[Fran27]

It's something that's been worrying me sick.

My two were 2 weeks at the hospital, and all that time they put Lisa on the right side of her head. So I guess she made a habit of it as now at 10 weeks she has a flat spot on her right side And the right side of her face seems to be forward too, although not by much.

We've started doing aggressive repositioning, putting her on the left side of the crib so she has to turn left to see the mobile, always feeding her on the right side, turning her head to the left every time we can... but her head naturally turns back to the right... ugh. She usually ends up crying if you hold her longer than 5 minutes too, so it doesn't help... We give her some tummy time when we can too.

I know it's supposed to get better when they can hold their head steadily. They're not that far, but I've seen kids with really deformed heads that need to wear a helmet all the time and it's scaring me. Our pediatrician didn't even mention it at our appointment 10 days ago, and I really only noticed it later (i thought I was dramatizing).

So anyway, has anyone gone through the same thing?

[loveajax]

My DD hated tummy time (like always went bonkers!) so she started to get kind of a flat spot on the back of her head....she outgrew it, though. It sounds like you are doing the right things, but I would call the ped too and see if s/he has any advice. Good luck!

[crystalp]

My preemie son got a flat spot on the right side of his head. He grew out of it, so we were lucky. But, keep an eye on it. If she needs a helmet, go ahead and get it for her. Don't be scared of it. Try to put it in perspective. It's like a cast on a broken leg. She would wear it for a while, but in the "big picture", it's not that big of a deal compared to a lot of other things you could be dealing with. Good luck!

[Fran27]

Yeah I'm giving it until their 4 month appointment then we'll see with the doctor about it...

Always something new to worry about...

[crystalp]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Always something new to worry about...

That is for sure!!

[chrisandaaron]

Sounds exactly like my DS. He spent 2 weeks in the NICU as a preemie. I asked my ped and he wasn't conserned as long as the size was growing. He did eventually even out, but it felt like FOREVER! Ask your ped and if they aren't worried, try not to worry yourself.

[Shadowfaerie]

Hi,

Our son had to wear a helmet to fix the flatness at the back of his head. He only wore it for 3 months and our insurance covered the cost of a rather expensive helmet. Our son didn't have a severe case of plagiochephaly (flat head) and they said it would've rounded out at age 2 anyhow, but I didn't want to take any chances. I didn't want my son to end up with a flat back of his head.

I worried myself sick too, but it really wasn't worth it. We waited until our son was about 8 months old before we put him in a helmet, but it's best to do it earlier.

If you have any specfic questions feel free to send me a PM.

All the best~

[Wisdom]

The back of our son's head was getting flat on the right side too and I was concerned because I read that it can mis-shapen the front part of the head/face as well and actually that was starting to happen. It wasn't bad, but I could tell (my dh didn't even really notice but he's not one for details). I took him to a specialist (pediatric neurosurgeon) and he told us to turn his world around so that everything was now on his left side. His toys needed to be on his left, when he looked at us we had to be on his left side, when I give him a bottle I started holding him in my right arm so that his head was turned to his left...everything. I was up throughout the night repositioning his head b/c of course he kept turning back to the right side. Also, I started using a sleep positioner in his crib which is made of memory foam so his head is now laying on that at night. At night I also very slightly tilt him on his side in the sleep positioner so that keeps him from turning his head so easily. It took about a week or more to get him to stop turning back to the right at night. I can see a huge difference. His head is back to normal and even the front part of his forehead is no longer slightly misshapen. (Although now for some reason he's trying to turn his head back to the right at night so I'm having to reposition him again.) I continue to not have him lay on his head unless I have memory foam underneath it (I bought some in the bedding section at Walmart)--when he's laying on his play mat I have memory foam underneath his head.

[MommyToTwo]

Our daughter (now age 2.5) was born with torticollis and positional plagiocephaly. She had a flat spot on the right rear of her head, and the forehead on the right bulged a bit. Her left eye was squinty.

Finally at 4 months the ped. listened to our concerns and sent us to a cranio facial surgeon for a consult. DD wore a helmet for 4 months, and while the problem is not gone completely it is now not noticeable unless you know where to look. For the torticollis (which made it so she pretty much couldn't turn her head to the left) she had to have physical therapy. Nothing major, and mostly we were able to do it at home.

The helmet cost right around $2200, but our insurance covered all but $250 of it.

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me.

[DPline]

My bio son was born with positional plagiocephaly (from being pressed against my pelvic bone) and ended up wearing a helmet for several months after a nerosurgeon and cranio facial consult. I can still tell where the flat spot was, but no one else would ever notice unless he shaved his head. The helmet really wasn't a big deal. He wasn't bothered by it at all, and they have come a LONG way in the 9 years since he had one. (They are now typically open on the top for air flow, which his wasn't.)

So just to reassure you that even if you do end up with a helmet, it is no where near as awful as it first appears. (And trust me, the first time the doctor mentioned a helmet, I freaked out!)

Please feel free to PM if there is anything I can answer for you.

Good luck!

[nikkianni]

Our DD has a slight "bump" vertically in the middle of her forehead and her head slopes a shade on the right side. Our ped kept telling us it was because of positioning and it would get better. But I did some research and what I found worried me enough to be firm about a referral to a craniofacial surgeon. DD has premature closure of one of the sutures of her skull. (The one in the forehead). For several months they thought it would mean surgery, but have since decided it's not necessary. Her head has begun to even out, there's no pressure on her brain and we're thrilled to not have to put her through a major surgery.
All of this isn't to scare you, but to let you know that if you truly feel there's more going on, it's OK to push. And don't feel bad about it. In these situations it's WAY better to be safe than sorry.

[Fran27]

Yeah Nikki I've read about it... I'm not worried about that because she's had several ultrasounds and an x-ray already, and they would probably have picked it up. And it's really only been obvious in the last 10 days or so.

She's still very young and pretty close to being able to hold her head so we'll see how it works out. I know the worst case is a helmet, my insurance sucks though so I'm a bit worried about the cost (we still have to pay $500 for ultrasounds for example).

Thanks for the replies so far - it is freaky to see so many kids have the issue nowadays.

[DPline]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Thanks for the replies so far - it is freaky to see so many kids have the issue nowadays.

A lot of it relates to the 'back to sleep' campaign and children spending a lot less time on their stomach. With my son, he was born with the flat spot, but sleeping on his back, no matter how we positioned him, his head would eventually roll to the flat area. And it worsened to the point we needed the helmet.

There is also a lot more awarness now. At the time my son had the helmet 9 years ago it was just at the beginning of 'back to sleep' and they were just starting to see the increased issues with plagiocephaly.

[Kat-L]

Originally Posted by Fran27

It's something that's been worrying me sick.

My two were 2 weeks at the hospital, and all that time they put Lisa on the right side of her head. So I guess she made a habit of it as now at 10 weeks she has a flat spot on her right side And the right side of her face seems to be forward too, although not by much.

I have one nephew who has the same thing (but it didn't affect his face at all-it was closer to the right side of the crown of his head). My mother kept telling my brother to do something about it but his wife complained that the baby would only sleep on that one side. He's now 8 and although that side of his head is still a little flat-it's covered with hair and not noticible at all.

Now my other nephew is 2. His mother & grandmother ALWAYS kept him on his back and the back of his head became flat. Whether he was sleeping or playing, he was flat on his back until he learned to roll over and crawl. Again, my mother would say to my brother (different brother & nephew) that the baby needs to be put on his side to sleep but they didn't listen. And their doctor never said anything to them, either. This baby's head is still completely flat in the back. My mother said it looks like someone took an axe and just lopped off the back and that's really how it looks. He has lots of hair but it's still VERY noticible. However, my brother & his wife don't mind it a bit.

I would definately continue feeding her on the side she doesn't "favor" and putting her on the other side to sleep. And although she doesn't like tummy time, I'd keep that up, too. And check with the doctor. Right now, she's very young and her skull is soft. With just changing her sleeping position & playing position, it should round out on it's own. But if it continues to be a problem, get the doctor involved because I know for a fact it doesn't go away if you just ignore it.

[mamatobe2008]

Laila looks in one position so we're actively putting in different positions. Our ped noticed it but wasn't too concerned it isn't too bad. She said if it becomes a problem you can do PT with the child. I'd go back to the ped and discuss you concerns and continue with moving her around. HTH!!