Casting

It has been a very tiring day for me and little Charissa. Went for her head casting this morning. It was quite an experience for me but at the same time lots of mix feelings (sad, worried, panic, fear, anxious). My poor baby is really going thru a lot at a young age. During the session, she was crying and screaming so loudly when Lisa, the clinician trying to put the cast on her head. The casting took about 10-12 minutes and it is not painful.

It started with her putting a net (that can see and breath through) over Charissa's head. Then she cut a hole around the mouth area. For the first part, Charissa was lying down on her back facing Lisa. I have to hold her elbows/hands down to prevent her from touching/pulling the cast. She started with a piece of wet clay on the forehead followed by the sides. The second part was done when Charissa was sitting up facing me. This time, another lady came in to give us a helping hand. She was holding Charissa's chest/stomach and back because the little girl was moving a lot plus all the crying and screaming. Lisa then put a few more wet clay at the back of her head. More crying and finally she stopped as she was a little tired. That was the time when we have to wait for a few minutes for it to dry before taking out. As soon as the cast is removed, it's off to a bath. Luckily, hubby was able to be with me this morning. He was with Cailynn at the waiting area.

The next appointment is set 2 weeks later on Feb 11. According to them, the band has to be fitted no later than 14 days, as the infant's head is growing and the pressures will not be correct if treatment begins outside that time frame. The band will be placed on Charissa's head and customized trimming may be done. They will also perform a skin check to make sure she can tolerate the mild pressures applied by the band. Wear and care of the band will be explained at this visit.

Follow-up visits will be every 1-2 weeks. At these visits, adjustments will direct proper growth of the head. I was told that it is essential to keep these appointments because problems can occur if a DOC Band is left on without timely adjustments. Also, a 3-dimensional model is made of Charissa's original head shape. The clinician will use this model at every visit to assess the changes Charissa is making. This model will be given to me for follow up visits with Dr. Ohmstede. At the end of treatment, Charissa will need another cast. It is called an "exit mold", and is a very important medical record because if there is a concern about the head possibly flattening again, this is the only record at completion of treatment.

Wasn't able to take pics of Charissa during casting. So found this in the internet...those babies looked so calm but trust me, in actual situation, they are crying so loudly....giving a bottle or pacifier may help to calm a baby.