Noah’s helmet is off!! We went for our check up a couple weeks ago and the clinic (Rachel) confirmed that his asymmetry had reduced by another 1mm to 3mm, and his Cephalic ratio was now down to 85% - he had reached both his target measurements.
Noah’s head is now back to it’s natural shape (based on the average head measurements) and she was happy to discharge him. We discussed the remaining 3mm difference on his asymmetry and whether it was worth continuing any longer to reduce this. We all agreed that the difference would be so minimal, if even noticeable, that it wasn’t worth keeping his helmet on for any longer. And as he grows more, that 3mm (which you can’t even see) will become a smaller and smaller percentage of his overall head measurement.
Noah’s head is now back to it’s natural shape (based on the average head measurements) and she was happy to discharge him. We discussed the remaining 3mm difference on his asymmetry and whether it was worth continuing any longer to reduce this. We all agreed that the difference would be so minimal, if even noticeable, that it wasn’t worth keeping his helmet on for any longer. And as he grows more, that 3mm (which you can’t even see) will become a smaller and smaller percentage of his overall head measurement.
The before and after 3D scans below say it all really!
 |
| All evidence of FHS gone! |
 |
| These photos aren't very flattering! But I thought it would be useful to share these too as you can see the physical changes. The hair net is to help hold his long hair down! |
 |
| This is an image I put together, keeping the before head shape just within the after - you can really see the areas of growth. |
It was amazing to take Noah home that day helmet less. It felt like we had a new little boy!! We can’t get enough of hugging him and being able to kiss his head - anywhere!! A simple thing, but it is so wonderful.
And we are soooooo happy with his results. Noah wore his helmet for just under 5 months in the end, the time passed really quickly and it so quickly became normal to see him wearing it and the routine involved with keeping it clean. But the transition to no helmet was even easier!!
We did wonder if he would he bump his head more or be wobbly on his feet with the change in weight to his head (it weighed just over 300grams). But it really didn’t make any difference at all, which was so wonderful.
We also feel lucky as he wore it during the colder months and so didn’t get too hot wearing it. It also meant that his helmet didn’t get smelly until about 4 weeks until it came off. Rachel said we had done very well on that front!!
He also wore it whilst learning to crawl and walk - great protection for his head, it didn’t hold him back at all!
 |
| Our gorgeous boy on his first birthday. |
So all in all our helmet experience couldn’t have been better, Noah’s head is amazing and we are so happy that we were able to do this for him.
In addition to his helmet treatment, we are still seeing the chiropractor. It is great to have someone monitoring his skull now that his helmet is off. His head shouldn’t regress at all in shape now that he is mobile, sleeps any which way and his skull bones are less soft, but even so it is great to have that reassurance.
In addition to his helmet treatment, we are still seeing the chiropractor. It is great to have someone monitoring his skull now that his helmet is off. His head shouldn’t regress at all in shape now that he is mobile, sleeps any which way and his skull bones are less soft, but even so it is great to have that reassurance.
I hope that this blog will be of use to other parents in the future. We have found that whilst our experience has not been unique, there still isn’t much information out there about Flat Head Syndrome and how to treat it once it gets serious.
Just a little bit of information can go a long way and I hope that by sharing our experience, I have helped to fill that void.
