Flat head... :(((

[Billy Ocean]

Hi everyone.

I'm a bit concerned as my son has a very flat head, at the back. I've been getting out more recently and meeting more babies his age and NONE of them have a head as flat as his. Some have flat spots but not like this.

He has never liked tummy time but I have done it as much as possible without him becoming hysterical. I have tried to sleep him on his side, lay him on his side on the floor but he keeps going back to his back.

I'm thinking perhaps his is worse because he has been FF pretty much from birth and I have favoured doing it on one side and not swapping. I don't know.

I met another baby the other day whose mum told me that she is NEVER on her tummy yet she had this perfectly round head.

My GP has seen it and told me to sleep him on his side (as I said, I've tried) and the MCHN just said it will fix itself.

I have a friend whose son had to wear a helmet to fix a flat spot on the side and now I'm really worried.

He has his 6 month needles on Friday so I will ask the GP again but does anyone have any experience with this? To be honest, it doesn't worry me if his head looks funny, iykwim but what if it's doing damage that I don't know about and also, it would be awful if it were that bad that he were picked on as he got older.

I'm worried that nothing can be done.

Kate

[Curly]

It's a good sign that your GP and MCHN weren't too worried about it.

If you are worried I would suggest you make an appointment with a cranial osteopath (they specialise in babies and children) who will give you their honest opinion and also give advice on what can be done about it. He might benefit from a few osteopathy treatments if he really hates tummy time that much - he might be having some discomfort in his neck, back or pelvis.

In the meantime you really need to keep Bub off his back as much as possible while he is awake. You will have to persist with tummy time. Give him lots of interesting things to look at - mirrors, new toys, your face (sing songs, pull faces etc) - do tummy time outside on a blanket if it is a nice day (all that interesting grass to pull at).

Another thing you may want to consider is an exer-saucer or stationary play "station". You sit them in it like a walker but it doesn't move...they love it and it keeps them off their heads. They are surrounded by things that rattle and buttons to press to keep them amused. Check out Target, baby stores etc.

You can also buy wedges (kind of a firm foam triangular thing) that you can wedge under the baby's side to keep them on their side.

Do you have him sitting up (rather than lying down) in the pram?

I didn't really FF but if you think this might be a factor, change it around too so that you are feeding on the different side.

HTH.

[sconeonamission]

ds had a flat spot that was noticable, but apparently not as bad as I thought! lol. Enough tho that the health nurse referred me to the hosp physio. She got me to help him do tummy time, but putting him over my knees or roll up a towel infront of him. To sleep, put rolled up towels either side of him, so he was off the side affected.

A friend of ours, their dd almost had to have a helmet, but they brought it back. She's 2.5 now and you can't tell, even when you move all her hair to have a look, it's not noticable. My cousins sd has a flat spot too, and you can't tell under his hair.

If you feel you need a 2nd opinion, book into a physio or another gp and see what they say. Once baby becomes mobile they sleep and do what they want anyway! lol The flat spot doesn't do any damage.

best of luck

[maz]

HOney - did you meet Wilhelm my 6 yo at the Meet up the other week? He had one of those heads that looked like I smacked him on the back of it with a spade it was that flat. it took years to grow out and I still look to see if its flat. I know what your going through and its terrible when we feel no one in the professional field is listening to your concerns!

I have seen a product (and IM going to find it again I swear) that is made for babies to reduce flat head syndrom. Its small and thin but right were the head goes its hollow so the babies head stays rounded. thats it im on a mission to find it again...i swear it was on line somewere......will get back to you babe

[Enchanted]

That's fantastic that your Dr and MCHN weren't overly worried about it hun. Oscar had a flat head (side) which is barely noticeable now. I took Oscar to a chiro a few times and they found his back was out from his birth. It only took 3 sessions and he was much better and started sleeping on both sides of his head and also on the back of his head. I was still concerned when he was around 6-7 months so I got a referral from my GP and went to the Prosthetics Unit at the RCH in Melbourne where we saw some lovely people! They gave Oscar a score as to how bad his head was and he was below 5 (I think that's right) so they wouldn't fit him with a helmet unless he was a 6 (I think). If we had of taken him a month prior I am 100% sure they would have given him one as he was really bad. It's amazing how much and how quickly their skulls adapt. PLUS... if you really don't want him to have a helmet that is completely fine. It's nothing his hair won't cover in time. Plus, it also doesn't affect their development or their brains. It's more a cosmetic thing iykwim?!

If you want anymore info let me know hun and I'll try and help you out. Also google Plagiocephaly on the RCH website and that will give you some great info.

HTH

[Olive]

Kate there is a kids chiro in ivanhoe who i saw reagarding DD flat spot, he checked her neck to make sure she had fulll movement, its taken until now really to correct itself, she had a flat spot on one side, definalty encourage tummy time, try a rolled up towel under his chest, put him infront of the tv if it makes him happy!!

[Billy Ocean]

Thanks ladies.

Curly, we have one of those play thingys - I think. It's a big round thing with seat in the middle and I can put all his toys around him. He has only just started using it so I'm going to keep putting him in it. I'm also not going to lay him on his back under his hanging toy things any more. If he's on the floor, it has to be tummy time. I'll just have to be hard on him (more on myself I think) and make it happen.

sconeonamission, thanks. I feel better knowing it's not doing any "damage" and that's a great idea to do tummy time on my knee and over a towel etc. We'll try that today.

Maz, pmsl, that's exactly what Billy's head looks like! Yeah, I saw Wilhelm and I didn't notice anything, so that's great to know! Please let me know if you can remember what that thing is. That'd be great.

Oshani, again, so pleased to know it's not affecting anything inside his head!!! I will speak with my GP again on Friday and see what she says. Glad Oscar's flat spot has pretty much disappeared too.

AJP, I'll ask about that chiro. That's nice and close for us. Will see what the dr says on Friday.

Until then, I feel relieved that it's not doing any other damage and will more than likely be ok. Now, time to be tough and make tummy time happen. He has a high chair as of yesterday also so we can spend some time sitting in that and yes, mostly sits up in the pram too.

Thanks again ladies. I feel heaps better.

Kate

[Amity]

What you describe as "flat head" is probably deformational plagiocephaly. I had a thread on it when Ned had it. There are many different ways to treat it, mostly physio or chiro. Ned improved dramatically when he had weeky chiro.

Hope your son improves!

[butterflykissez4mum]

i understand your worried. my eldest has a flat spot on her head too which is noticeable when her hair is wet. i was told by midwifes when she was born to always sleep baby on her back to prevent sids. being a 1st baby i listened to them....i should have trusted my own instincts.
i did the side to side sleeping with my 2nd and her head is fine, if you are really concerned see your gp again or even get a second opinion. there a special mould helmets that they can be fitted with to make the skull come back into shape but only in severe cases. theres info on that on the internet....google baby helmets ect.
hope this helps