not your average blogger: Your baby and their helmet...what to expect

My son and my cousins son, Tiff (she had twins) had to have a helmet. My son had it on for about 3 months her son had it on for 2-3 months. Nash and Tiffs son was born with torticollis. When I was in labor he got stuck in the birth canal, I pushed for 4 hrs and they used the suction on him to help him get his big noggin out of the canal. When he came out his head was misshaped like an egg and had a black and blue bruise on his head. As he grew his head grew up towards the point where they did the suction, and out the sides of the head by the ears. On Tiffs son he was sitting weird in the womb and his sister squished him.
It is best to catch it when their young and they still have their soft spot. We caught Nash's at 2 months...well actually my sister did. Her daughter (one twin) had torticollis and they told her that she might have to have a helmet. She did the physical therapy and she didn't have to have one. She taught me the stretches and I started doing them before we even went to therapy.
Since going to therapy for his neck and getting his helmet I've learned a lot of the different kinds of head shapes. Yes there are different kinds and there are different types of torticollis but I wont go fully into that.

Torticollis- abnormal neck position or stiff neck.

You can kinda see his egg head. (And how
cute he is when he was a newborn)

Plagiocephaly- flat head syndrome. One side of the head is flatter than the other
Brachycephaly- The whole back of the head is flat and sides are out over the ears.
Dolichocephaly- Where the head is long from the back to the front.

Nash was in between Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly. He did have one side flatter than the other the older he got. Because of his torticollis that made him favor one side.

this is what my handsome boy looks like
in a starband

Now for the different types:

Starband- side opening band and bi valve. The bi valve opens from the bottom (the side opening band is what my son has.) This is a very popular brand. The bi valve helps with Palgiocephaly. The side opening helps with what Nash had.
Starlight- side opening band and bi valve available. They are clear so there can be visual inspection, instead of taking it off just to see how the head is doing. These ones are less popular and are used for more sever head molding.
Starlight pro- This one is if your child had surgery to remove a piece of bone to make a soft spot and to help the head shape. This one the child will most likely have it on for 18 months or shorter to help heal from surgery.

They put what looks like a nylon
sock on his head and dots on his face.

See the red?? well thats the scanner
The scanner reads the dots on his head
and draws his head on a computer.

How do they make it fit their tiny little heads? well this was the fun part of the whole thing. They used to make a mold of their head now they scan it. It was amazing to see the scanner draw his head on the computer. It looked just like him.

When you get the helmet it comes
to big so they have to cut it to fit around
the ears and the forehead.

Now for the process. It is a very long, hard process. It depends on the parents and baby on how hard it is. When Nash got his the first night wasn't a very good night. We had to take it off and try again tomorrow. The second night was better and he slept in it all night. When they first start you go from 2 hrs a day to 5 to 7 to 8 etc.. and than your at 23 hrs a day. For the first 5 days its a training period. This part is crucial to having him get use to the helmet. After they show you what to do they give you a paper on wear and care. There is a lot of instructions to it. Nash had his during the summer so he couldn't be outside a lot and if he was we had to take his helmet off. If it was off we had to take it with us we couldn't leave it in the car cause it could make it flat or misshaped.
While they wear it its just like having a cast on.. ITS GOING TO STINK!! I asked the helmet people how to prevent this and they said you cant and that its only gonna get worse. The only way you can clean it is with alcohol and putting a bowl of baking soda in it so let it soak up the nasty ness. Do not put baking soda directly on the Styrofoam it will create white spots on their head and irritate them. I did, and Nash had the white spots and red spots on his head. It did get rid of the smell for a couple of days, but im never doin it again. Although Tiff said that hers didn't stink as bad. I think its because my son sweats more than his cousin. As they grow in the helmet they sand it down and cut it so it wont make sores on their heads. Nash had 2 growth spurts during his and they were big ones. The one time it didn't fit him and I had to go in immediately to get it fixed.
For some people when they get told that their child had to get a helmet and have physical therapy they think that its their fault. I did and Tiff. We thought that we did something wrong and that we aren't raising our child right and that we did this to him. Our physical therapists told us that it is not the parents fault and its just a natural thing that happens. They told me that a helmet is very essential in babies. But, the whole time he had the helmet on I couldn't kiss him, snuggle him or play with him properly. Tiff said "I cant even hold or snuggle my child when he gets upset". Its very hard to think that but in a couple of months he will be out of it. Thats what made me very stricked on when he wore it. The more he wore it and did what they told me the sooner he gets it off.
It is a different adventure and new experiences with this. Ive meet the nicest people that took good care of my baby. They were so nice to me and explained everything slowly and made sure it made sense. They answer any questions, I asked a lot of questions haha and they don't mind. I have learned a lot about babies heads. Tiff said she would do all of this again in a heartbeat. I would too. It helps your baby so much. Though you go through trial and error you learn and get the hang of it and soon will become a professional on baby helmets:) and an excellent mom.
My sons results are below if you are interested.