Saturday, September 14, 2013

TOT Collar Review

I am the type of person who wants to feel like I have exhausted EVERY avenue possible to fix a problem.  So when I heard about the TOT collar on a torticollis forum, I immediately started researching it.  Basically the TOT collar is a device to help correct torticollis.  It is is made out of soft tubing that goes around the child's neck.  The TOT collar has two vertical nylon tubes positioned on the torticollis side that discourage the child from tilting his head to that particular side.  Please note that it is very important to always be supervising your child when he/she is wearing the TOT collar.  It also should not be used while sleeping or riding in a car seat.  As far as the reviews I read about the TOT collar, they were mixed.  Some parents liked it and thought it helped, while others said it did not help as much.  But for the price, I thought it was worth it if there was a possibility of it helping our daughter.

Picture of a baby with torticollis wearing a TOT collar
In this picture, the TOT collar was working quite well for her.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

First PT Appointment with Early Intervention

Today was Kellyn's first physical therapy appointment with our state's early intervention program.  Her assigned physical therapist came to our home to work with Kellyn.  I am so excited how quickly we were able to get started with this program.  After having such a great experience with Luke in this program, I feel very confident that we will have great success with Kellyn in it as well.

illustration of a young mother playing with her baby on a gymnastic ball
Ayelet © 123RF.com | yeletkeshet

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Before Pictures

Here are some pictures of Kellyn before or at the beginning of physical therapy.  Her physical therapist suggested we take pictures of Kellyn regularly.  That way, I can track her progress since its hard to notice the changes since I'm with her all the time.  I'm trying to see if her neck and trunk straighten up and her slight facial asymmetries resulting from the torticollis resolve themselves over time.

Right torticollis in baby
 This is the back view of her head tilt at approximately 1 week into physical therapy.