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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

11 week old tilting head to one side

18 replies

Annabellemary · 09/02/2009 20:45

My 11 week old ds always sleeps with his head on one side and the gp pointed out that his head is a little flatter on one side so I should try to encourage him to sleep on the other side (which is easier said than done). However I have now noticed that his head always tilts to that side and that he really does not want his head any other way, even when I move his chair so that there is nothing to look at on that side and everything to look at and me calling his name to encourage him to look the other way he wont.

Has anyone had any experience of this or any advice please?

(have to log off now but will log on first thing in the morning) x

OP posts:

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Original poster

Annabellemary · 09/02/2009 20:46

Sorry I should say that when I hold him up/ sit him up on my knee his head still tilts to that side.

OP posts:

Original poster

Annabellemary · 09/02/2009 20:46

Sorry I should say that when I hold him up/ sit him up on my knee his head still tilts to that side.

OP posts:

NAB09 · 09/02/2009 20:47

Sounds like it could be torticullus. You need to get some exercises for the neck and get the assymetry of the head measured.

BoysAreLikeDogs · 09/02/2009 20:48

One of my friends children had this - they plonked him sideways in front of the telly so that he turned his head the other way to watch the images.

(think he was a bit older than 11 weeks)

Worth a try though, yes?

ilovetochat · 09/02/2009 20:49

our dd always used to sleep with her head to the right, we were on the right of her in bed. in the day she would still look to the right and i asked the hv if there was something wrong, she said no it was just a preference.

NAB09 · 09/02/2009 20:50

sometimes it is, sometimes not

OP, search for plagiocephaly, loads on here about it. Lots of differing opinions.

smellen · 09/02/2009 20:51

If he is in a moses basket, turn the basket round on alternate days, so that he is encouraged to turn his head to alternate sides to see the light from the window/lamps etc.

You can get little high contrast cloth pictures (in black & white/yellow) - very appealing to young babies, which you could lay along the moses basket to encourage him to look at - and change the position of these.

There is a condition called plagio something or other (can't remember exactly, am sure another MNer will be along shortly with the correct name), which can be treated with a hard helmet that the baby wears for about 9mths - but it is likely that your LO doesn't have severe "flat head syndrome". A bit of flat head is fairly common, my DS2 was a bit flat-headed, and still is, although now hidden with a load of curls.

Also, there are some pillows available on the market which are suitable for young babies (obviously you can't use a standard pillow, as there is a risk of suffocation). These pillows have a hollowed out bit in the middle which your baby's head is cradled in - I suppose as they are not on a flat surface the skull (which is still quite plastic and malleable at that age) will not flatten.

funnypeculiar · 09/02/2009 20:54

Agree with NAB that it could be torticollis (my dd had it too) - go to the GP & ask for a referral for physio - you've caught it early so well done . They can give you lots of execises (if you google torticollis in children you may be able to find some gentle stretches, but i'd recommend being very, very gentle until you've had some prof advice)

In the meantime, try things like:

putting all toys to the side he doesn't want to look - exactly all of the stuff you've mentioned about calling him to look to the 'wrong' side
put him on his tummy so his neck muscles have to work harder

Think about moving his cot if he currently faces towards the light, so that the light is on the side he normally avoids (if that makes sense?)

PigeonPair · 09/02/2009 20:54

As NAB09 said above, it could be torticullus which I think is when the neck muscles on one side are a bit shorter meaning they favour that side as they would be stretching the neck muscles if they tilted the other way IYSMIM.

funnypeculiar · 09/02/2009 20:58

Yes plagiocephaly is the name give to 'flat head syndrome' - lots of babies have it now to some degree due to the back to sleep campaign.

At 11 weeks, Annabellemary, I would focus on sorting out the tort - kids heads are still very malleable at this age, so if you can sort the tort out, the head shape may well sort itself out.

Oh, and the pillow thing smellen refers to is called a sleepcurve i think

Pippinella · 09/02/2009 21:00

Might be worth instigating an eye test - some eye muscle conditions from birth can cause them to tilt their heads.

Good luck!

Umlellala · 09/02/2009 21:06

Oesteopathy sorted ds out (only a slight torticullis - sp? - but definitely a preference for one side, hv spotted at 8week check.) Three sessions later the preference had gone... could be time of course too...

we went here. They are a charity and charge donation only.

kookiegoddess · 09/02/2009 21:58

My dd was only looking to right , I mentioned when I had a lovely BF counsellor round and she linked wiht other issues I was having and recommended seeing osteopath, which I did. Turns out it was linked to issues in the skull and in pelvis which osteo worked on over past few wks and DD is now turning both ways much more freely and having less issues otherwise. So worth sorting early if poss. Good luck.

Original poster

Annabellemary · 10/02/2009 08:23

Gosh thank you for all of your kind responses, I have tried moving his cot and bouncer chair round and currently have a rolled up towel on the side of his head that he tilts but anything else doesn't work - he still looks to that side - even when there is nothing to look at. I have left a message for my health visitor to phone me back this morning so hopefully she will make me an appt for the gp as it does perhaps sound like toticullis.

I'll keep you posted, thank you so much for all of your advice.

OP posts:

NAB09 · 10/02/2009 10:17

Ask for the child's assymetry to be measured too but a GP will need to do that.

angel1976 · 10/02/2009 20:13

Hi Annabellemary, sounds like torticollis to me too. I would try and push HV for a referral to physio ASAP. My DS has it and we were fobbed off for ages (kept getting told it was normal and will correct itself. It didn't!). At 4 months, the tilt was so bad (you could see it in all his pictures at that age...). We finally took him to a private doctor who diagnosed it straightaway and referred us to physio. He said we should have gotten referred a lot earlier as the earlier it is spotted, the easier it is to fix as the neck muscles start strengthening at 4 months. We had to do a series of exercises for DS everyday and it made a HUGE difference in a matter of weeks. DS is almost one year old now and just recently discharged from the physio. He still has a slight tilt but his flat head is mostly gone.

apostrophe · 10/02/2009 21:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

bessmum · 10/02/2009 22:59

My DS is just the same age 12 weeks. He has been checked out and doesn't have torticollis. Have done lots of research and in my view this is a fairly normal consequence of the "back to sleep" campaign. I'm doing all the things you mention, and trying to give him tummy time (which he doesn't much enjoy yet). I can find no good evidence for helmet treatment or cranial osteopathy and from my research I am not worried about him and don't intend going down that route, although I know others would do so. My HV did say that a small number of babies need physiotherapy but I think this benefits mainly those who do have torticollis.

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