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.

You can wear on your back from birth, the main problem is confidence, ie knowing that you're doing it safely. He'd be too small for the ergo on your back though - you could try a hip carry in something like a ring sling, or you can do a sort of cheat/half hip carry in a close carrier - scooch him around to one side, one of his arms tucked in, the other out, tighten each side so that it feels supportive. Make sure to switch sides every time you take him out to feed/change/go in the car etc because it's not as supportive for you and can cause strain on one side.

If you wanted to try a back carry at his age you'd need a woven wrap (not stretchy) or a mei tai, and you'd need real life instruction in it really. However if you can get them used to it before 6 months they tend to be happy to continue it - otherwise at 6 months ish they get wary of it and it's very difficult to get them up there without them crying and wriggling around (which makes it hard to get it tied safely) until they are of an age they can hold on. It's possible but you will need a second person to "coach" you until you feel confident with it.

I think baby bjorns are built more for men's muscle structure as I often hear the same thing that men find them comfortable but women don't. They tend to concentrate the weight on the wearer's shoulders, and men have stronger shoulders than women, we need carriers which distribute the weight to our hips. They (Bjorn type slings) can be more uncomfortable for babies too though as they don't hold them in a sitting down position but instead their whole weight is supported by their crotch, like a big pair of pants.

thebirdsandthebees, not very helpful and fyi my dnephew was ebf until he was 1 and he had severely misshapen head, so much so that his ears were about an inch lower on one side from the other. This was corrected with a helmet which the poor mite had to wear 23 hours a day for about a year. You wouldn't even know he ever had a problem now.

Hi mammatj pointed me in your direction.

Ds2 had a torticullis which resulted in severe plagiocephaly with forehead protrusion and non level eyes and ears. We decided to go with the helmet therapy after an "off record" discussion with his nhs physiotherapist.

As mamma said he wore it for 23hrs 7 days a week with a day off on Christmas Day and his birthday. Dh and I are so glad we did it. Ds2 wasn't bothered by it and his head looks normal (only his paediatrician noticed he has a slight asymmetry still which is pretty normal, no one is perfectly symmetrical). He went from 18mm asymmetry to I think 6mm, maybe less.

Haven't read all responses but wanted to add our experience. Ds has flat head as result of neck problem from difficult birth. hv and gp insisted it was fine and would correct itself. It didn't.

We don't see it as major problem, just cosmetic really but if your child's face is bulging or asymmetrical, then perhaps consider helmet.

My advice would be see gp about reflux and mention flat head.

Find good cranial osteopath (can recommend one in worcester.)

Get baby bean bag for sitting, rather than bouncer. Friend had one, less weight on head, wish i'd seen them with ds.

If in pushchair, put padding behind shoulder on flat side, so he can't lay on it. Same in bed, try make sure head laying on Non flat side.

Good luck.

Glad you didn't think I was being judgey OP. I had a Connecta sling, loved it, and used it indoors much more often than outdoors.

I'm a preemie and have a misshapen head as well. It's very narrow, like its been squashed on each side... and it probably was

Again, a huge thank you to everyone for your contributions.

This thread has really been an eye opener for me and really helped me to realise what bad habits we've gotten into. It's also given me some great advice on how to make things better before it's too late.

I'm so glad I posted. I really need to stop allowing my baby to just 'tag along' and start giving him some proper attention before he's 18 and won't let me cuddle him!

Ahh op don't give self hard time. We only have ds and we're slow to twig as well. You've picked up on it quicker than us so sure yr baby will be fine. Enjoy your snuggling! X

simplyred I understand you have two other dc but dc3 needs to be held more. 22 hours on his back is way too much. I did a lot one handed with dc1. I also let my babies sleep on their side.

I've read that bottle fed babies are more prone to developing a flat head so it is relevant as your dc is combination fed.

Ignore the comments about bottle feeding causing flat heads I've had two DC both exclusively breast fed. DS til 14 months, never took a bottle went straight to cups.

DD still being breast fed.

Both with wonky heads.

Also both DC had/have reflux. DS was held so so mug of the day as it was the only way we could manage and still the flat head.

For him, nap times and nighttime were enough to misshapen his head.

We fixed it a bit with repositioning and the rest got covered by hair growth.

Im just trying to say please don't blame yourself. Looking after a baby is hard work and when the baby has reflux its far far harder.

Is your DS on meds for reflux? My DS has reflux too, he started on meds at 8 weeks old and is still on them at 18 months. It can be related to an allergy (such as dairy), has this ever been looked into?

Do you put toys the other side to encourage him to look the other way? Do you wind him regularly, keep him upright after feeds etc? They're only meant to spend 20 mins at a time in door bouncers, jumperoo etc due to the position it sits their hips in.

Babies do get flat heads nowadays as they sleep on their backs, hence why they encourage tummy time with them. DS's head had a flat bit but it's grown out how and his head is full of hair anyway.

If your baby won't move his neck it's possible you may need to see a physio.

thebirdsandthebees You're right, 22 hours in the same position is too much. I've been surviving living one minute at a time and hadn't really realised until today how these minutes have been adding up to hours.

I am a fan of slings and bought three but have found it really hard to find times to use them. I hadn't really thought about using them indoors but I'll start trying.

It should be a bit easier to sit him on my knee now he is a bit older and can almost hold his head.

I don't understand how FF babies are more at risk, surely they're held in the same position as BF babies?

Thanks pobble, we have a family history of allergies but that hadn't occurred to me.

God, I'm really starting to feel like a neglectful mother!

My son had this too - it is very upsetting. My GP completely dismissed it. We ended up having a free consultation with a doctor at a helmet manufacturer who measured the the abnormality and my son had both brachiocephaly and plagiocephaly. The doctor said we could either go straight to having a helmet or could wait and see what happens with positioning intervention and cranial osteopathy. My son was only about 8 weeks when we saw the doctor so his head was still pretty 'soft'.

The cranial osteopath was amazing. My baby had a torticolis which is a neck problem - he could only turn one way, probably caused by his quick birth.

As others have said you need to massively reduce the amount of time in the bouncer. I became pretty obsessed and my baby was upright most of the time and if he was on the floor or bouncer I used a Clevamama pillow (even for nappy changes). I also put a pillow UNDER the sheet in his cot.

The change has been remarkable. Good luck.

Also, he's not really interested in toys yet. He can just sit for hours staring into space and chewing his hands!

Btw torticolis and reflux are linked apparently due to the nerves running down the neck. Ds was a very sicky baby (silent reflux), which also went

Whenever I read about winding babies I always imagine a big key in their back. Sorry... not helpful. I hope everything gets better soon.

Oh and I totally agree about other people not noticing. DS's head was triangular with one ear lower than the other but I think only I saw it!

Don't think there's a link to feeding. Ds was exbf. Agree it's the cot death sleeping on back advice. Mum's generation were told to turn us diff sides to keep head round.

link to difficult births makes sense to me. Ds was ventouse delivery and had to twist him right round to get him out because he was back to back. Osteopath said he had a twist running through him restricting movement. I hadn't gone into detail about birth so was v interesting.

It's called positional plagiocephaly.

My dd had it, noticed it at 3mths (I didn't, nurse did). One side of her head was so bumpy at one point, that when the bump eventually went, her hair took ages to straighten out (talking weeks).

She had an issue with tight muscles in her neck, so favoured one side & caused the flat area. I had to do exercises to loosen the muscles & had to make sure she didn't sleep on that side, I had to prop her head in car seats & not leave her in too long etc. Looking back on her photos, her head always faced the same way!

I used to turn her head while she was asleep & you can raise one side of the mattress so their head naturally rolls the other way (I only propped her during day time naps & before I went to bed). Other than that I started to use a positioner. One side is adjustable, so I would put them fairly close & lie her on her side, again, only for naps & before I went to bed.

Her head has smoothed out beautifully, apart from one little area that is still flat (not noticeable unless hair is wet). It does get worse before it gets better!

I would suggest a dr too, for peace of mind, but it really does get better!

The plates in babies heads are very soft, not fully formed or fused in the early months. The reason (as I was told) that other parts start to protrude is because instead of sitting side by side like, say 2 tiles would, they over lap, which pushes them out of place.

My dd had a fairly obvious indentation on one side, at one point (hence the bump in her hair) but her face is perfect now. As I said, she has a small flat area on one part of her skull, that is where her head rested. The rest, is perfect.

've never met an ebf baby/toddler with a misshapen head. Just saying...

My daughter was ebf. She had a misshapen head. Just saying...