Elliotte: Four Months Old

Ellie's Four Month Stats

Weight:     12 lbs  6 oz  [24th percentile]

Height:     25 inches  [75th percentile ]

Head Circumference:     16.73 inches   [85th percentile]

This month Ellie has really started to interact with all of us. She smiles when she sees her Dad and Sister and she loves to gurgle and say "Ah-goooo..." My little Ellie Belle is destined to be a dancer as she still loves to kick and kick with her strong little legs. Alert and interested in everything that is happening around her, Ellie holds her head up and looks around so that she does not miss out on a single thing. Her best discovery this month was finding her toes! She is also getting much better at sleeping through the night. At Ellie's four month wellness visit, we were happy to see that she is growing to be a big and strong girl.

Baby Kylie

When she was two months old, I had begun to notice that Ellie's head was not as perfectly round as it was when she was born. I expressed concern to her pediatrician, so we followed up on the same topic again at this visit. Since we had just celebrated Baby Kylie's liberation from her helmet, I was increasingly worried that Ellie was also suffering from a mild case of plagiocephaly. Sure enough, our pediatrician confirmed that not only did Ellie have plagiocephaly (the flattening of the back or side of one's head), but that she also had torticollis (a muscle imbalance in the neck that often results in an asymmetrical resting position for the child's head) on the right side. We were referred to a physical therapist at Park Nicollet and began PT that afternoon. She was great and assured us that there was nothing that we did wrong and that it is likely that the torticollis was the result of her breech position in uetero. ["What came first? The plagio or the tort?" we asked. The plagiocephaly is the result of the torticollis. Her snuggle position is on the right side; therefore, her neck muscle are weakened.]

Ellie's Snuggle Position

Each day at home, Ellie "works out" and completes a series of stretches that will increase the strength on the left side of her neck and not give her reason to lay on the right side of her head so much. We will go back for PT every other week for the next several weeks to see if her plagiocephaly improves. We'll keep you updated on her progress.