To worry about my baby's flat / misshapen head?

[SimplyRedHead]

Hi all

My son (4 months old) has developed quite a noticeable misshapen head with a large flat spot over the last month or so.

I know this is really common and a quick google search has suggested that most babies's heads will return to normal when they are sitting/crawling.

I'm worried that it's starting to cause other areas of his head to protrude, especially one side of his forehead.

He's a very sicky baby so spends most of his time in baby bouncers or a pushchair or car seat because every time I lie him flat he is sick (not a full on puke, just a sideways stealth spit out). I was finding him in his cot covered in sick most mornings so he's been mostly sleeping in his bouncer too.

I would guess he spends around 22 hours a day in a bouncer or similar.

The thing is:

1. Should I take him to the Dr? Is there anything they can do?
2. I've seen special pillows online- are they any good?
3. How can I change his position more often? He can't lie flat, hates the bumbo, is too small for the Jumperoo.

I do have a sling but with two other children and lots of necessary car journies I find it hard to use it as much as I'd like to.

He's my third so I don't think I'm being PFB about it. All my friends keep telling me itll go away by itself but I think they are just too scared to acknowledge the obvious odd shape of his head. My husband has finally agreed with me that something needs to be done.

All advice, tips and shared experiences welcome.

If this is concerning you, please go and have your baby's head checked out. I hope all goes well

I would take him to the GP and ask about reflux and the shape of his head.

I would also look into a cranial osteopath. Worked a treat for ds1 s flat head, although he was born with it

Finally, I think you need to limit the time in the things causing it. It's sounds like that is going to be tricky for you though, so no practical advice, sorry.

Hope it gets better.

Yes, pillows can really help.. I wouldn't use in the cot, but use when in the bouncer. You can get those mini neck supports that hold their head and mean they're not flat against the back. Also use on the change mat and any time he is actually lying flat. Just minimise the amount of time his head is against a flat surface (yes, I know it sounds impossible).

Can he lie down if he's on his front? Tummy time with also help.

You can try repositioning techniques,but not sure how you'd do it if he doesnt lie down much.

Try not to use the car seat unless you actually need to in the car.

What about a bumbo? DS hated his, but its worth a go.

I started off wondering if you were being a bit precious, because as you say, lots of babies have this and go back to normal as they get older.

However, having another area of his head protrude does not sound normal. I'd go to the GP if I were you. Either she'll tell you you're being ridiculous and you'll have that reassurance, or she'll refer you for more checks in which case you know you've done the right thing for your DS.

Hope he's ok.

Also, have a look on here for plagiocephaly. lots of helpful advice

Lime - its not precious at all. Lots of babies get this and doesnt go back. Its comments like that that can mean people don't seek advice while their babies are small enough for the parent to take steps to help rectify the problem (and these things are usually very small changes like using a pillow)

Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but its a touchy subject with me and the vast number of people told me not to worry and it'd be ok.

Thanks all.

I will make a GP appointment. I have a wonderful GP (thankfully) but I'm a but scared she's going to think I'm being ridiculous and a bit PTB (precious third born!).

I am running out of ideas of how to keep him out of bouncers / pushchairs / carseats. I simply can't sit down holding him all day.

Every time I reposition his head in the bouncer, he turns it round again.

I will definitely look into pillows and neck pillows.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance I'm not completely mad!

robot can you recommend a pillow?

I'll find you some links when I'm on the laptop later OP. There are lots of things you can do, don't worry.

Have you thought about a sling?
My DS2 settled down every time I put him in it and obviously there is no pressure on his head.
I do agree that you should see the doctor though, just to be on the safe side.

Hope he's ok.

I'm not an expert on this at all, but a friend of mine's baby used to wear a sort of helmet sometimes and she told me it was because of her having a flat head. Worth a trip to the GP I'd think.

I should add that she's fine now and doesn't have to wear it anymore.

I had exactly the same issue with DD who had very noticeable flat head at about 3 months old. I was very worried. GP happened to be visiting the house re. her twin, and I asked about it, he couldn't have been less interested.

I bought one of the special pillows. DW and MIL laughed at the stupid man who paid £15 for a toy pillow. With hindsight, not inclined to believe it made any difference.

DD is fine now.

A friend of mine has a neoprene pad with a hole in it that she uses when her DD is lying down, that might be worth a go.

If he is always turning the same way could it be stiff neck muscles? A cranial osteopath could help with that.

Could he lie on his side if he's propped up?

I've just bought this one for imminent baby

This is the one I had last time, which was fine but did go a bit flat after a while

This is the sort of neck support I was talking about. Make sure it doesn't push babies head forward too much - you don't want his head touching his chin or pushing him into an unnatural position.

Disclaimer: Only use these products under supervision.

Once they have a flat bit they can tend to roll back onto it if they're lying down, so you can use a rolled up towel or cushions (again, under supervision) to try and encourage onto the other side. Put interesting things like a mobile on the side of the head you're trying to encourage him to turn to.

We noticed this very early in DS. His forehead was stating to become misshapen and I noticed that one of his eyes looked larger than the other. It was awful actually.. but got a lot of good advice and repositioned and used cushions and it rectified itself by the time he was 6 months old.
There will always be a flat bit at the back of his head as it was quite an extreme case (it was very flat by the time he was 6wo) but the worst of it is definitely gone and I'm the only one that can see the flat bit now. If we'd not done something about it I don't believe it would have sorted itself out.

HTH :)

Oh - beware the GP thinking you're a daily mail reader who's read about helmets (like mine did )

Emphasise that you've noticed his face has become slightly uneven and that you think it's about the flat head. GP will likely talk about the back to sleep campaign, and you may feel fobbed off (he may be brilliant, but just go prepared)
AFAIK it's not something the NHS will really put much energy into helping with, and if you do decide that a helmet is the way to go then you will have to go private.

My DS1 developed a flat head too. He always faced right as a baby and so developed an asymmetrical head and slightly bulging forehead.

Does your son always face one way? If so, he might have torticollis which can be treated with physio to enable any neck tightness to be treated. Any repositioning techniques will be futile if the reason he always faces one way is muscular.

If not, there is loads online about repositioning techniques. You need to do anything you can do take the pressure off the flat spot (like neck support, more tummy time, putting toys on 'non preferred' side of his cot, sling) or soften the hard surfaces (pillows) so that the weight of the head is distributed more evenly.

It is worth seeing your gp. However, I found (5 years ago) thath nhs didn't take it that seriously. We saw a Cranial osteopath who released ds1s neck tension. Unfortunately, our DS was bit older and we ended up going down the helmet route at 9 months old. It worked, but was expensive and a serious undertaking and day to day emotional commitment (for us, didn't bother DS at all). This is only used for severe plagiocephaly though. I think at this stage, I would recommend doing as much research yourself, as well as seeing your gp. Repositioning is so beneficial at 4 months, their skulls are still so malleable and growing then. Good luck

I understand your concerns, both my daughters had reflux- and tummy time was tricky. my eldest was like your ds and the gp called her a 'happy chucker' unlike my youngest who would scream With silent reflux. For dd1 gaviscon infant stopped the constant but tablespoon sized sick. This made it easier all round although tbf she didn't care when she was sick so she still spent time on her tummy. Elc used to do a kind of activity rubber ring they could sit in which was great. I don't know about pillows etc but I would insist on a referral from gp, there will be a long wait- if it does rectify itself you can cancel and if it doesn't you won't have huge wait from that point.

Agree with the GP recommendation, and its important to emphasise that his face (and not just the head) is looking uneven. DNephew ended up having to do physio, as he ended up with such a preferential side to his head.

Also, not a solution but a small suggestion in the meantime - we also have a refluxy baby who also doesn't lie down, but we find that he's often ok with lying on his side, wedged upright with a rolled cellular blanket at his front and back. Could he spend some time in the day at home like this, instead of in a bouncer?

Ah, the activity ring is a good idea. Was it something like this ? RumandBoak?

That's it robotHamster!

I don't think the GP will help unless they are very clued up and even if they are, they will just reassure you, suggest repositioning (which is absolutely worth trying at this young age) but are unlikely to know much about it.

Check out some of the plagiocephaly forums, they have whole sections on repositioning tips which are great- one of mine had a minor flat spot aged 4 months and I used the goigoi pillow (called something else(, did lots of tummy time. Unfortunately, all that time in car seats, bouncers is making it worse, but there are things you can do- check the neck muscles are working fine (again info online) and then make sure the things of interest are on both sides of them (so they turn both ways). Same in cot/Moses basket, make sure they are looking out (at mobile at interesting things) from different sides each day so they are not stuck in one position all the time.

If all that fails (and there will be things you can do, even in a car seat/against flat surfaces), there are helmets to consider. You don't sound like a PFB and you have other children to compare against, 50% of kids these days have a minor flat spot and the vast majority do grow out, but there are a few that don't- and this is usually because they either have an underlying problem (my other dd had torticollis and so simply couldn't look the other way) or it has got really severe and affected the face (look down from the top at the ear positions). These are private though and some are concerned with these companies treating perhaps moderate plagio when really it might have grown out, but for those with really severe flat heads/ear positioning all out/bulging foreheads- they are great, I spent about £2000 many years ago on one for my other dd and I have never ever regretted it when I look at her lovely round straight features now.

Get informed, start the repositioning, it's too early for a helmet anyway, and this will make you feel less anxious about it all. By the time you get to 6/7 months, you can see if it is getting better or really much worse and this will help you decide what to do- a lot can change in 2/3 months as babies heads are very malleable and plenty of moderate spots do start to grow out.

Mumsy - the goi goi pillow is the same as the Lilla Kuddis one :)

And activity rings, using baby door bouncer (do people still use those?) or bumbo sitting chairs are all options if the baby can't fully sit up yet but can with support- and get those neck muscles checked out (there's a simple test online where you can see if they can look fully both ways but it's better to go to the doctor/physio/osteopath and get it properly checked)-I did exercises with mine to stretch the neck muscles which were underused.