Help!!! Anybody with flathead baby? And undecided on helmet therapy?

[LadyLotty]

I'm just so undecided as to what to do...
Our baby daughter is a week shy of 5 months. She has a "moderate" case of brachycephaly (flat head) -measurig 92%. otherwise very symmetrical. She has straight hair too.. Went to see a specialist last week who recommended cranial therapy - basically get her to wear a helmet for 4-5 months so she grows a rounded head. I thought it's quite a drastic thing to do But over the weekend I took her to baby swimming and her head shape just stuck out amongst all the other babies as being pointy and flat from the profile. I felt really sad seeing her like that. It is probably more cosmetic, but am wondering if there are other parents out there who have had similar experience with their own childrens' head shape? Such a difficult decision!

..it's not so much the cost of gettig the helmet but the fact that she has to wear it for so long, can't be nice...

One of the mums at school has finished using a helmet for her daughter. Her dds was mild to moderate but she was told not to worry about it. She did nothing for quite a while but in the end decided to treat her daughter as she want her dd to stand out - dd has fine straight hair and it was noticible. Her dd has had very good results (still a minor flatness but not as noticible) but she feels, and it has been confirmed, her dd would have had even better results if she had started earlier. Her dd would also not have had to wear the helmet for as long either.

I have a very flat head. I have straight hair which is thick but I can honestly say I have never given it any thought except when looking at myself in toddler photos when it is very impressive!

So I suppose I would suggest not getting too bothered about it. DS2 has the same, luckily has slightly curly hair but again it wouldn't cross my kind to try to change it.

Btw he slept on his back, but apparently I never did so it is just the shape our heads are meant to be and is a trait seen in lots of other relatives (none of whom have ever been treated and none if whom have ever been bothered by it).

Also google Sleepcurve Mattresses, it's a company that sell mattresses for babies to help prevent & improve the condition. They can still cleep on their backs safely but the mattress is rounded where the head lies. They are well worth the money IMO.

sleepcurve.com/

sleepcurve.com/

my ds had a very flat head on one side as a baby but now at 5y it is barely noticable. still flatish, but symetrical.
we did nothing.

My DS has had a helmet for 7 months now. No regrets at all. It doesn't bother him at all. The only downside is the fairly frequent trips for adjustments (about an hour drive for us). When I look at photos of him at 6 months old & see the model of his head from that time I am so glad we opted for the helmet. He was quite late starting (9 months) so he will continue to wear it until he is 18 months old. An early start will get better results faster.