Flat head and hating tummy time!

[Babo993]

Hi all,

My 10 week old absolutely hates tummy time. I out her on her front and she just lays there and gets agitated. She can hold herself up as she's done it before, I think she just really dislikes tummy time. Because of this and because she favours sleeping with her head turned to the right and always looks to the right more, her head is flatter on that side than the left. I try and reposition her head when she sleeps but she just moves it back. She's started sleeping facing the other way just recent, luckily, but I'm worried that side of her head will always be flat as she hates tummy time!

It gets better as you stick with it. Have you tired putting all the toys to the other side of the baby and try and approach them from the side you want them to face.

Her lying on her tummy on you also counts as tummy time, either as you watch TV or in bed, also if you baby wear

GP can refer you to a specialist if head is still flat i think that's about 4-6 months.

take her to an osteopath for cranial osteopathy to improve shape of head

if you are in Surrey I can recommend a brilliant one.

We got a flat head pillow www.johnlewis.com/theraline-the-baby-pillow/p231220357

Whilst it didn’t cure it it helped, dd head is still flatter on one side howeve she’s nearly 2 and it’s not as obvious

Have you tried having her in a sling a couple of times a day? I think a baby being in a sling has a similar effect to tummy time and it gives a period of time when they are not lying on their back.

My DD hated tummy time, and I mean hated it. As soon as she knew she was going on her front she'd lose it. We bought one of those inflatable pillows you can fill with water, they have little fish and such in them, can get them on ebay fairly cheap. I'll be honest though, it's all down to perserverance. She's now 15 months and actually tends to sleep on her front now. Like other posters have suggested, maybe look at getting her a flat head pillow, sooner rather than later so you dont have any ongoing issues. X

I agree with the PP who suggested cranial osteopathy, it worked wonders on my baby who used to favour one side for sleeping, and only took two sessions. Improved her breastfeeding too!

I second the theraline pillow, it’s great, I used it on my two and neither has a flat head! You can also try turning your baby’s head slightly when you lie them down so their head’s at a slight angle. Keep correcting the position whenever you check on them. Have you tried gently winding your baby for a good 20/30 mins before trying tummy time? Could be trapped wind causing her to not like it. Also I went to a paediatric chiropractor, they can ever so gently manipulate the cranium to help with head shape, a flat head can effect jaw position and subsequently feeding, meaning they can take in more air and have a sore tummy. I hope some of that helps!

if you decide to have cranial osteopathy do it asap.

I had all of mine checked out at 3 weeks . DS1 was forceps delivery so I wanted to make sure there were no problems as he had a nasty bruise on his cheek & head.
But the midwives did a brilliant job and there was no damage at all. phew.

I took all the others after that as routine, DS4 was ELSC so he got checked all over - his foot was very bent from being footling breech so that was a concern.
And DD had a very highly arched palate as well as TT so after the TT separation she had a few session to sort the palate problem.

The guy we go to is my hero.

Flat heads usually correct themselves in time.

Will she go in a sling? That helps relieve pressure on the head.

Tummy time still counts if it’s on your chest and across your lap - she might like that better.

Most babies hate tummy time until they’re strong enough for it not to be so hard, so keep persevering and she will get better at it.