My son just turned 3 months. I've noticed the back of his head is becoming flat. I'm not surprised...he always sleeps facing the ceiling on his back. He doesn't like to turn his head or anything. I'm trying really hard lately to put him down on his side and moving his head to the side. I notice when I awake he's right back on the back of his head! This is so frustrating to me. I've looked online and seen some bad scenarios of children having to wear helmets. This is breaking my heart. I try to hold him as much as possible but you know they spend most their time in the swing and bouncy vibrating seat if they're awake. Both of those have him resting on the back of his head too. Yesterday I went online and bought two head nests to try. They'll arrive today. Can't wait to at least use them. I'm also looking forward to him sitting up eventually. He hates tummy time.
Bottom line: Does anyone out there have advice regarding this whole topic? I really want his head to round out.
Thank you in advance.
My son is now 7 months. His head seemed to be a bit flat in the back when he was a couple of months old, so I started doing more "tummy time." I think his head looks more round now...
my son had a habit of only wanting to sleep with his head turned to the right, so my problem was similar. we got the sleep bumpers or wedges and moved them closer together and tilted him slightly to the side so that his head would turn in the other direction and it worked well. He will be 6 months next week and his head is nice and round!
They make "wedges" to keep them on their side. See how the headrests work out but I have used the other before. He'll be fine :)
That happened to my son, too. We noticed it at his 2 month well baby check - for him, he always looked to the left, so his head was flat on the left side. This is very weird... but it worked! The doctor told us to roll up a towel and tape it to him (place the towel on his back and roll the tape around the towel, around his tummy... does that make sense?) and place him on his right side. The towel prevented him from rolling onto his back and looking left again. He said to do it for 75% of his sleeptime. It looked so bizarre, but it didn't seem to bother my son in the least, and by his 4 month well baby check he had a nice round little head, and lost the habit of looking left. Best of luck to you!
My son who is now 16 weeks old just finished wearing a DOC band for the exact same reason. He was born with the back of his head sloping off to the left. He was diagnosed with Plagiocephaly and torticollis which is tightening of the neck muscles. My husband and I decided to go ahead with putting him in the band now rather than later because the treatment time is greatly reduced in a younger child. The results from the DOC band are AMAZING! His head is now totally round and it took just over 6 weeks to see amazing results. We took him to the Cranial Technologies clinic in Miami. The staff there was wonderful. He still prefers to turn his head to the left and tilt it to the right but we are continuing the exercises and although he hates it tummy time is a must. Also, rather than the bouncy seat or the swing you might try putting him in a front pack carrier. I know my son loves this, plus it leaves my hands free to do other things. I know this is a big no no, but our son does sleep on his stomach so we don't have the issue of him sleeping on the "bad" side all night. Some of the things we tried prior to putting him in the helmet were repositioning, a noggin nest by boppy, a tummy time mat, and rolling up a receiving blanket and putting it under his shoulder which made it harder for him to sleep on the wrong side when he did sleep on his back. We just got one of those Bumbo Seats but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I'm hoping that will give him something else to do other than tummy time. Feel free to email me if you need any other information; I know how unsettling this can be.
I noticed with all of the children I watched over the years that back sleepers don't like tummy time. It is really important becase crawling is important for reading. Be consistant with it and try to increase the time for him. The head nests sound cool. Let us know if they are helpful.
Hi, my daughter had the same issue, except her flat spot was on the side of her head. The pediatrician said no need to buy any expensive head gear, the head will continue to round out as long as her fontanelle soft spot is still open. When she started sitting up and crawling the flat spot went away. Now she's 3 years old with a perfectly round head :-) So, don't worry so much. I'm sure his head will round out once he gets a bit older.
I went through the SAME exact thing with my daughter. I feel your pain. She had to have a CAT Scan done at 8 months old and it broke my heart. Please.....don't read about this stuff online. It only nakes it worse. This is was we did....We bought a sleep positioner. You can get them at Babies R Us. We would put her on her right side one night and then on her left side the next. You have to make the sleep positioner tight so they can't turn over/ Another thing we did was buy a BUMBO. That thing was a Godsend for us. Check into buying one of those. You can them at Target or Walmart. They are great!!!! I'm sorry you are going through this, but don't worry too much. His head WILL get better....I promise!!!! Just try to keep him from laying down too much and try the things I mentioned and you should have NOTHING to worry about.
I have not seen the head nests, but I have seen a body length triangle to keep them on their side. I think he most likely needs more “tummy time”. But make it interesting. Get an activity blanket. He should be scooting by now. If you avoid the “tummy time” how will he learn how to crawl?
I know it is not comfortable for you, but I always put the infants on their tummies and I get down on my tummy and interact with them. The blanket should have things that make noise, scrunch, and pull. Also, there are great balls that make noise and light up! He will want to chase it when it rolls away from him. These are great; I have even gotten them for puppies!! They are not perfectly round, so they don’t roll very far, just enough to make him want to move towards it. I even used a playpen and had them on their tummies; I would put different things in the corners of the playpen to make them want to move towards things. The only time I used the bouncy thing was to develop their legs for walking; and you don’t want to do that too early, it can make them bow legged.
God bless us one and all.
I would definately use the bouncy seat and swing alot less. Get a sling or other babywearing carrier and have him spend more time off his back where he can continue with the flatness. It's better for him to be held more anyway for lots of other reasons than just the flat head. I have a seat and swing too but we rarely use them except when we are cooking near something hot and don't want our baby to get burned or when I am showering and nobody is home to hold or babywear him.... Once you get used to babywearing you (and he!) will love being closer :-)
I had the same problem with my son, except that he slept on one side of his head which was causing his head to become misshaped. My pediatrician had us sleep him on his side, changing sides from night to night. You can buy special position sleepers at Target but we just rolled up a towel. Within a month, his head was stating to go back to its correct shape. Now he is 15 months old and his head is perfect. :)
Well you can prevent this by getting a little wedge at BabysRUs that is made of memory foam, making sure he is getting plenty of tummy time, and less time in the swing and bouncy seat. I had to do the same thing when my son was 3 months and it got better. My niece on the other hand her mom did not do these things and she has a very very flat head.
