cinis baby halo to prevent flat head?

[firsttimer]

Has anyone used this product? www.healthybabyhalo.com

The materials say that some hospitals use it, esp. for NICU preemies. Now selling to public.

I like it better than the positioning bolsters because it seems that it would not be as much a SIDS risk. BUT the material says the baby halo supports "head midline in supine position" -- not sure if that means baby can't turn head. Anything that prevents a baby from turning its head in case it spits up might be dangerous, in my mind. Not that I have any experience....

My nurse says not to buy anything like this and to keep baby off back of head during the day with slings and carriers -- no car seat carriers. But I see so many babies in my neighborhood with significant flat spots that it's hard not to worry. One little guy is starting school and his little head is still very misshapen. His parents asked about it but MD says too late to fix.

What are your experiences? Can baby move head enough if it spits up?

Thanks!

[gatorruth]

My son had to wear a helmet for a flat head for 12 weeks when he was around 5-6 mos old. He had other issues (torticollis- a short neck muscle- and couldn't move his head...). I wound up using a few things similar to this halo- mostly car seat gear, like the neck support that I put under his head or the head support thing for infants that I also put under his head.

Neither worked for us.. I agree with the nurse- keep your dc off his head- also, do tummy time a lot. IF there is a problem, be a very strong advocate for your child. Insist on a specialist 2nd opinion and read a lot on the web. You might want to check out Cranial Technologies- that's where our dc got his helmet. THey have a lot of info on their web site.

You have to start wiht the helmet before 6-8 mos...

Ruth

[firsttimer]

Thank you, Ruth. Very good information. Hope your baby is doing well now.

I did get an opinion on the halo device today from a pediatrician in an informational Q&A with other families. The doctor says that the halo devices are safe and, because of "rave reviews" from a pediatric physical therapist, she recommends it. She says that the babies do maintain the ability to move their heads if they spit up if they are lying on the halo. She doesn't recommend the body sleep positioners past "newborn" phase because babies can scoot out of them. This is the first doctor who seemed to know about the halo device from the perspective of a therapist. I'm still interviewing other pediatricians and will post if I hear more. As you say, keeping the baby off the head when the child is awake is so important.

[firsttimer]

After some encouragement from a pediatrician, we did buy the Cinis Baby Halo device for our newborn and we took it to the hospital for use in the nursery from day one. None of the nurses had ever seen one before and they were very split on its use -- some loved it and some would remove it from the bassinet and put it away. We were asked more than once if a doctor had ordered it.

We did notice that the baby's head got red where it contacted the device so we use a lightweight man's handkerchief over the halo -- his head doesn't react now.

He does not tend to roll off the halo but he can and does turn his head freely. So far, so good.

One thing -- the medium size is a little big for a full-term newborn. Expect that your baby's may not quite fit perfectly at first.

The device is made with some kind of proprietary elastomer so I can't tell if it is phthalate free. I expect to ask the company and will post if I find out.

[firsttimer]

I did hear from the company that the elastomer is phthalate-free but I don't see that on their website yet. The company rep researched it with the manufacturer.

I wrote earlier that the baby had some redness from the halo but it turns out that the redness was a birthmark!

There is a "plasticky odor" from the halo. The company says it has received other comments about this and recommends washing the halo before use in the sink with dish soap. I didn't notice much of a difference. The odor was still there.

The halo can also be quite cool or cold in winter. We put the thin handkerchief over the halo to keep the baby's head from being in direct contact with the halo because we thought he was getting some irritation (wasn't). It helped keep the baby's head from being against the cold halo and also kept the baby's head from smelling so much like the odor.

We stopped using the halo when we stopped swaddling the baby at 4 months. The baby has a great head shape, if I do say so myself. :)