Tidus the Mightiest and His Head

This is the intro to the story of Tidus the Mightiest and his head. From the day Tidus was born I noticed his tendency to look to his right. This was especially prevalent when I was nursing. He preferred one side over the other. This can be common in babies but Tidus just did not like turning his head to the left. 

Not thinking much of this, some time passed. I casually worked with Tidus to get him to turn his head to the opposite side but by the age of about 2 months I started to notice his head was flattening on one side from the constant lying on his right. Thank goodness I decided to attend the Relief Society Halloween dinner. With Tidus in tow I say at the first table I saw an opening. This table happened to be occupied by a sister in our ward whose child wore a helmet. After some time I worked up the courage to ask her about it. Was his head misshapen when he was born? Was it from lying on his head wrong? She informed me her son had TORTICOLLIS a condition where the neck muscles contract or are short on one side causing the head to turn a certain way. The sister asked why my questioning and I told her of my concern about Tidus' head shape. She looked at him and commented that his head looks like it tilts to one side. At her urging I set right out to get Tidus into his doctor to take a look at his neck. She warned not to let this go too long. The longer you wait the harder this issue will be to resolve! 

That was all I needed to hear. 

An appointment was set and the doctor agreed that Tidus has some torticollis. Looking at his skull, she stated she was not concerned about his head shape but that she would refer me to a cranial specialist so they could take a look. 

Thank goodness for that! Below are the pictures from Tidus' evaluation. Not only was the back side of his head misshapen but it was beginning to effect his face! One side of his face was pressing forward from the flattening on the back side of his head. He had severe plagiocephaly! The therapist gave me some stretches to do with Tidus 5 times per day. He was also to do at least an hour of tummy time every day and avoid sitting in the stroller where he will be lying on the back of his head for extended periods of time. I was to come back in a month and have his head reevaluated. 

We worked hard! Since that time Tidus has not once been in his stroller. In fact, I completely put away the double stroller and Tidus is exclusively in the baby carrier. He did his stretches, his tummy time, and was rolled to his left side as much as possible. 

Fast forward one month and we found ourselves back with the cranial specialist. She remarked how improved his neck was. It was not perfect but in a vastly better state. His head shape was also much better. BUT not good enough. It was still severely misshapen and the next step is wearing a band, or helmet. A positive note is that we caught this early and Tidus will only have to wear the band 6-9 weeks. (The sister I go to church with had her son wear his for 4 months because he was so much older when the caught the plagiocephaly!) 

Below are the second results. There is a level of guilt that comes with this experience. I feel bad that I did not catch this sooner. Yes Tidus was born with the torticollis but I wish I could have prevented the flattening. We are very blessed to have such amazing health insurance that will cover 90% of the costs. 

In a few days we will go in to get Tidus' band. And that is where the story will continue...