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.

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

I think that poster was making a sly dig at how little you held him. Trying to make out that if he was ebf, you would have held him more.

IGNORE. This has NOTHING to do with feeding.

I rolled up a towel & put in under dd's shoulder so she couldn't lie her head right over to that side, turning everything around in her room didn't work as she had torticollis & it was just more comfy on that side, until we loosened the muscles (which broke my heart as I had to hold her head facing the other way while she was flat to my chest :( She hated it)

My son was ebf too so that's utter tosh

Sadly he can't hold the bottle yet so is actually fed in a more seated position when FF.

Lots of sling time to take the pressure of his head, I found our ergo a godsend once DS3 was old enough to go in it, we didn't get an insert so just rolled up a blanket to support him if that helps at all. I know how hard three is, I felt like life was in high speed and I just couldn't catch up when our third was born. Using the sling also gives you some hands free time to play with other kids, do some cooking or just potter about but baby is also getting some mama time.

How about a cranial osteopath, a few friends of mine swear they help with problems such as this?

Thanks again everyone for your help.

I've spent the afternoon being much more aware of his position and have had him on my knee or lying on his side most of the time. He's also had some tummy time (which he hated).

I even got to sit on the settee with him asleep on me for a couple of hours whilst his dad ran around doing everything which was lovely.

I just put him to bed in his cot but he immediately started gurgling, sneezing and spitting out milk and phlegm. His dad has taken him downstairs to try to settle his tummy before trying again.

BTW - I feel I should clarify - he's not in a bouncer 22 hours a day but he is in a bouncer type position for that long ie sleeps all night in bouncer, then car seat to school, then pram into school, then carseat home, sleep in carseat, back to school, in bouncer for afternoon, then carseat again for second school run then pretty much bouncer until next day.

Sounds like you need to go back go your GP for allergy testing - agree with Miaow - could well be CMP intolerance/allergy

Oh yes, forgot to add that the doctor told us tummy time is important in two ways - pressure off the head, and it also help pull the ligaments correctly to reshape the head. My ds hated it too but do try to build it up slowly. A small towel rolled up under their armpits helps too

My nearly 7 month old had a very flat head at the back when he was 3 months old. it went flat the whole way across the back and became really rounded, the front of his head started to look wider at the top. During the day I used the Clevamama foam pillow in his bouncer chair, and bought one of them inflatable rings for when he was awake. On a night when he fell asleep I'd put his head on the left side, then the next night on the right side and just alternate like that. Now even though it's still very slightly flat at the bag it is much more rounder and seems to still be improving. People wouldn't notice unless I pointed it out now.

My ds1 had this - like your baby his plagiocephaly was so severe he had some secondary deformation at the front. The gp was sympathetic but you can't get treatment on the nhs because NICE haven't evaluated the helmet treatment. It's commonplace in the US and Germany for babies with severe plagio or brachycephaly.

Ds1 had a starband. The treatment cost about 2k in total and was worth it. Ds now 7years on has a symmetric face and can wear a cycle helmet. His condition wouldn't have been fixed with repositioning as it turned out he had torticollis.

And he was ebf so the poster who blamed feeding was incorrect.

I could have written your post! Flat robot head, bulging above one eye , and wonky.
I bought the cleverama pillow, repositioned my sons head throughout the night, and increased tummy time (which he too hated). He was ebf so that comment was crap!

Things really improved when he learnt to sit in his rubber ring toy, and when he learnt to roll as he chose to sleep on his tummy.

His head is a lot better! Not perfect but only I notice if I look really hard.

I wasnt willing to put my son through the helmet treatment for however many months, but I probably would have if it hasn't started improving on its own (well, with my interventions, so not 100% on its own)

My dd had a flat head at 4 months and the good news is that you have not left it too late to get corrected and seeing a coranial oestiopath really works! I took dd to the children's clinic in Wandsworth - they are a charitable organisation ie you pay how much you can afford per session, they were amazing. Also, order the lila kuddis pillow and stick a mirror in the cot on one side then switch sides the next night etc. please try not to panic like I did, it can be sorted with treatment . My hv and gp fobbed me off, thank god I went with my gut and ignored them. Also, get bubba out of the bouncer....however, once you get treatment he won't want to always be in it anyway, oh and do lots of tummy time ( again during treatment) . Good luck but make that appointment tues morning without fail!!

The website is occ.uk.com
Sorry for spelling gaff...cranial ..doh!!