Flat head at 4 months- losing my mind

[Antonia87]

Hi, I am looking for some advice. My baby was born at borderline gestation with a massive head. His body is on the 2nd centile and his head the 95th. He looked pretty strange for the first couple of months but looks quite normal now. However, his head is pretty flat at the back. He point blank refuses to do tummy time though has good head control when upright and screams blue murder everytime i try and put him in a sling. I have tried three different slings and he loses his shit everytime! I am at my wits end as he will only sleep in the pram or moses basket. I have got an inflatable chair and ring to put him in to encourage sitting and get him off his head but I dont think its enough and he will only tolerate the toys for about 20 mins each. Re positioning in the cot doesnt work and he just moves his head back. I have just had the mother of all tantrums trying to get him into a sling for a nap and now he is in his moses basket . Not keen on a helmut as no proof they help and cost 3k which i dont have. Also the special pillows are a SIDS risk. I dont know what to do . He wont even nap on me! Is he going to have a flat head for the rest of his life? Help!

Mine had a flat head until around 9 months.
It is still a little flat now.
Once a bit of hair got there I stopped noticing.

My DS's was ridiculously flat at 4 months. As soon as he was sitting up it started to improve and now he's 15 months and it's pretty much normal. Try not to stress about it.

My ds also had a disproportionately large head, he was 6th centile for weight and 90th centile for head circumference. His head then grew disproportionately quickly front 3-6 months and this caused his head to become very flat at the back. I had him in slings (he quite liked it)and he had most of his naps on me but sleeping in the buggy and on his back at night caused his head to be flat. He's 3.5 years now and whilst it has rounded out a bit it's still flat at the back. His hair largely covers it and I've made my peace with it tbh. When we spoke to the consultant about it (he had to have an ultrasound on his head and see the consultant about to fast growth)she said that the only thing we could have done differently was put him to sleep on his tummy- which is a risk that was never worth taking. Ds seems unusual though, most of my friends dc whose heads had a flat spot rounded out fine when they started to crawl.

Don't know where you live, but locally we have a free referral via GP or health visitor to a cranial osteopath. I've friends who have found it really helpful. See www.babycheckbath.org

DS1 was born with a flat head, which got worse initially. He hated tummy time etc, but once he started to roll it started to get better. I kept his hair long for a while, but he's 13 years now, and you can't tell at all.

I use a lilla kuddis pillow which sorted my DS out really quickly. I put it under the more basket fitted sheet to minimise risk. I know they say not to use them here but in Sweden they're standard issue when babies leave the hospital and the sids rate there is far lower than the U.K. so I felt reassured by that.

Also if you can afford it baby physio might help. Excellence physio do house calls if you're in the right part of the uk, but am sure there are others.

Would you consider using a helmet? I know a couple of babies while had a flat head and it definitely helped.

Thanks for reassurance. He has finally relented and gone in the sling for his morning nap! I cant afford the helmet but I have booked the osteopath for next week to see if it helps.

If money is tight please don't waste it on osteopathy or helmets. There is no scientific evidence that either help at all. Your baby's head will naturally begin to correct itself over the next few months.

My DD was born with a funny shaped head, quite flat on one side. She is now 10 months and it's a lot better. Still a bit wonky at the back but it's hidden under hair! I really don't think you need to worry and the suggestion of a helmet seems extreme to say the least

I agree with welsh op. From what I can remember (I looked into helmets when ds was little too)you have to wear the helmets at all times for months and months on end, by which time the problem might have rectified itself anyway. Having a slightly flat head isn't damaging for a child and even quite severe cases they get better, if only to a degree. I would class ds's head as very, very flat at age 1 and it has got a bit better every year since. Hopefully it will round out further but if it doesn't his hair mostly covers it and it won't severely impact on him I don't think.

Sorry, I can't agree, I was told my son's flat head would grow and rectify itself... it didn't. He's now 9 with a flat head at one side.

If the flatness is full across the back (brachiocephaply I think it's called) it does usually resolve itself once tummy time/growth happens etc. It's a natural flattening, in some cases it can still be obvious as an adult, but these aren't the norm.

If the flatness is one sided (plagiocephaly) then it could be caused by tight neck muscles/trauma and may not rectify itself. The majority of helmet therapy is for plagiocephaly, where there is ear misalignment or severe malshaping of the head. (In my son's case it was birth trauma)

A good osteopath will be able to see your child and make an assessment for very little cost.

I'd be tempted to keep persevering with the screaming and use the sling. DD hated tummy time too, and also wasn't keen on the sling, but got used to it.