Flat Head - Help!

[Lilacs]

Hi Ladies,

My little one went in for her 3 month checkup at the peds on Monday. Everything checked out great and she's developing and growing great! The only thing is that her head is starting to a little flat-ish. She had a super cone head whens she was born - she came out sideways. I change her direction in the crib every night. She gets a ton of tummy time during the day and she's has great neck strength. She already knows how to turn over at 3 weeks. I keep swaddled when she sleeps. I noticed majority of the time, she sleeps with her head facing up towards the ceilings. Sometimes she'll have her head turned sideways facing outward of the crib where she can see us. I don't want her to have a flat head.

Her ped told me to give her tummy time as much as possible when she's up and alert - as long as she can tolerate it.

How can I make sure her head gets nice and round? What else can I do?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[WhitneyAtFertilityAuthority]

Lilacs: I hope you don't have to resort to this, but it's fairly common to see babies in helmets to reshape their heads when the condition is extreme. As I understand it, those car seats that double as a baby carrier are the leading cause of 'flattening". Good luck. Five fingers and toes are the biggest hurdle....you're all set!

[DMS721]

Zachary's pedi noticed the same thing at his 2 month check up. It ended up evening out on its own with no help. She told us to place him on his side to sleep, alternating sides. Maybe that is something you can do at nap time? Zachary has spent a lot of time laying down or lounging in his bouncer seat and very little tummy time due to a variety of health issues, but his head evened out by his 4 month check up. In extreme cases they may need physical therapy or a special helmet that helps the head round out, but most round out okay on their own.

Dawn

[SC-Sherb]

I would try a little more tummy time as well and you could try a bouncy chair rather than a hard car seat, they are a little softer and give more cushion rather than a harder surface like the car seat.

Side sleeping a bit during naps as Dawn suggested is a good idea and you could try rotating her at opposite ends of her crib/bassinet at night so that if she does tend to turn her head to one side, it'll hopefully fall to a different side each time, KWIM.

Nice to see you around hun!

[BC-MAV]

I would consult with a specialist. Younger DS also had a flat head and favored one side. I would put him on one side and he would always turn to the other. We did tummy time and all that but it wasn't helping. Turns out he had torticollis. He got PT for several months and it corrected. His head was also not flat enough to warrant using a helmut.

[Lilacs]

Thanks ladies! Gosh, I hope it rounds out evenly and not have to resort to wearing a helmet. I have her rotating opposite ends in her crib since she came home from the hospital, but I do notice that she will sleep facing up towards the ceiling most of the time and turning her head to the sides. I think she sleeps a majority of the time facing towards the ceiling and not long enough with her head turned to the sides. I have her doing a ton of tummy time already.

I am going to try having her sleep on her sides during her naps. If I have her sleep on her side, do I keep her unswaddled? I am imagining it would be hard for her to stay on her side if she is swaddled.

[DMS721]

I kept Zachary swaddled even when sleeping on his side.

Dawn

[Lilacs]

Thanks Dawn. I'm going try this today. Did Zachary topple over when he was on his side swaddled? Did you put pillows behind his back to keep him on his side?

My little one is super strong. She sometimes rotates herself diagonally or shifted to the end of the crib from kicking and wiggling in her swaddle.

[Lilacs]

Oh I was contemplating on getting one of those walker bouncer things - the ones that are stationary and not mobile. So that I can put her in that every now and then when she's maxed out on tummy time and I don't want her on her back or in that swing chair. But I've read a bunch of big no-no's on those things saying that it delays their development in movement and can mess up their hips. I don't plan to put her in it all the time for long periods of times and I'm not getting the ones where she can use her feet to move the contraption in.

Any thoughts on this? Should I pass this up and just tough it out?

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!!

[BC-Sparrow]

My ds had a flat head and our pediatrician wasn't concerned because he was hitting all of his milestones and developing fine. He said that once he starts to sit up more, gravity will take over and round out his head. He is 20 months now and his head has rounded out, but it's still a little flat in the back. His hair has grown in, and you can't even notice it.
My best friend is a physical therapist, and she was trying to push me to get a helmet. From her stand point, it's important, from our pediatricians, it's not.

We trusted our ped and decided against the helmet for our ds.

I guess you have to see how she is developing, and what you're comfortable with.
The activity bouncer thing won't mess up her hips if you keep her in it for short periods of time, keep her in rotation with all the other "upright things"