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Our dd has this and we've been doing pt every other week since she was 8 weeks old. She's 14 weeks now. She had mild plagiocephaly but we were told yesterday we shouldn't need to do a helmet as long as we keep doing her exercises. Like you said most of it is doing the stretches at home but I think the pt appointments are helpful because it lets me know how she's doing. For ex, 2 weeks ago her mobility was 50% but yesterday it was 75. And I like feeling like someone is watching verses going back at 4mo and the doctor saying oh well guess she needs a helmet. I also think the pt is useful because I can take my husband or mom so they know how to do the stretches when they're watching her. Since going back to work 2 weeks ago I do think her neck has gotten a little tighter so it was a good refresher at pt yesterday to make sure everyone is doing the stretches properly. All that to say, if you know how to do the stretches you should be fine doing them at home but it is nice to have pt keep a eye on it and make sure it's improving and that nothing else pops up because they can start leaning and shortening their torso muscles. We did. 3 pt sessions every other week and now we go back in a month

@matador84: first I all, 3 months?! What?

Second I don't have personal experience but I know three babies in the last two years who wore helmets, so it seems pretty common to me. I know more who either did pt or just some exercises at home and didn't need the helmet. Why don't you want to do the pt?

We never had the problem with C since she so rarely slept laying down anyway.

@matador84: whoa- at $300 a visit I would try stretches at home too!

@ladybee: I didn't read the full study, but it sounded like it didn't look into severe cases:

<< [T]he study leaves open the possibility that the helmets may still be useful for infants with severe skull flattening and those with tight neck muscles, which make it hard for infants to turn their heads, so they remain in one position. ...

Some surgeons worried that the finding would be applied too broadly, jeopardizing insurance coverage for severely affected children who could benefit from helmets.

“What I fear happening is that children with a severe deformity are going to be denied helmets based on this evidence, which is really only talking about moderate cases,” said Dr. Alex A. Kane, the director of pediatric and craniofacial surgery at UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. >>

@Foodnerd81: torticollis can happen due to position in the womb. I had concerns about R from a much younger age than when we were actually recommended to Early Intervention (6 months old). I've also read it can go hand in hand with hip dysplasia and the ped thought LO had hip dysplasia the day she was born.

@matador84: what about Early Intervention where you live? It's free in New York.

@Foodnerd81: torticollis can cause plagiocephaly...some babies are just more susceptible to them than others. R's torticollis caused her slight plagiocephaly because she would only sleep on one side of her head even though I'd try to switch her. Her neck muscles were tight on one side and it made her head turn...left?... more often. I'm so happy I can't even remember which side was the issue anymore! How did your nephew do with them?

@swedishfish: he did great. He wore the helmet for a few months and his parents said the hardest part was washing his head in between- he didn't like that part. He has low muscle tone overall so has done pt for that as well an he was a late walker but he runs all over the place now. My brother was actually the same way, low muscle tone, late crawler and walker, so it wasn't so much of a shock. Nephew is almost three now and loves to run.