Flat head = bad mummy?!

[samnbabes]

My dd (6 months) has developed a really flat little bonce. This isn't just mummy-madness -random people I meet are poining it out - my h/v said it'd sort itself out, but it's getting worse, and having done a net trawl, I'm told that after 6 months, the bones start hardening and it doesn't get better.

Am in severe beat-self-up mode for having let this happen ... has anyone had experience of heads sorting themselves out when bubas start sitting. Please?!

(PS Have stamped at doc and got ped consult - but obviously won't be for months...)

DD also has a flat head. We went through seeing the consultant etc who was satisfied that there was no early fusing of the skull and that the appearance would improve. Now, at nearly 15 months, DD's head is still flatter than others, but is definitely more rounded, and we are hopeful that it will improve further still.

My DD had such a flat head on one side when she was younger that she had a big staring eye and looked very odd...now she is 2.3 and she looks absolutely perfect to me!!

I used a goi goi pillow from the previous link and it helped to stop the flattening and also let the flattened bit start to round out again. I used it from a few weeks old (the goi goi pillow is recommended in Sweden to be used from birth)

Surely this is genetic and not down to how a baby sleeps? I thought the only soft spot was on the top of the head.

My ds slept on his back and doesn't have a flat head. I was always surprised when people said things like 'oh isn't his head a nice shape, he obviously doesn't sleep on his back'

Could be plagiocephaly.

My DD had this. NHS were crap. Had to go private.

My DS's head was completely flat at the back, started to round off about 7-8 months with no intervention.
We dont drive so he was never in a car seat, he was carried in a sling and also co-slept so was not often on his back so i think these things can just happen.
His head is not flat in the slightest now.

Same old same old.

What if it doesn't round out when baby sits up?

What if baby needs glasses, the ears aren't level with plagiocephaly.

It isn't cosmetic.

It isn't cosmetic when genuine plagio.

I certainly wasn't saying it is just cosmetic.

Yes it is a matter of weighing up whether to get a helmet in case it does not round out, and considering all the implications.

I definitely understand why people get helmets. For some people they are not an option though, we could not afford one, and we . They have done for anyone i have met, with or without helmet, but yes, you can['t just assume they will, and should consider all options.

i meant to say "we probably would have got one if we could have afforded it"

then "they have rounded out in anyone i have met"

serves me right for cooking at same time as posting! again

DS had plagio (and still has it, but only mildly). After months and months of lots of tears (from me and dh), repositioning and worry, we went for helmet therapy when DS was 9 months old. DS was in it for 12 weeks and improved a lot in that time. But it was a huge undertaking and very involved. But in hindsight, was worth it. Maybe it would have rounded out by itself, but we weren't prepared to regret not going for it.
A huge and very personal decision, do lots of reading and trust your gut instinct. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer with this, you have to go with what is right for you and your family.
Good luck with whatever you decide x