Hello moms, my 2.5 months boy has a flat head. I have been very good with changing the mobile, gallery cards etc in his crib from one side to the other. I do have a favorite side when I breast feed and when I change him on the changing table. I would like to think this will correct itself with time :) all of your feedback is greatly appreciated. BC
This usually happens because the baby is laying down to much. Get him up more, hold him or maybe a front carrier on you. You need to sit him up as much as possible. And you can lay him down on his tummy. Good luck!
With my first, flat head wasn't much of an issue because she was high maintenance and was held a lot!!!..My second we were borderline having to think about a helmet!! Ugh......To avoid the issue with our third..I was pretty militant about him sleeping on his tummy during the day and of course on his back at night swaddled. He was 5 days old when i started this routine and while some kids may be more prone than others to this condition etc...I didn't have to worry about severe flat head with #3...It was maddening that he flatened a bit but if I hadn't practiced the tummy time during the day..we probably would have had to look into some intervention.
My first had this issue. It can be fixed throughout the first year tonSOME degree. But the earlier you do it the better. Repositioning is e key at this stage. Flip him head to toe at tevery nap and diaper changing. Use a noggin nest by Boppy for swings and diaper changing table. TONS of tummy time. My second did not have to deal with this at all thankfully. But i did all of this and put him on his tummy for naps ONLY. Thats not for eveyone though and i was a bit of a worriesome mommy until he started rolling over. You can also try a wedge in the crib under the sheet to keep himoff of the spot for now. Or even a rolled towel to push him the way youwant. But the longer youwait to intervene, the tougher it gets to correct. DO NOT let anyone tell you that it will fill out wihtout help. It doesnt. Its either repositioning or helmet!
Get him off his back. Get him on his tummy for a few minutes a day. Sit him up as often as you can. It helps with neck strength and trunk strength. There is a helmet that a doctor can prescribe, but it's expensive and not always needed. A friend of mine's baby had a flat head. By getting him up off his back more she was able to correct the problem with out medical intervention.
Check w/ your pediatrician. Mine told me it can be reshaped up to a year with a helmet etc IF needed. Your little guy is young so talk to the dr.
Good luck and enjoy!
Try to do a lot more tummy time. Also if he's in a bouncy chair or swing a lot, try to keep him in there a little less. I think most/all babies get somewhat of a flat head, but if it gets too flat, your pediatrician will likely make him wear a helmet for awhile to round it out. He's still tiny enough that I think you have time to avoid that. Again just try to get him used to being on his tummy...that will also help his core strength and he'll be able to sit up unassisted as a result.
:)
Depends on how severe it is. Your pediatrician can assess it, also. My son got the Doc Band to fix the flatness. He was about 4-5 mo old.
Get him off his back and out of seats. He should be on tummy when he is not in your arms. Flat heads and Torticollis have devastating effects as children get into school and social situatons because they are off balance. He needs to develop core strength for all life activities and full development of vision and auditory processing. This is how the human body works.
What does your pediatrician say about it? Sometimes they have to wear O. of those little helmets to re-shape it. Your pediatrician can evaluate the severity of it. But it's not uncommon to have a small flat spot....so hard to say from a post. Talk to your doc. Good luck!
I think he is probably a bit young to be worrying about this as his head is just start to get its shape back from delivery. But I would work on tummy time and bring it up to his dr at his 4 month check up.
You have been given some good advice but this is something you definitely need to discuss with the pediatrician. It's their job to tell you how severe the problem really is and if you need more intervention than what you can do at home. They may also want to monitor him more closely to ensure that the size/growth of his head is on target.
Find a craniopath webster chiropractor, and have the doc take a look.
best, k
