, this is not an uncommon thing since the medical establishment encourages that babies be put on their backs to sleep and of course an oddly shaped head is vastly preferable to a heightened risk of SIDS. From what I've read, Sylvie is at the ideal age for this treatment and should only have to wear the device for 3-4 months. What stinks is that she'll have to wear it 23 hrs out of every day, removing it only for bathing. I'm somewhat comforted by the case studies I've found which all indicate that the child quickly becomes accustomed to wearing the helmet/band. I'm pretty sure she will be less than thrilled with the casting part though. We're scheduled to meet with the specialist again next month to go over details. I'll keep you posted.