A mom has defended her decision to keep her twin babies in helmets 23 hours a day after she faced immense backlash online.
Madeline Lawrence, 32, from Orem, Utah, noticed her twins Nico and Ash had developed ‘flat spots on their heads’ when they were around two weeks old.
She tried numerous methods and followed their doctor’s advice ‘religiously,’ but to no avail.
Eventually, she started putting them in special helmets designed to reshape their head, which they wore for 23 hours a day.
She has been documenting their journey on TikTok, often sharing videos of the infants’ reactions to first taking off the headpiece for their daily one-hour break.
Her TikToks have raked in millions of views, but they have sparked concern from some users, who wondered if the babies were uncomfortable wearing the headpiece for so many hours of the day.
Now, Lawrence has responded to her haters exclusively with the Daily Mail, insisting her babies are ‘unbothered, well cared for and loved.’
‘The response [has been] very mixed,’ she admitted. ‘A lot of people simply didn’t understand why some babies need helmets, and some [people are] judgmental.
Madeline Lawrence, 32, from Orem, Utah, has defended her decision to keep her twin babies in helmets 23 hours a day after she faced immense backlash online
‘That actually motivates me to keep posting. My goal is to show my very well-cared-for, loved babies, and hopefully help destigmatize babies that need helmet therapy.’
While Lawrence’s posts were flooded with negative comments at first, she insisted that the positive messages outweigh the bad ones for her.
‘I’ve received dozens of messages from parents thanking me for talking openly about something that is extremely common, but often dealt with quietly because of misconceptions and judgment,’ she added.
The mother-of-three, who also has a toddler with her husband, explained that doctors told her the twins’ flat heads ‘likely came from limited space in the womb.’
‘Because they were born early and had low birth weights, they couldn’t maintain their body temperature without multiple layers and hats on constantly,’ she said.
‘We weren’t even allowed to bathe them during those first two weeks. Once we finally took their hats off, that’s when I realized their heads were flatter than typical.’
She brought it up to their pediatrician at their two-week checkup, who recommended she turn the twins’ heads to the opposite side of the flattening when they sleep, as well as ‘lots of tummy time throughout the day.’
‘We followed all of the advice religiously, but because they had tight neck muscles – a common condition in babies called torticollis – they struggled to keep their heads turned the way we needed,’ she shared.
She said she tried numerous methods and followed their doctor’s advice ‘religiously’ after her twins developed ‘flat spots on their heads,’ but to no avail. So she started helmet therapy
‘They would always rotate back onto the flat spots during sleep. We even tried special pillows and hats for supervised sleep, but nothing made much of a difference.
‘The analogy was given to us that if you roll a ball with a flat side it will likely land on that flat side. That’s what was happening with the babies heads.’
Eventually, their pediatrician prescribed the helmets, with Lawrence explaining that the twins were ‘good candidates because they’re still so young and the flattening of their head was fairly severe.’
She slowly got them acclimated to the helmets, starting with one-hour sessions and eventually working up to 23 hours a day.
And while was worried ‘they’d be uncomfortable,’ Lawrence insisted that they seemed ‘happy and unbothered.’
‘I watched them closely, dressed them lightly so they wouldn’t overheat, and even took them in for extra appointments to make sure the fit was perfect,’ said the mom.
‘The babies adjusted surprisingly well – I was honestly shocked. They acted like they didn’t even notice them.’
Their daughter ultimately wore her helmet for six weeks and her asymmetry went from 14mm down to 3mm, so she’s ‘officially done with helmet therapy now’
Their daughter ultimately wore her helmet for six weeks and her asymmetry went from 14mm down to 3mm, so she’s ‘officially done with helmet therapy now.’
Their son will likely need two more weeks, Lawrence shared, gushing, ‘I’m so relieved by their progress.
‘Before the helmets, the flattening was even beginning to affect their facial symmetry and ear alignment.’
In the end, she hopes to raise awareness and end the stigma around babies wearing helmets.
‘Today, around 50 percent of babies have some degree of flattening simply from sleeping safely on their backs,’ she shared.
‘Prematurity, NICU time, limited space in utero, and especially torticollis can make that flattening more severe.’
