Hadley’s Head Shape - why we decided no helmet

Man. I’ve been avoiding this blog post like the plague. And now that she is almost one!!!! (exclamation points because I’m dramatic about it) Let me start from the beginning.

When Hadley was two months old I noticed that her head was very flat in the back. At her two month appointment I brought it up to our doctor and she said that it should correct itself and that it really wasn’t that bad. Then at four months old it was still flat and she said I could do the helmet (doc band) to help correct the head shape if I wanted but she told me it was very expensive and that when she gets hair it won’t even be noticeable. So I tried to drop it.

Hadley- 2 ish months

Hadley - 4 ish months (as you can see not getting better)

Finally when she was 8 months old, I was still very unhappy with her head shape. And let me explain why I was unhappy because it sounds vain, and to be honest it kind of is. I was unhappy because I thought if people looked at her head, saw that it was flat, they’d think in their minds “wow, I can’t believe that mom left that baby on her back and never played with her.” I felt guilt. I felt shame. I also felt bad that her head didn’t look like other baby’s and it was my fault. ** side note: for those of you that are unfamiliar with flat head syndrome, it happens when a baby is laying on one part of their head for too long because their skulls are not fully formed yet they are very moveable (Can you tell I’m not a doctor) anyways you have to do a lot of tummy time during the day to help correct the time spent laying on their backs.

Ok, so her being 8 months old, is a pretty late start to the doc band process. They recommend between 4-6 months. This time I called my doctor and told her I wanted to get a consultation at cranial technologies to see what they had to say. Sure enough she was a candidate for the doc band. It wasn’t terrible she was a mild case. But they still suggested it. And told me she’d need to wear it for 4 months or longer because we were starting so late. They also reassured me, that flat head syndrome is NOT the parents fault. It usually is the result of a great sleeping baby. A lot of babies roll around at night and get even pressure on both sides of the skull. Hadley was such a deep sleeper whatever position I laid her down on she’d stay. So, I told them I needed to think about it because of the price. VERY expensive.

For some reason I had a very heavy feeling on my heart about the helmet. I don’t know why I just had this mom feeling that I didn’t feel right about doing it. I posted on social media and a friend mentioned chiropractic work to reshape babies heads. I did some more research. I prayed a lot about it. I honestly didn’t know at that point there was any other option.

Then I just heard my dad and my doctors words over and over “she’s beautiful, her hair will cover it, she is not in pain, this is not a medical emergency” basically this is just all cosmetic. Her “Mild” diagnosis would have no health issues in the future.

I still wanted to do something for her so my mom gut told me to go the chiropractor route. If you’re local, we saw Dr. Dodge at Dodge Family Chiropractor in Coppell. He was great! He was great with kids, even has a playroom in his offices. We saw him a total of 6 times. Once a week for a month then every 2 weeks. At the end of 6 sessions he said her head was symmetrical and that she was doing great! During this time I also started rotating how I placed her in the crib. The right of the bed or the left to help her head turn different ways to even the pressure.

Hadley- a few weeks after we started chiro

So now that we are all done. Is her head shape perfectly round? No. Is it better than when we started? Absolutely. We started when she was closer to 9 months old. I’ve seen babies who had the doc band and after they took it off her head shape looks very similar to theirs. Not perfectly round but not super flat either. Also everyone was right, her hair covers it! Another thing I learned in my research is that after a certain point their skull begins developing from the neck up so I believe over time her head will correct itself even more!

We loved the chiro so much that we are now going back after every physical milestone (sit up, pull up, crawl, walk, etc) to get her adjusted. I’m even taking Paxton with us to get adjusted and they both love it!

Most recent picture I have of her profile.

Last thing I want to say, Hadley’s case was “mild”. I am not suggesting to go one route or the other. I am just saying what we decided to do. Both are fine. None, honestly would have been fine (in her case). Listen to your doctor. But also, trust your gut. Finding a balance is hard, I know. Hopefully if you find yourself in this boat, maybe now you know you have options!

With love,

Megan