Baby Bear Clinic

10/15/2026

Babies do a LOT of growing in a short amount of time — and when it comes to cranial remolding, that growth matters.

A cranial remolding helmet is custom designed to work alongside your baby’s natural growth to help improve head shape and symmetry over time.

That’s also why timing can be an important part of the conversation.

If you’ve noticed flattening or asymmetry in your baby’s head shape, you don’t have to figure out on your own whether it’s something that needs treatment.

Because the “right” time for an evaluation is as soon as notice a flat spot.

We can take a closer look, talk through what we’re seeing, and help you understand what — if anything — should happen next. 🐻

Are you worried about a flat spot? The easiest way to schedule with Baby Bear is online. 🐻

Use the link in our bio to schedule your appointment. You’ll answer a few questions about your child and then receive the intake forms we need before your visit.

10/13/2026

Helmet. SMO. AFO. TLSO. 😅

If you’re new to pediatric orthotics or cranial remolding, it can feel like you suddenly need to learn an entirely new language.

Here’s the quick version:

Cranial remolding helmet → custom fit to guide head growth and improve symmetry during treatment.

SMO → a shorter orthosis providing support around the foot and ankle.

AFO → extends higher up the lower leg to support the foot and ankle, with different designs depending on a child’s needs.

TLSO → supports the torso and spine and may be used for needs such as scoliosis bracing.

But you don’t need to come to Baby Bear already knowing which device your child needs — or what all those letters mean.

That’s our job. 🐻

We’ll evaluate your child’s individual needs, explain what we’re seeing, and help you understand the recommendations we make and why.

Ready to get started? The easiest way to schedule with Baby Bear is online. 🐻

Use the link in our bio to schedule your appointment. You’ll answer a few questions about your child and then receive the intake forms we need before your visit.

10/08/2026

One of our favorite little corners of Baby Bear. 🐻

Our resource wall is filled with businesses, providers and professionals who support kids and families in our community.

Because sometimes the best way we can help a family isn’t just through the care we provide here — it’s knowing who else might be a great resource for them.

And we’d love to keep adding to it.

Are you a local provider or business that works with children and families? Drop off or send us your business cards or brochures and we’d be happy to add them to our resource wall.

And parents — feel free to take a look the next time you’re in the clinic. You might just find a resource you didn’t know was available. 🐻

Questions for the Baby Bear team? Text us at 920-257-4902 or visit our website www.babybearclinic.com

10/05/2026

So your child has been referred for an AFO or SMO… what actually happens next?

First, we want to understand your child’s needs.

We’ll talk with you about what you’re noticing, watch how your child stands, moves and walks, and complete a clinical evaluation to determine what type of support makes sense for them.

Once we have a plan, we’ll take the measurements, scan and/or cast needed to create their custom orthosis.

Then comes the waiting part. 🙂 Your child’s device has to be made specifically for them, so there will be some time between that first appointment and the day you come back for the final fitting.

At that appointment, we’ll check the fit, make adjustments as needed and show you how everything should be worn and used at home.

Because custom fit means there’s a little more to the process than grabbing a brace off a shelf — and that’s the point.

Ready to get started? The easiest way to schedule with Baby Bear is online. 🐻

Use the link in our bio to schedule your appointment. You’ll answer a few questions about your child and then receive the intake forms we need before your visit.

10/01/2026

Last week didn’t go as planned.

I had to cancel a full day of patients because of a funeral, and every single family I reached out to responded with so much kindness and understanding.

It reminded me of something I really love about the community we’ve built at Baby Bear.

When your kiddo is sick, life happens, or you just can’t make an appointment work, we try our best to meet you with patience and grace.

And this week, our families gave that same grace right back to us.

Running a clinic means schedules and appointments and a lot of moving pieces — but at the end of the day, we’re all just people doing our best to take care of our families and each other.

To our Baby Bear families: thank you. 🐻 We really do have some of the best.

09/28/2026

So… how do we actually decide what kind of orthotic support a child needs?

It’s not as simple as looking at a diagnosis and choosing a brace.

From a clinical standpoint, we’re looking at the whole child — how they move, their alignment and positioning, strength and stability, range of motion, and what they need the orthosis to help them accomplish.

That’s also why two children can look similar on paper and leave with very different recommendations.

One child may need an SMO. Another may need an AFO. And sometimes, the right recommendation may be something else entirely.

Our goal isn’t to give a child the most support possible.

It’s to determine the right amount of support for their individual functional needs. 🐻

Want to schedule? Use the link in our bio — online scheduling is the easiest way to get started. 🐻

09/25/2026

You might know us for the helmets. 🐻

But Baby Bear goes quite literally from head to toe.

Cranial remolding. Pediatric orthotics. AFOs and SMOs. Spinal bracing. Custom solutions for kids with very different needs.

The device may change, but the way we approach care doesn’t.

We look at your child’s anatomy, development, movement and functional needs. We listen to what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re seeing at home. Then we use our clinical experience to determine the right amount of support and the right solution for your child.

Because pediatric orthotics should never be one-size-fits-all.

Individual needs. Custom solutions. Optimal results.

🐻 That’s Baby Bear — supporting growth from head to toe.

Have questions or wondering if Baby Bear may be the right next step for your child? Use the link in our bio — online scheduling is the easiest way to get started. 🐻

06/23/2026

https://forms.gle/RP7DTm3f5nxboUjE9

Calling all cranial clinicians, orthotists, pediatric therapists, and providers involved in infant head shape screening 👋

I’m working on developing a platform where clinicians could upload scan data from existing scanners and create their own branded reports, access more flexible measurements and insights, track outcomes over time, and better communicate progress with families.

If you work in this space, I’d be incredibly grateful if you could take this quick anonymous survey (~90 seconds).

Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your feedback. This survey is completely anonymous. We are exploring the development of a clinician-centered platform designed to give cranial specialists greater control over how scan data is analyzed, reported, and utilized. Our goal is to create a tool....

06/23/2026

This is us! We offer options - both for clinical purposes and family preferences. Families love the feeling of being empowered in the treatment decisions.

In the early days of cranial remolding therapy, when infants were still being plaster casted, clinicians and families had essentially one helmet option available to treat positional head shape abnormalities.

Today, the field has evolved dramatically. Multiple manufacturers offer a variety of helmet designs, materials, and fabrication methods. Yet many providers continue to offer only a single helmet option.

After 25 years of treating infants with plagiocephaly and other cranial asymmetries, I thought I knew what worked best. It wasn't until I joined Chicago Pediatric Orthotics and began fitting multiple helmet designs that I realized I couldn't honestly compare outcomes without firsthand experience using different options.

My goal has always been simple: provide the helmet that delivers the greatest correction in the shortest amount of time while maintaining comfort and compliance for the child and family. The only way to evaluate that is to have experience with more than one solution.

So I have a question for providers in our field:

Are you offering families only one helmet option because it is truly the best choice based on your experience with multiple designs? Or is it simply the one you've always used?

Some companies only allow their practitioners to only utilize their brand band - which is not an option for other O & P providers. As technology continues to advance, we owe it to our patients to continually evaluate new options, challenge our assumptions, and choose treatments based on outcomes—not habit.

06/10/2026