Sunken fontanelle?

[SassyPants87]

I have a 3 week old and whenever I hold him upright he has a sunken fontanelle but when I lie him down it’s fine. Is it just gravity?

he has plenty of wet nappies

Are you sure it's sunken? They do dip a little bit.

What is he feeding like and is he passing urine? If it is truly sunken he needs seeing.

Yes he’s passing urine. I change his nappy every 2/3 hours (whenever I give him a feed) and the nappy wetness indicator shows he’s done a wee

I will keep an eye on him and fontanelle but just wondered if anyone else has experienced dip/sunken fontanelle in their babies and it’s just one of those things and gravity has a play in it

when he’s awake he’s very alert and active

I've had that with my baby, fontanelle was way more visible when I held baby upright. If due to dehydration, wouldn't it be sunken when lying down too?
If you're worried it's always best to see a GP.

@Rakszasa its not sunken when lying down but has an ever so slight dip when lying down.
I’m going to call the health visitor in the morning about it

Yes just get it checked although it sounds probably fine. At 3 weeks old there's literally nothing that isn't worth asking about if you're concerned.

Speak to your health visitor for sure or if you are worried meantime call 111. It is normal for there to be a dip in very young babies but it’s not normal for it to be sunken. The most important thing is to know what is normal for your baby.

Good idea to ring the health visitor so they can check. Although if you’re having a good number of wet nappies then baby is unlikely to be dehydrated. I was worried about my baby’s fontanelle for the first 3/4 weeks and in the end I asked the GP to check when there for another appt. She said it’s normal for it to feel slightly dipped because it is a gap in the skull and got me to google what a sunken fontanelle looks like to see the difference. They really are quite dramatic!

I went to the GP about this when baby was 6 weeks old. Outcomes:

1. she's quite a low weight baby so it shows more
2. it's often made more dramatic looking by gravity. I wear her in a sling a lot
3. feeding can also cause the skin over it to become sucked in
4. it can be due to dehydration, but it's a late indicator - you should also have seen dry nappies, listless baby, dry mouth/eyes etc

As always speak to your GP if worried, they should always prioritise babies.

111 and your GP might be able to help if you're concerned and don't feel HV has reassured you.