Poor head control four month baby

[ACMM]

Hi all I just wondered if anyone had any experience of a baby who had poor head control at four months and could tell me what happened? My son is four months and smiles and tracks etc but I am concerned that his head control is poor. He can hold it upright during tummy time briefly (we do a lot of tummy time), and can move it from side to side when lifted (again during tummy time all looks normal). But when we hold him etc his head flips forward a lot , and wobbles from side to side. It’s very different from our daughter who had great control at that age so we are concerned. It’s odd that he can seem to lift it (and does during tummy time, albeit that he hates it) but is so so wobbly when we hold him. Has anyone any experience of this? His head lag is really quite bad when we try and pull him from lying to sitting as well and I’m really nervous something is wrong with him. I tried to ask GP who (without looking at him) said “oh we’ll head control takes a while” and ushered me out. I’m not expecting him to be able hold it with no support all the time , but he’s just so wobbly. I’ve read poor head control at this age can be a sign of something more serious (autism / muscle issues ). Anyone any experience / advise ? Thank you x

My daughter is hypotonic and that was the first sign we had, very poor head control, bad head lag and floppy limbs. We know now that she has an incredibly rare chromosome issue that causes a myriad of issues (epilepsy, feeding tube, can't walk / talk etc) She is nearly three and sadly severely disabled but her condition is so incredibly rare (5 kids in the whole world!)

I would definitely seek a second opinion, some babies may just take a little longer to gain control and might not be a symptom of anything at all. The bottom line is you know your child best, keep fighting until somebody listens. In the early days they chalked me up as being a
Paranoid first time mum when I knew something wasn't right. My story is extreme but if something in your gut doesn't feel right then keep seeking help. Sounds like you're doing all the right things with tummy time etc

Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate it. I’m so sorry you weren’t listened to and that your daughter has the rare condition. Thanks very much, I will take him to the health visitor. Can I ask whether your daughter was doing all of the other things they are expected to do (smiling tracking etc ?). He seems fine in that respect , it’s purely the head control. He has low muscle tone when relaxed but can be quite strong when he wants to be (when annoyed , when we take him
Out of the bath , when he wants to grab my hair). He was a little early but only two weeks but my daughter was honestly so much stronger at this age (and she was earlier than he was). X

Try not to worry too much yet but definitely highlight it with the HV. My DS is 6 months and his head control improved dramatically in the space of a couple of weeks around the 4 month mark. He too was a few weeks early. The health professionals like head lag to be gone by 6 months otherwise can be a sign of low muscle tone (hypotonia.) It's only linked to ASD because approx 30% children with ASD also have hypotonia.

The fact your son is meeting other milestones (good tracking, interactive, strong) is really encouraging. Is he reaching for toys? Bringing hands to midline? Holding head in midline when on back?

Oh also just realised I responded to another one of your posts a few months ago. It sounds like you're still coping with high anxiety. So sorry to hear that x

My DD has hydrocephalus which is delaying her a bit with head control - it's literally a bit heavier for her! Of course not trying to be an armchair doctor but it is often late to be diagnosed and subtle. If you were to plot your little ones head circumference in their red book do they broadly match up with the centile they were at when born?

Of course it is much more likely that this is a case of all babies developing at different speeds!!!

@ACMM my daughter was smiling but not tracking as her condition also causes visual impairments (poor love has been through it!) please try not to worry to much, as I said it's so important you've noticed and keep fighting for help - I was brushed off so many times but I just knew something wasn't right. Some children can have mild congenital hypotonia with no other causes that requires physio input and children are able to catch up. I hope it all goes well and just try to enjoy him it's one of my biggest regrets! Xx

How is your little one now? My little girls head control is exactly as you described your LO to be. Thank you x

My son also has hypotonia as he has a chromosomal disorder and poor head control was an early sign of that particular aspect of his condition.

Just to say though that although hypotonia is sometimes caused by more ‘scary’ conditions it can also just happen on its own. And just because your child has hypotonia doesn’t mean he won’t get there with gross motor milestones (DS is 21 months and not yet walking but getting there!)

If your child is progressing in other areas I would press for a physio and paeds referral but don’t get too stressed!

Hi, just wondering if you got to the bottom of what was causing poor head control in your baby. I'm currently at the same stage and I'm at a loss on what to do. My little boy is 18 weeks this week and we have noticed that his head control/ posture is very bad. If we sit him in an upright position on our lap he will slump forward and won't try to lift his head, he also finds it hard to keep his head up for longer than a few seconds when he is doing tummy time and doesn't seem to use his arms to help himself. I'm bringing him to the GP today to see what they think and maybe get a refferal. He seems fine in other areas, he will grasp for his toys and he can roll onto his side, he's also very vocal and will engage with smiles and eye contact when we chat to him but his head control is very poor and it has me very worried. I also have a little girl and compared to her at this age I feel he is a good bit behind but keep telling myself all kids are different and develope at different rates. Sorry for the long post x

Any updates on your LO @Mamlife2

Hi, is anyone able to provide an update on how their little one is doing? I also have a 4 month old who seems to be struggling with head control. Health visitor has referred to a physio but no idea how long that will take!

Hi @MumChar my little boy is doing great now. I had requested a refferal for physio also but like that I'm still waiting I actually think he will be crawling soon. I think he was just a little bit lazy and my gp said boys can be a little bit slower than girls, I have a little girl that I was comparing him to.. I was so worried, googling all sorts and then I just tried to put it to the back of my mind while waiting for physio and since then he has just gotten so much better. He's very sturdy and almost sitting up completely on his own and he has just turned 7 months. Hopefully your little one will be the same.

@Mamlife2 thanks so much for taking the time to reply, that's really reassuring. He's made improvements in the past couple of weeks so I'm hoping he's just a lazy boy too! Like you I compare to my older little boy who was quite fast to pick things up, but my first was a very big baby and my little baby now was a few weeks early, so very different. I know we shouldn't compare but it's only because we worry! And google is not helping (why do we do it!?!) Glad your little boy is doing well now.