Funny shaped head

[MTL]

My 2 year old son's head isn't the right shape. We first noticed it when he was about 6 months, he definately was born with a nicely formed head, but because of sleeping on his back and sucking his thumb, his head sloped to one side at the back. The doctor tried to reassure us saying that it would correct itself by the age of 1year, but it is still the same. We took him to a cranial osteopath, but although it probably benefited him holistically, it did nothing for the shape of his head. Are there any other parents that have had the same experience. If so is there anything that you found helped?

An afro? Oh sorry, that was just a joke. But seriously - when his hair grows will you notice? Is it really noticable or is it just because you know it's like that? I think if you shaved peoples heads you'd be amazed at the different shapes and sizes out there.

MTL, lots of children have funny shaped heads. My eldest DD always had a football shaped head - flat at the back and out at the sides. She looked rather strange but now she is 9 it is perfectly (as perfect as can be) normal shaped.

My youngest DD (5 months) is suffering from flatness on one side of her head - the side she always seems to turn her head. I have tried making her lie with her head on the other side to no avail. If she is lying on her changing mat looking one way (say at her brother playing), I will change the mat around so she has to turn her head on the other side to see him. Needless she ends up looking at the settee rather than facing the other way. I would say that it is not a case that she can't lie on the other side of her head (she does fairly often), it just seems that MOST of the time she lies on just the one side (if that makes sense).

I would say that if you look at other people's babies heads, lots of them are "weird" shaped but you hardly ever see older children with weird shaped heads.

I know that health wise and developementally he is fine - great in fact, but I suppose I am concerned for later on that he may get stick for it from other kids - we all know how lovely kids are to each other! To me he's perfect and as he is growing more hair, it is noticing less and less, until I wash his hair, it's really prominent then. But I do take comfort from what you said that you never notice older kids with odd shaped heads, that's very true. Thanks!

Interesting about your DD always turning her head to one side, Bumblelion. My two dd's are left handed and when I was reading a book about being L-handed it noted that babies almost always sleep with their heads to the side which they will favour later in life. If that's the case, then presumably all babies have a preferred side from an early age. Maybe we could conduct a mini survey here on Mumsnet, with mums noting which way their babies face and then we can check again in three or four years to see if the handedness corresponds to the way they slept!

BTW, I totally agree about not seeing older children with odd shaped heads. One of mine looked like the Mekong - an alien in a comic from when my brothers were young - but is quite normal now.

Bumblelion-my ds always preferred looking 1 way, just like your little one, and I too would try to persuade him to look the other way. Can't remember now which way it was, but the flatness has already gone at 17months.

One of my boys had a head shaped like a kidney bean at birth! Honestly! Our midwife found it hilarious... lucky I wasn't sensitive about it, eh?! Actually, it's still there, very slightly. No one notices it as he has a crop of blond curls and a cute little face to distract attention from it. I only really remember it when I see his reflection in the mirror- the beaniness gets reversed so if you know him very very well you notice and wonder! Thank goodness his twin isn't of the identical mirror image reversal type- what a pair they'd be!

MTL - I am sure if the doctor has checked your baby & says everything is OK then it will be, don't want to worry you but my DS was born with a cranio-facial disorder which meant a definately odd shaped head - it was more or less corrected by surgery at Great Ormond Street when he was 6 months and is a great improvement - but he will never have a 'perfect' shaped head & will, of course, have to learn to live with this as he gets older. Should be OK until he goes bald like his Dad!!

I agree it can be hard as we all want our children to 'fit in' especially in such an image conscious society - I guess that is why it is so important to keep on emphasising that apperance isn't everything.