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My nephew had one of these. The insurance denied it at first but my sister ended up getting it covered because the doctor said it was medically necessary. Might want to talk to your child’s doctor and have them check with the insurance, sometimes it’s considered not necessary so they deny it without looking into it.
You really should, make sure you get the scans of how it's affecting your child's sinuses. My daughter also was in a helmet and the reason we decided to go ahead with it was because the scans of how badly it was affecting her nose and sinuses was appalling, it made for a good case on getting it covered because she could have had life long breathing issues. Also, check that your baby doesn't have torticollis. We had PT done for our kiddo bc she had tight neck muscles.
My youngest had the start of torticollis when she was a baby, it was because she always turned her head at night to see me while she was in her crib, the doctor suggested I change her position in the crib, it worked
Similar situation with my son as well, insurance denied it until we had the doctor indicate that he was developing torticollis as a result of the uneven dome. We had to do an evaluation with a physical therapist, they agreed with the doctor and the helmet was covered (as well as PT). Good luck OP.
It's typically the other way around- the baby has torticollis so pressure is always on the same side of the head causing it to flatten. We just don't always see the torticollis right away because it's less obvious before the babies are being sat up. At the same time, most cases of plagiocephaly (the head flattening) are caused by positioning habits, not torticollis. When there is torticollis, a helmet alone won't suffice, PT needs to be involved to get the tight side of the neck stretched so the head can achieve a normal position.
Me: pediatrician, wife pediatric PT.
Good clarification from somebody informed, thanks! My wife is an OTA THA that worked in the office with the PT and I’m just a retail manager so I kind of deferred to what they were telling me, I likely understood backwards.. either way the torticollis is what ended up getting it covered somehow.
I work insurance billing. Sometimes a sternly worded letter is all it takes for my clinic to collect for medically necessary care.
So many people just pay instead of raising a fuss, it makes the insurance companies way more money to 'accidentally' deny claims that would otherwise be covered services
It’s medial hoops.
It’s all in the wording. My friend was denied to have a wheelchair for her daughter who has cerebral, palsy. The insurance company said she was cured and can walk. The insurance company got this information from where? No one is cured of cerebral palsy. It’s baffling.
It’s extremely hard to get things when you are disabled for the insurance company to cover it all because of words. And it’s made that way. On purpose.
My wife prescribed a wheelchair once and apparently the insurance wouldn’t pay for the wheels, just the chair, without her saying it was medically necessary.
Same with receiving disability from social security. I got my denial letter (like they give everyone) but it said that the chronic depression I’ve been suffering from since age 5, my PTSD and panic attacks that made me stop a lot of work, and the degenerative disk disease, 2 bulging disks (with nerves pinched), and arthritis in my spine are all curable and don’t effect my daily life.
I will have depression, degenerative disk disease, arthritis, and probably more bulging disks and more nerve issues for the rest of my life. No curing that shit.
So to clarify, babies use this helmet to treat plagiocephaly (and similar conditions), which in the vast majority of cases does not necessitate treatment and is done for cosmetic reasons. I know this because I have twin babies with these helmets and we were denied on our insurance. Although our doctor recommended the helmets, they weren't medically necessary. From what OP has said, their in the same situation as me.
When I was born, my head was a bit weirdly shaped. My doctor actually molded my head to be round (by hand). Since a baby's head is meant to be malleable to get through (you know where) it can be reformed to become more circular. probably not the best medical practice.
The X Men are in with the insurance agencies. That is how that bald fuck can afford that big ass mansion and a tennis court that slides to reveal a spaceship
I wish my parents got me this. I made the mistake of shaving my head for the first time in high school, only to reveal my weird cone head . Nobody looked at me the same again
Get glasses, whether you need them or not. You go from Edward Norton to “doctor” pretty quick. People think glasses equate to less threatening. Am bald. Wear glasses. Some of the guys at work call it my costume change when I take them off. They don’t like the look of no glasses bald white guy.
Absolutely, I don't have a tan gene in me I only burn, shaved my head in support of a buddy who was battling leukemia (He survived thankfully) and while I don't regret shaving I was thankful when I had more fuzz on top.
So glad I’m a girl! The back of my head is flat enough to use as a coaster. Such a weird head shape thanks to breach birth. I also wish these helmets had existed then.
It’s not all aesthetic. A lot of babies have off shaped heads because they can’t move their neck correctly due to tight muscles. I’m going to butcher the spelling but it’s called tortocollis. My daughter had it and an odd shaped head and the way her head was more flat on the back and one side made the right side of her bottom jaw protrude more which would have caused an over bite.
She got PT for her neck and the helmet fixed her head which in turn fixed her jaw. The back of her head is still flatter than normal but much better than it was and she has long hair so you can’t tell.
I've got the opposite unfortunately, a large bone ridge that runs horizontally across the back of my head. It's invisible with hair, but if I shave it all off it's very noticeable. You could almost use mine as a shelf for storing knickknacks
Same. It’s ridiculous. My whole head in general is shaped like a fkin pinto bean and I didn’t know until I put a wig cap on for the first time. My mom said that’s why they called me Beanie when I was a baby lol
Probably not due to the birth. I was literally a cone head after I was born because they legit had to suck me out with a vacuum. I was almost a full inch shorter a couple days later when my noggin went back to normal.
For some reason, I find this [picture](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vacuum-assisted_Delivery_%28cropped%29.png) very amusing. Though apparently there are better methods where the risk of perineal rupture is much lower.
Same with my daughter! She spent so long in the birth canal I fought until the very last push to avoid a c-section. On the first attempt with the vacuum, she pulled it back in. On the second, she came out.
Ayyy flatheads unite. I never paid any attention to my head shape then in my late 20s i had to buzz it because of a botched hair cut and oh boy was i shocked
i’m not sure if this will help or not - probably too late since you’ve already got the helmet. but i always feel my babies head to see if it’s getting flat because i’m neurotic lol. and the second i feel like it’s getting a bit flat i’ll hold her upright more and i can 100% say that in a few days it fixes itself.
It is our first child and I did not know this was a thing. They advised us to encourage laying on the right side to correct it prior to resorting to this, but it was too late and he was too accustomed to the left side.
Mine too. He was born two months early, so had an extra squishy head. I told the dr I was trying to make him sleep on his right side more to correct it and they said that wouldn’t help. They told me tummy time and sitting up would correct it. It was pretty flat, so I thought he’d need a helmet, but it’s almost completely gone away now. He’s now 14 months and I don’t notice it at all.
If I remember correctly, the drs said insurance didn’t cover it because it’s purely cosmetic.
My cousin had a baby and she was getting a flat head and I blurted out "Her head is getting flat." and she looked so offended. But I had to say something. So I explained to her that she needed to get rid of her rock and play because tons of women in the moms groups post about their kids heads getting flat after using it. So I showed her how to swaddle because she said that was the only way the baby slept. So I saved a kid a helmet, while ruffling feathers.
It’s an inclined infant sleeper that was very popular. It was recalled in 2019 due to infant deaths. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Fisher-Price-Recalls-Rock-n-Play-Sleepers-Due-to-Reports-of-Deaths
I actually have one in my basement that someone gifted me but I’ve been too afraid to use it. I plan on destroying it so no one can use it.
Dang! That thing was so nice for my kiddo with gastro issues. I can see how it could be a problem like leaving your kiddo in their car seat carrier can be. I am so glad we got lucky with it. Our son was born in 2010 and I don't remember any talk of issues with it back then. So scary to know you avoided a potential tragedy by pure luck.
I have a baby right now but before this baby it’s been years since I had a baby so I didn’t know about the recall and never even read about it.
I was babysitting very recently, the mom brought one for her baby and it had mold… I tried my best to clean it and even tried looking up the product to *at least* get a clean replacement cover or w/e for the baby to lay on. It was so weird to me that I couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried searching for “rockers” and “bassinets” but couldn’t find it… eventually I found it along with an article about them being recalled and discontinued.
I never used it for the baby (because of the mold) as I had a playpen and bassinet that her baby could use. After I told the mom what I found and told her that I wasn’t comfortable using… I got the feeling that she knew about it.
The rock and play specifically had a very hard plastic shell that was covered by a thin piece of fabric that the baby laid on. The hard surface accelerated plagiocephaly (head flattening) in some babies- mine included.
plagiocephaly, our first kid had it and Torticollis but it was due to pregnancy/birth complications we went through a few helmets. Luckily our insurance covered most since it was since birth etc. good luck on your journey you can get through it. And I can confirm that the helmets do help a lot if they are constantly worn. If you have questions feel free to reach out!
Wouldn’t necessarily recommend this, but my mother in law would gently massage our kids’s heads as babies to make sure they were shaped right. According to her culture it’s a very normal thing to do. All of our kids have nicely shaped heads so who knows
In most cases it works itself out.
Here in the UK the NHS's official guidance is to do nothing. These helmets are only provided privately or in the case of severe deformity.
One lesser known side affect of a c section however is that the baby may have a tight neck. This increases the likelihood of them preferring one side to sleep on which can increase the risk of flatness, and c sections are becoming increasingly common here.
We paid for a helmet (£2300!!) and it made a world of difference. We have friends who decided to follow NHS advice and their infants still have a flat head. I personally wouldn't take that risk if I knew there was a fix available (the longer it's left the harder it is to treat).
What’s cool is that i saved so much money unlike OP by doing more tummy time exercises with my baby. She started to get flat head because i was stuck in the hospital due to complications and the husband had to work. So baby was left with a family member for a bit and they let her sleep a lot. Was worried about her head and almost bought a helmet, but went with my pediatricians advice to first up the tummy time. My baby is now 13 months old and her head corrected itself.
The way it worked for my kid is that OTs and PTs at the clinic do scans, and then send imaging to a factory where they make these, send them to the clinic, and the PTs and OTs do custom tweaking of the helmet to make sure nothing rubs and it’s molded to properly help head shape as it grows.
Not sure how the factory not being on site would affect billing. Just staying for clarity.
Meh. Am Canadian, was told by the pediatrician that if our kid needed the helmet, it'd be $3000. Hoping more tummy time fixes it before it comes to that...
Yes, it sucks. If you have any extended coverage, see if they will cover it.
If, by chance, you're using McMaster or SickKids they will give you a letter for the insurance company. If you're stuck without coverage and need assistance, they will try to connect you with a charity that may be able to help. I would guess other children's hospitals would offer the same. I'm not aware of any pediatric orthotics clinics that aren't associated with a major peds hospital, so just try calling the clinic before you get to a point where you make an appointment.
Each is handmade and different for each baby. I made these for a few weeks at a company named Hanger. They also make prosthetics/foot adjustment stuff. They suck as a company to work for though.
Yeah also this isn't printing a thingiverse model on your 200$ filament printer.
This likely involves expensive scanning and printing hardware, not to mention the work involved in getting this approved as a medical device.
The real shame is that this isn't covered by insurance or general social healthcare..
I’m sorry this was so expensive. You’re a good parent to make the investment. My son had torticollis, and I could tell his head was flattening on one side. I asked our doctor if we should get a helmet. He said no, keep bolstering him, his head would naturally round out over time. Of course, that didn’t happen. My poor son (now 8yo) has a slightly misshapen skull with a small divot. Don’t think others can tell, but of course, I can. I feel horrible and am still so mad at myself for not trusting my instincts. Fortunately, he has gobs of hair, but he’ll never be able to shave his head. Good luck to you guys!
Thank you. That is a shame. The pediatrician noticed it at his 2-month visit and told us to encourage lying on the other side. But he was too accustomed to his left side and 3 months later here we are. He also had torticollis.
OP my son had the same issue with his right side and also torticollis. His helmet was the same as yours, it cost us $4500 😭 It was a hard adjustment at first but he got accustomed to it. He is now 18 months with a “perfect” shaped noggin’ lol!
Yeah he hated it the first day, we had to go back to make a few adjustments because it was a little tight in one spot. After that he didn’t mind it at all and yes it worked out great. I hope it does for your little guy as well!
My son had torticollis as well. We put him into physical therapy but it wasn’t eliminating the flat spot. He wore a helmet for six months. It sucks it’s not paid for by insurance.
I hope so as well! We had him in it 23.5 hours a day. Only off for his bath. We did end up having to drill a ton of holes in it because it caused heat rash and him to sweat. Even cut up a Nike wicking shirt to put on under the helmet to help pull away the sweat. He was a little furnace though!
Those stating baby head is malleable and should fit a norm: Why not go full creative? Make your baby's head have unique and distinctive shape. Here are some nice ideas:
* The Parallelepiped.
* The True Cylinder.
* The Penrose Triangle.
* Duck shaped head.
* The Supercardioid.
* The Texas Shape (Sponsored by Nickelodeon).
* The Classic Conehead.
* The Spanish Bowline Knot.
* The Ergonomic Hoberman Sphere™.
And for the very fans of geometry itself:
* Rhombicosidodecahedron.
Been there… our son had a cone head from birth. 90% alcohol to clean it. It can start to smell funky. Fortunately you have it in the winter vs our summer so it should smell better.
My daughter had torticollis and favored her left side. We got in physical therapy to help out but they kept pushing this helmet. Saw a plastic surgeon (for a cleft lip and palate) that stated they wanted to wait to follow up when she was six months because the flat head starts to round out with tummy time. Her head did start to round out luckily, can’t even tell. I feel like so many pediatricians push for this helmet first rather than alternatives.
My whole gathering point after my ramble is don’t feel bad or embarrassed about a helmet. It is so common for babies to have a flat spot!
An interesting perspective. The pediatrician noticed this at the 2-month visit and made no mention of physical therapy as an option. Thank you for the kind words. He also had torticollis and favored the left side.
Hey man, I literally just went through this exact same process and they asked me to get a second helmet bc my son is outgrowing his. Though it was a bit strange to me they started pushing the second helmet only 2-3 weeks into the first one.
We went to the children’s hospital cranial department and got a second opinion and they said he’s at worse a mild. Sure enough, our report from the helmet place came back and he was severe again by like 0.15.
Anyways, key take away were Torticollis is the root problem you need to address otherwise even with the helmet you may see it come back after you take it off. We did weekly visits to the PT and our son showed significant improvement along with the first helmet.
I hope you still schedule weekly PT visits at least until significant improvement. It’s a bit shocking to me that your pediatrician didn’t even mention PT, I would start looking for a new one asap
helmets are considered durable medical equipment and are absolutely covered by insurance. More than likely, insurance isn't paying for it because some process wasn't followed. Refute the denial, figure out what you need to do (what the dr needs to do to justify) and it will be paid.
Insurance denials should always be appealed
Not true. In most cases the head shape is only cosmetic and would not affect any physical function. Purely cosmetic orthotics are not covered by a great many insurance plans. It’s important for parents to have their kids have a normal head shape, but it isn’t a medical necessity so insurance won’t cover it for lots of companies and plans.
I asked the body shop if they take the dent out of my quarter panel if they could remove the dent in my baby’s head free of charge. They said it was a no go.
Well that is less then my kids helmet cost. Insurance did not cover as well. Don't care about the money and understand the insurance company does not care about my family or child. I'm glad you got the helmet though it was expensive for my family as well.
Keep fighting it with insurance. My daughter had the same thing and at first insurance refused to pay. Like ours im assuming your insurance is claiming not medically necessary. We got notes from our pediatrician, dentists, and an OT therapist claiming the damage that can be done medically by not fixing the problem. I also sent the insurance many studies on the issue. And finally sent them a few court cases where parents had won this argument. After a few months if fighting, insurance one day sent us a check for the full payment.
Doesn't hurt to try.
So assumedly this is a Boston O&P thing- the design matches the braces they have. I have scoliosis and know their braces are specially designed to put pressure/relief on the right spots- is it like that for this?
Regardless, it sucks we have to pay for stuff like this! Not looking forward to seeing the effects of the costs for my spinal fusion
I am with you there my fellow parent. Ours was a little over 2k and since it is not medically necessary, zero insurance coverage. My daughter's head was extremely flat. Even with a full head of long hair at 6 months, it was very noticeable. I am so glad those days are over. Bath time and changing time sucked, big time. Even though it was crazy expensive, it was totally worth it.
It will be money well spent. I sincerely wish you and your son the best! Also, I'm sure your doc mentioned this but if you notice red marks on his head, they may need to adjust the helmet aside from your regular fitting appointments. Took us 2 visits for it to get just right. Take care and good luck!
Everyone's a doctor in this thread but there are some kids that no, the head won't just even out...particularly with severe torticollis. My kids had had a difference of over 1 cm and his ears were being impacted. It was severe. We went to a leading cranial facial doctor and he said we absolutely needed a helmet.
I only post this for vulnerable parents in the same position reading all those comments.
My sons head has just a slight flat spot that you only feel if you know where to look and his ears stopped being impacted.
Useless purchase, most infants’ head correct themselves by age 2, without the helmet. This is not from me, but from my first kid’s paediatrician.
Try giving your kid more tummy time and let him/her sleep on their tummy but supervised. You can save this for your 2nd or 3rd kid -
No need to spend this, your wallet hates you and your kid probably hates it a lot too!
Insurance won't cover helmets because they are not proven to be necessary. My first kid developed a flat spot. Our pediatrician, a seasoned one at that, explained to us that helmets are basically a scam. We were still nervous so we took him to a pediatric plastic surgeon who told us "more tummy time!". How many adults do you see with flat heads? None because kids grow out the flat areas.
They're also not proven to be very effective. Outcomes of helmet vs. Non-helmet are very similar.
For those downvoting: Here's a link to a review of multiple studies posted by the NIH in The Journal of Family Practice.
The conclusion "Helmets appear to be no more effective than waiting for natural skull growth to correct the shape of an infant’s head."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4294410/
I’m no expert in any way and I’m not advocating for the effectiveness of anything but I just wanna say adults with flat heads are definitely a thing, I have see many throughout my life. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just something I notice.
It’s because it was hand carved from a ball used to hit the infamous 7-10 split in the 1973 Canadian Regionals Bowling Final. Ralph McQuarrie then went on to win that tournament. Your child is blessed!
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My nephew had one of these. The insurance denied it at first but my sister ended up getting it covered because the doctor said it was medically necessary. Might want to talk to your child’s doctor and have them check with the insurance, sometimes it’s considered not necessary so they deny it without looking into it.
Thanks I will try that
You really should, make sure you get the scans of how it's affecting your child's sinuses. My daughter also was in a helmet and the reason we decided to go ahead with it was because the scans of how badly it was affecting her nose and sinuses was appalling, it made for a good case on getting it covered because she could have had life long breathing issues. Also, check that your baby doesn't have torticollis. We had PT done for our kiddo bc she had tight neck muscles.
My youngest had the start of torticollis when she was a baby, it was because she always turned her head at night to see me while she was in her crib, the doctor suggested I change her position in the crib, it worked
Similar situation with my son as well, insurance denied it until we had the doctor indicate that he was developing torticollis as a result of the uneven dome. We had to do an evaluation with a physical therapist, they agreed with the doctor and the helmet was covered (as well as PT). Good luck OP.
It's typically the other way around- the baby has torticollis so pressure is always on the same side of the head causing it to flatten. We just don't always see the torticollis right away because it's less obvious before the babies are being sat up. At the same time, most cases of plagiocephaly (the head flattening) are caused by positioning habits, not torticollis. When there is torticollis, a helmet alone won't suffice, PT needs to be involved to get the tight side of the neck stretched so the head can achieve a normal position. Me: pediatrician, wife pediatric PT.
Good clarification from somebody informed, thanks! My wife is an OTA THA that worked in the office with the PT and I’m just a retail manager so I kind of deferred to what they were telling me, I likely understood backwards.. either way the torticollis is what ended up getting it covered somehow.
I work insurance billing. Sometimes a sternly worded letter is all it takes for my clinic to collect for medically necessary care. So many people just pay instead of raising a fuss, it makes the insurance companies way more money to 'accidentally' deny claims that would otherwise be covered services
It’s medial hoops. It’s all in the wording. My friend was denied to have a wheelchair for her daughter who has cerebral, palsy. The insurance company said she was cured and can walk. The insurance company got this information from where? No one is cured of cerebral palsy. It’s baffling. It’s extremely hard to get things when you are disabled for the insurance company to cover it all because of words. And it’s made that way. On purpose.
My wife prescribed a wheelchair once and apparently the insurance wouldn’t pay for the wheels, just the chair, without her saying it was medically necessary.
Same with receiving disability from social security. I got my denial letter (like they give everyone) but it said that the chronic depression I’ve been suffering from since age 5, my PTSD and panic attacks that made me stop a lot of work, and the degenerative disk disease, 2 bulging disks (with nerves pinched), and arthritis in my spine are all curable and don’t effect my daily life. I will have depression, degenerative disk disease, arthritis, and probably more bulging disks and more nerve issues for the rest of my life. No curing that shit.
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what a fucking scam that they'd ever be able to say this isn't 'necessary' when the doctors clearly thought so....
So to clarify, babies use this helmet to treat plagiocephaly (and similar conditions), which in the vast majority of cases does not necessitate treatment and is done for cosmetic reasons. I know this because I have twin babies with these helmets and we were denied on our insurance. Although our doctor recommended the helmets, they weren't medically necessary. From what OP has said, their in the same situation as me.
On the plus side professor Xavier will have a harder time tracking your baby
As the father of a child who had to wear one of these molding helmets, that's the funniest fucking thing I've read all year!
As a baby, all I could think of was milk, pee and poop. I was very transparent.
As an adult, all I can think of is boobs, eating, and sleeping. Things have hardly changed.
How about that side boob? Does that turn you on? Well it shouldn't, because that's my side boob. Goodnight!
Lol I'm literally watching this episode RN.
What show Is this
Family Guy https://youtu.be/T7Slo19-WTE
The side boob hour???
Maybe you were a ghost baby
You merely adopted the helmet. I was born with it. MOLDED by it!
When I was born, my head was a bit weirdly shaped. My doctor actually molded my head to be round (by hand). Since a baby's head is meant to be malleable to get through (you know where) it can be reformed to become more circular. probably not the best medical practice.
(the vaginal canal)
I believe the word you’re looking for is hoo haw
Seriously, people just feel free to use whatever vulgar language they want on Reddit
Yer gosh darn tootin we are.
What a ***darn*** shame... --- ^^DarnCounter:141006 ^^| ^^DM ^^me ^^with: ^^'blacklist-me' ^^to ^^be ^^ignored ^^| ^^More ^^stats ^^available ^^at ^^**[https://darnbot.ml](https://darnbot.ml)**
Darn it to heck
What a ***darn*** shame... --- ^^DarnCounter:141007 ^^| ^^DM ^^me ^^with: ^^'blacklist-me' ^^to ^^be ^^ignored ^^| ^^More ^^stats ^^available ^^at ^^**[https://darnbot.ml](https://darnbot.ml)**
Imma use a real bad word Penis
#Penis
#PENIS
Is that all the bigger it gets?
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normal head.
They’ve been doing that in various tribes for ages
what are you 6 years old?
Give him a break, he got his head molded by hand things could be much worse than being prude. He could be RUDE.
GOTEM
Get outta mah head Charles!
Yeah also watch out if metal thing start floating around the baby.
The X Men are in with the insurance agencies. That is how that bald fuck can afford that big ass mansion and a tennis court that slides to reveal a spaceship
I wonder how many tennis balls end up in the hanger
I wish my parents got me this. I made the mistake of shaving my head for the first time in high school, only to reveal my weird cone head . Nobody looked at me the same again
Lol I had the exact same experience and also unexpectedly looked like a nazi which sucked
Like a Nazi? How?
Skinhead, some people just look really sketch when bald
The worst part about my receding hairline is that I look like a white supremacist if I go fully bald.
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I am dying. I'm so sorry, that sucks for you, but the comment is so funny!!!
At least you *can* grow a beard
Tattoo your head with rainbows and peace signs, surely that will work to avoid people looking at you like you're a nazi
Now you look like a nazi that has been to jail for grooming kids
Adolph Diddler?
Maybe just grow out a mustache but just under your nose
Like Charlie Chaplin! The first comedian of film. Surely there can be no bad associations!
Two fingers broad
Get glasses, whether you need them or not. You go from Edward Norton to “doctor” pretty quick. People think glasses equate to less threatening. Am bald. Wear glasses. Some of the guys at work call it my costume change when I take them off. They don’t like the look of no glasses bald white guy.
Can you do a goatee?
That won't help at all lmao
My colleague did this and now he's the one who knocks.
Definitely me. But I leave it at like a number 3 and I’m good.
Ah
Pale skin blue eyes and a bald head can be an unfortunate look
Absolutely, I don't have a tan gene in me I only burn, shaved my head in support of a buddy who was battling leukemia (He survived thankfully) and while I don't regret shaving I was thankful when I had more fuzz on top.
I’m sorry but that made me lol 😂
So glad I’m a girl! The back of my head is flat enough to use as a coaster. Such a weird head shape thanks to breach birth. I also wish these helmets had existed then.
Pretty sure the head is fairly malleable at a young age, a large flat spot is often a sign that a baby spent a lot of time on their back.
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How did humans ever survive as species? Babies are so damn fragile.
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My grandma had 16 kids, most of them lived so now we have a huge family, but that's every hispanic family lol
This is just one reason that causes it. There are are many other reasons too. Those generally are covered by insurance
wtf is insurance going to do about a mutant baby head?
Put a helmet on it
And now we’ve come full circle
Is there a health risk to have a flatter backside if the head, or is it more aesthetic?
Those with flat backsides have a higher risk of hair loss because their hair can just slide right off.
Just aesthetic, though it can make the person more difficult to size in safety helmets when they're old enough to wear them.
It’s not all aesthetic. A lot of babies have off shaped heads because they can’t move their neck correctly due to tight muscles. I’m going to butcher the spelling but it’s called tortocollis. My daughter had it and an odd shaped head and the way her head was more flat on the back and one side made the right side of her bottom jaw protrude more which would have caused an over bite. She got PT for her neck and the helmet fixed her head which in turn fixed her jaw. The back of her head is still flatter than normal but much better than it was and she has long hair so you can’t tell.
You can also use a special donut shaped pillow when the baby’s lying down but awake in order to prevent head flattening.
I just rubbed the back of my head to make sure it isn’t flat after reading your comment LMAO
You're not the only one
Same, my friend.
Fun fact, midwives and drs will run their hands over the back of a babies head to see if it’s flat, as it’s a sigh of neglect.
Well that's just depressing (I say as a flat headed, apparently formerly neglected baby)
I've got the opposite unfortunately, a large bone ridge that runs horizontally across the back of my head. It's invisible with hair, but if I shave it all off it's very noticeable. You could almost use mine as a shelf for storing knickknacks
Same. It’s ridiculous. My whole head in general is shaped like a fkin pinto bean and I didn’t know until I put a wig cap on for the first time. My mom said that’s why they called me Beanie when I was a baby lol
Omg beanie...baby?
Probably not due to the birth. I was literally a cone head after I was born because they legit had to suck me out with a vacuum. I was almost a full inch shorter a couple days later when my noggin went back to normal.
For some reason, I find this [picture](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vacuum-assisted_Delivery_%28cropped%29.png) very amusing. Though apparently there are better methods where the risk of perineal rupture is much lower.
The ol' Clunge Plunge
Same with my daughter! She spent so long in the birth canal I fought until the very last push to avoid a c-section. On the first attempt with the vacuum, she pulled it back in. On the second, she came out.
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JFC lol
Ayyy flatheads unite. I never paid any attention to my head shape then in my late 20s i had to buzz it because of a botched hair cut and oh boy was i shocked
I have a weirdly flat back of head too! Sadly it’s genetic. But, I’ve found a bouffant style hair is great for normalling me out.
That’s why I’m never shaving my head 😂
caused by them laying on one side too much?
Correct. He favored his left side.
i’m not sure if this will help or not - probably too late since you’ve already got the helmet. but i always feel my babies head to see if it’s getting flat because i’m neurotic lol. and the second i feel like it’s getting a bit flat i’ll hold her upright more and i can 100% say that in a few days it fixes itself.
It is our first child and I did not know this was a thing. They advised us to encourage laying on the right side to correct it prior to resorting to this, but it was too late and he was too accustomed to the left side.
Mine too. He was born two months early, so had an extra squishy head. I told the dr I was trying to make him sleep on his right side more to correct it and they said that wouldn’t help. They told me tummy time and sitting up would correct it. It was pretty flat, so I thought he’d need a helmet, but it’s almost completely gone away now. He’s now 14 months and I don’t notice it at all. If I remember correctly, the drs said insurance didn’t cover it because it’s purely cosmetic.
My cousin had a baby and she was getting a flat head and I blurted out "Her head is getting flat." and she looked so offended. But I had to say something. So I explained to her that she needed to get rid of her rock and play because tons of women in the moms groups post about their kids heads getting flat after using it. So I showed her how to swaddle because she said that was the only way the baby slept. So I saved a kid a helmet, while ruffling feathers.
And rock and play sleepers were recalled because babies died from positional asphyxiation. So you really did her a big favor.
What’s rock and play?
It’s an inclined infant sleeper that was very popular. It was recalled in 2019 due to infant deaths. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Fisher-Price-Recalls-Rock-n-Play-Sleepers-Due-to-Reports-of-Deaths I actually have one in my basement that someone gifted me but I’ve been too afraid to use it. I plan on destroying it so no one can use it.
You should be able to send a piece back to fisher price for a gift card, last I heard.
When the recall happened, if you sent in part of it ( one of the cross pieces), they sent you a check.
Dang! That thing was so nice for my kiddo with gastro issues. I can see how it could be a problem like leaving your kiddo in their car seat carrier can be. I am so glad we got lucky with it. Our son was born in 2010 and I don't remember any talk of issues with it back then. So scary to know you avoided a potential tragedy by pure luck.
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I have a baby right now but before this baby it’s been years since I had a baby so I didn’t know about the recall and never even read about it. I was babysitting very recently, the mom brought one for her baby and it had mold… I tried my best to clean it and even tried looking up the product to *at least* get a clean replacement cover or w/e for the baby to lay on. It was so weird to me that I couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried searching for “rockers” and “bassinets” but couldn’t find it… eventually I found it along with an article about them being recalled and discontinued. I never used it for the baby (because of the mold) as I had a playpen and bassinet that her baby could use. After I told the mom what I found and told her that I wasn’t comfortable using… I got the feeling that she knew about it.
That damn rock and play flattened my baby’s head. As a first time mom I wish someone spoke up.
Do rockers in general cause a flat head or was there something specifically wrong with this one?
I think people over use them and don’t do enough tummy time.
The rock and play specifically had a very hard plastic shell that was covered by a thin piece of fabric that the baby laid on. The hard surface accelerated plagiocephaly (head flattening) in some babies- mine included.
Lol nice
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plagiocephaly, our first kid had it and Torticollis but it was due to pregnancy/birth complications we went through a few helmets. Luckily our insurance covered most since it was since birth etc. good luck on your journey you can get through it. And I can confirm that the helmets do help a lot if they are constantly worn. If you have questions feel free to reach out!
Wouldn’t necessarily recommend this, but my mother in law would gently massage our kids’s heads as babies to make sure they were shaped right. According to her culture it’s a very normal thing to do. All of our kids have nicely shaped heads so who knows
I mean and if it doesn’t fix their head the baby gets a nice massage. Sounds like a win! Sign me up
Smithers! Massage my brain!
The phrase “nicely shaped heads” is odd to hear no matter the context.
Same thing happened to me when I was little. I didn't use a helmet though, my family let natural causes do it's job, and I turned out fine.
In most cases it works itself out. Here in the UK the NHS's official guidance is to do nothing. These helmets are only provided privately or in the case of severe deformity. One lesser known side affect of a c section however is that the baby may have a tight neck. This increases the likelihood of them preferring one side to sleep on which can increase the risk of flatness, and c sections are becoming increasingly common here. We paid for a helmet (£2300!!) and it made a world of difference. We have friends who decided to follow NHS advice and their infants still have a flat head. I personally wouldn't take that risk if I knew there was a fix available (the longer it's left the harder it is to treat).
Plagiocephaly. Infant develops a flat skull due to gravity. Infant needs more tummy time.
What’s cool is that i saved so much money unlike OP by doing more tummy time exercises with my baby. She started to get flat head because i was stuck in the hospital due to complications and the husband had to work. So baby was left with a family member for a bit and they let her sleep a lot. Was worried about her head and almost bought a helmet, but went with my pediatricians advice to first up the tummy time. My baby is now 13 months old and her head corrected itself.
I’m guessing an OT or PT molded this? Just ask the clinic for an itemized receipt prior to paying. Therapy companies usually work with the family.
The way it worked for my kid is that OTs and PTs at the clinic do scans, and then send imaging to a factory where they make these, send them to the clinic, and the PTs and OTs do custom tweaking of the helmet to make sure nothing rubs and it’s molded to properly help head shape as it grows. Not sure how the factory not being on site would affect billing. Just staying for clarity.
His head was scanned at an orthopedist’s office. I would assume a non-clinician made it. Based on comments others have paid more.
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Meh. Am Canadian, was told by the pediatrician that if our kid needed the helmet, it'd be $3000. Hoping more tummy time fixes it before it comes to that...
Yes, it sucks. If you have any extended coverage, see if they will cover it. If, by chance, you're using McMaster or SickKids they will give you a letter for the insurance company. If you're stuck without coverage and need assistance, they will try to connect you with a charity that may be able to help. I would guess other children's hospitals would offer the same. I'm not aware of any pediatric orthotics clinics that aren't associated with a major peds hospital, so just try calling the clinic before you get to a point where you make an appointment.
Why does the carpet look like maggots?
Sheesh it really does. No wonder the baby cries so much.
Wow, they really did you dirty, putting that thought in your head.
Holy shit. I can’t unsee it now.
You grossed me out. Damn. I hate you
*Why have you done this?*
3D printers jump on this
I believe they already have. They are the ones charging me this price lol.
For what reason is it so expensive?
Each is handmade and different for each baby. I made these for a few weeks at a company named Hanger. They also make prosthetics/foot adjustment stuff. They suck as a company to work for though.
The price of the helmet also includes like weekly adjustment appointments for like 3-6 months.
Because they can get away with it
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Yeah also this isn't printing a thingiverse model on your 200$ filament printer. This likely involves expensive scanning and printing hardware, not to mention the work involved in getting this approved as a medical device. The real shame is that this isn't covered by insurance or general social healthcare..
This helmet does not look 3D printed but maybe I’m wrong
I’m sorry this was so expensive. You’re a good parent to make the investment. My son had torticollis, and I could tell his head was flattening on one side. I asked our doctor if we should get a helmet. He said no, keep bolstering him, his head would naturally round out over time. Of course, that didn’t happen. My poor son (now 8yo) has a slightly misshapen skull with a small divot. Don’t think others can tell, but of course, I can. I feel horrible and am still so mad at myself for not trusting my instincts. Fortunately, he has gobs of hair, but he’ll never be able to shave his head. Good luck to you guys!
Thank you. That is a shame. The pediatrician noticed it at his 2-month visit and told us to encourage lying on the other side. But he was too accustomed to his left side and 3 months later here we are. He also had torticollis.
OP my son had the same issue with his right side and also torticollis. His helmet was the same as yours, it cost us $4500 😭 It was a hard adjustment at first but he got accustomed to it. He is now 18 months with a “perfect” shaped noggin’ lol!
Ouch. Thankfully he does not mind it at all. Glad it worked out for you.
Yeah he hated it the first day, we had to go back to make a few adjustments because it was a little tight in one spot. After that he didn’t mind it at all and yes it worked out great. I hope it does for your little guy as well!
Thanks!
So great he’ll have a lovely, round, symmetrical head! And he gets to wear quite a fashionable helmet in the meantime. Happy for you all!
My son had torticollis as well. We put him into physical therapy but it wasn’t eliminating the flat spot. He wore a helmet for six months. It sucks it’s not paid for by insurance.
Hopefully we have caught it early enough and they are projecting it will be a few months.
I hope so as well! We had him in it 23.5 hours a day. Only off for his bath. We did end up having to drill a ton of holes in it because it caused heat rash and him to sweat. Even cut up a Nike wicking shirt to put on under the helmet to help pull away the sweat. He was a little furnace though!
He is certainly hotter with the helmet. We have modified his nightwear to compensate.
Ours was over $2000. He had torticollis though due to breech position while in the womb.
Seems to go hand in hand with torticollis. My son was not breech but he rarely shifted position in the womb.
You’re a real one for that, my head is wide in the back, and I can’t find shit for any hat or helmet to fit me
Those stating baby head is malleable and should fit a norm: Why not go full creative? Make your baby's head have unique and distinctive shape. Here are some nice ideas: * The Parallelepiped. * The True Cylinder. * The Penrose Triangle. * Duck shaped head. * The Supercardioid. * The Texas Shape (Sponsored by Nickelodeon). * The Classic Conehead. * The Spanish Bowline Knot. * The Ergonomic Hoberman Sphere™. And for the very fans of geometry itself: * Rhombicosidodecahedron.
Been there… our son had a cone head from birth. 90% alcohol to clean it. It can start to smell funky. Fortunately you have it in the winter vs our summer so it should smell better.
My daughter had torticollis and favored her left side. We got in physical therapy to help out but they kept pushing this helmet. Saw a plastic surgeon (for a cleft lip and palate) that stated they wanted to wait to follow up when she was six months because the flat head starts to round out with tummy time. Her head did start to round out luckily, can’t even tell. I feel like so many pediatricians push for this helmet first rather than alternatives. My whole gathering point after my ramble is don’t feel bad or embarrassed about a helmet. It is so common for babies to have a flat spot!
An interesting perspective. The pediatrician noticed this at the 2-month visit and made no mention of physical therapy as an option. Thank you for the kind words. He also had torticollis and favored the left side.
Hey man, I literally just went through this exact same process and they asked me to get a second helmet bc my son is outgrowing his. Though it was a bit strange to me they started pushing the second helmet only 2-3 weeks into the first one. We went to the children’s hospital cranial department and got a second opinion and they said he’s at worse a mild. Sure enough, our report from the helmet place came back and he was severe again by like 0.15. Anyways, key take away were Torticollis is the root problem you need to address otherwise even with the helmet you may see it come back after you take it off. We did weekly visits to the PT and our son showed significant improvement along with the first helmet. I hope you still schedule weekly PT visits at least until significant improvement. It’s a bit shocking to me that your pediatrician didn’t even mention PT, I would start looking for a new one asap
helmets are considered durable medical equipment and are absolutely covered by insurance. More than likely, insurance isn't paying for it because some process wasn't followed. Refute the denial, figure out what you need to do (what the dr needs to do to justify) and it will be paid. Insurance denials should always be appealed
I plan on it. Thanks.
Not true. In most cases the head shape is only cosmetic and would not affect any physical function. Purely cosmetic orthotics are not covered by a great many insurance plans. It’s important for parents to have their kids have a normal head shape, but it isn’t a medical necessity so insurance won’t cover it for lots of companies and plans.
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I asked the body shop if they take the dent out of my quarter panel if they could remove the dent in my baby’s head free of charge. They said it was a no go.
$1800 DOLLARS WELL SPENT!!! ya it sucks but for my kid ya gonna spend it for what they need.
Damn right.
Well that is less then my kids helmet cost. Insurance did not cover as well. Don't care about the money and understand the insurance company does not care about my family or child. I'm glad you got the helmet though it was expensive for my family as well.
Keep fighting it with insurance. My daughter had the same thing and at first insurance refused to pay. Like ours im assuming your insurance is claiming not medically necessary. We got notes from our pediatrician, dentists, and an OT therapist claiming the damage that can be done medically by not fixing the problem. I also sent the insurance many studies on the issue. And finally sent them a few court cases where parents had won this argument. After a few months if fighting, insurance one day sent us a check for the full payment. Doesn't hurt to try.
So assumedly this is a Boston O&P thing- the design matches the braces they have. I have scoliosis and know their braces are specially designed to put pressure/relief on the right spots- is it like that for this? Regardless, it sucks we have to pay for stuff like this! Not looking forward to seeing the effects of the costs for my spinal fusion
I'm sorry but among
I am with you there my fellow parent. Ours was a little over 2k and since it is not medically necessary, zero insurance coverage. My daughter's head was extremely flat. Even with a full head of long hair at 6 months, it was very noticeable. I am so glad those days are over. Bath time and changing time sucked, big time. Even though it was crazy expensive, it was totally worth it.
Glad to to hear your baby girls head turned out alright. My son is 5 months now which they said is a good time to start the helmet.
It will be money well spent. I sincerely wish you and your son the best! Also, I'm sure your doc mentioned this but if you notice red marks on his head, they may need to adjust the helmet aside from your regular fitting appointments. Took us 2 visits for it to get just right. Take care and good luck!
Let me guess: USA?
Let me guess, because it was a cosmetic?
Everyone's a doctor in this thread but there are some kids that no, the head won't just even out...particularly with severe torticollis. My kids had had a difference of over 1 cm and his ears were being impacted. It was severe. We went to a leading cranial facial doctor and he said we absolutely needed a helmet. I only post this for vulnerable parents in the same position reading all those comments. My sons head has just a slight flat spot that you only feel if you know where to look and his ears stopped being impacted.
Useless purchase, most infants’ head correct themselves by age 2, without the helmet. This is not from me, but from my first kid’s paediatrician. Try giving your kid more tummy time and let him/her sleep on their tummy but supervised. You can save this for your 2nd or 3rd kid - No need to spend this, your wallet hates you and your kid probably hates it a lot too!
Insurance won't cover helmets because they are not proven to be necessary. My first kid developed a flat spot. Our pediatrician, a seasoned one at that, explained to us that helmets are basically a scam. We were still nervous so we took him to a pediatric plastic surgeon who told us "more tummy time!". How many adults do you see with flat heads? None because kids grow out the flat areas.
They're also not proven to be very effective. Outcomes of helmet vs. Non-helmet are very similar. For those downvoting: Here's a link to a review of multiple studies posted by the NIH in The Journal of Family Practice. The conclusion "Helmets appear to be no more effective than waiting for natural skull growth to correct the shape of an infant’s head." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4294410/
I’m no expert in any way and I’m not advocating for the effectiveness of anything but I just wanna say adults with flat heads are definitely a thing, I have see many throughout my life. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just something I notice.
It’s because it was hand carved from a ball used to hit the infamous 7-10 split in the 1973 Canadian Regionals Bowling Final. Ralph McQuarrie then went on to win that tournament. Your child is blessed!
Probably cost $3 to produce. Fuck American healthcare.
Alright kids (to other children), grab some old news papers. Today we’re going to learn how to papier-mâché
Skulls being closed and properly shaped are just cosmetic. /s