Positional Plagiocephaly

March 10th...

This might come as a surprise to most of you today because I haven't talked about it much other than with some family, but I was having a hard time explaining our issue without a picture, so here you go. Now everyone can be informed on what Averi and I are about to go through.

I noticed the day Averi was born that her head was a little crooked, she had a bit of a flat spot in the back and to the right, so her head naturally rested that way. Around 2 months old (right after we moved here) I started to realize that it may be turning into a bigger issue than we all originally thought. I have been working with her pretty much every hour of every day trying to get her to look the other way long enough to redistribute the pressure, but gravity is a very powerful thing and she is just has a hard time not laying on the right side of her head. I did some research the other night on the internet and found out a bunch of information on babies with flat heads. I thought I was just going to get a few tips and tricks I hadn't tried yet to fix this, but what I found instead just about scared me to death. It is called Positional Plagiocephaly and it is caused by babies laying on the same spot for too long and can be corrected, if caught soon enough, with a helmet. From what I found out online, but about 6 months of age, the skull has hardened up too much for a helmet to do any good, so the clock is definitely ticking.

I made her a doctors appointment the very next day and they were able to squeeze her in this morning, it was such a relief to finally get her looked at, but at the same time I was terrified that the doctor would pat me on the head, tell me I was over reacting, and to go home and wait it out. I went into that office determined to make sure I was heard today, but luckily, I didn't need to. Averi's new doctor is just about the nicest man I have ever met; he listened to me and agreed, and he was very informative on what options there are. He is referring Averi to a plastic surgeon in Nashville who will supply us with a helmet if he feels it is necessary.

Before we go to Nashville, though, Averi has to go back in for a CT scan and that will confirm what we think the problem is. There is another reason her head could be misshapen, and that is if the plates of her skull are prematurely fusing together. If that is the case, we are in a whole nother ball game...but my fingers are crossed it's not! The doctor said there is a 90% chance it is positional and can probably be corrected. I will keep everyone posted on what the CT scan results say and what our next step is.

I found it a lot harder than I thought to take pictures of her head, I just can't seem to get the right angle, but in person the shape is very prominent and easy to spot. The right side of her skull is basically pushed forward from all the pressure she puts on it. Her right ear is about half an inch closer to her face than her left ear and the right side of her forehead is pushed out the same distance. She can move her head from side to side and look both ways, so the doctor ruled out torticollis which is when the neck muscles are too tight, forcing a baby to only lay on one spot.

I realize this is kind of a personal matter, and I am sharing it with the world right now. A lot of people will probably read this and think I am a bad mom for letting this happen. But just know, that I am working really hard to try and convince myself that this is not my fault...without much luck. I noticed it from birth and I didn't do anything...I figured it would even out as she grew. And now that it hasn't, I feel terrible. I know that CT scan is going to scare the living daylights out of her, they will probably put her under the anesthesia for it, but leading up to that point, with me not holding her and making her feel better, I don't even like to think about it. Chances are, if I had been able to take her in earlier, they would have told me she was still young for corrective action anyway, so I am trying not to blame myself too much. I just want the best for her and I can't imagine her getting picked in school for something I could have tried to fix. There are lots of other things she will probably get picked on for, that I had no control over (like her vision...just a guess)...elementary school is a dangerous place! I am trying to nip this in the bud and see what can be done. So if you are thinking bad things about me right now...screw you.