4 Month Old with Head Shaping Issue

Hi L.,

I agree with Corinne. I used a wedge to support both of my children on their sides for the first 2-3 weeks of their life, then I put them to sleep on their stomachs, keeping toys & blankets away from their faces. I would switch directions they were lying in the crip so they had equal time on each side of the head until they developed the muscles to turn their own head. Both of my children have normal shaped heads. Best wishes.

My granddaughter had this problem. You may not need the helmet, yet, as she did not. However, you need to lie him side to side only. Avoid the back as much as possible, as this is what is causing it. I do not recommend tummy sleeping. Research supports this may be one of the causes of SIDS related deaths. Most pediatricians recommend not sleeping infants on their backs. Use support behind his back to maintain him on his side as much as possible (they sell supports to prop them with or use a pillow or rolled blanket). My granddaughter's flat head became better as she approached her 8th month in age. This is the most important thing to do at this time to avoid flat head shaping issues. My granddaughter's flat head reshaped itself just from not allowing her to sleep on her back anymore. I would use the helmet as a last result as it may not be extremely comfortable and he may refuse to wear it. It could become a bedtime struggle for him and mom.

you dont have to do just tummy time try putting him on his sides for naps as well both of my boys were belly sleepers and side sleepers :)

D.

Hello,
My daughter had a problem with her head being to much on the right side since that is the only way she would point her head while sleeping. The only thing we were told that would help is to make sure that every couple hours in the night or day for naps to make sure we turned her head. Good news it did work its way to normal. It takes awhile, but be consistant. You have to find ways to keep his head turned while he is sleeping. The tummy time is great to. That didn't work so well for us becasue my daugher would scream and cry if we put her on her tommy. Turned out she had GI issues. Anway good luck and I hope you won't need a helmet to your child.

I know someone with a baby of which has a helmet, and the parents are so glad they decided to do that, and the head is starting to be a lot more normal. They are in WI, so unfortunatelly they are not near to talk to and I do have an email addr. But I know they said it was a hard decision, that they are so glad they went ahead with.....

Hi L.,
Well, I know you've already responded with what happened but I thought I would throw this out there anyway. We went through something similar with my son who is now 2. Except the funny part was his head didn't start that until like around 4 months, it was fine up until them which I always thought was strange. His was really more like the upper left side of his head, not really the back of his head so I don't know how it got like that. Anyway he was already rolling over by then and didn't really spend that much time on his back, even if I did start him there. We thought at first we were going to have to do CAT scan to see if the bones fused and then discuss options, helmets or surgery etc. She said we could wait until 6 month check to decide so we did and it improved as it continue to little by little each month. He is fine now, if his head is wet and you look at him from the top down you can tell it's not perfect but other than than you'd never know and I think really no one would even notice that if they didn't know there used to be a problem there. Hope it makes you feel better. Good Luck.

I am an LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist). I don't know what area you are in, but you should look to see if you can find an LMT that specializes in Cranio-Sacral therapy. This is not painful for the baby and it is actually relaxing. What they do is gently and with very small movements they manipulate the bones of the skull back into place. They can even do thin on newborns whose heads are mis-shapen after labor. I have heard that sometimes babies are uncomfortable and colicky and after they have a few treatments, they are all better. Sometimes (NOT always) doctors are not really receptive to alternative treatments and would not recommend them because they don't know enough about them. Insurance does not cover this in most cases, but a one hour treatment might run you $60. Let me know if you try this and it works. :)

I am a day care provider and i watch a little girl who is just now 5 months old and has the same problem her head is absolultely flat in the back, all that her mother has instructed me to do is keep her of the back of her ehad as much as possilbe. that means laying her on her side to sleep with a sleep positioner to keep her from rolling as well as keeping her sitting or on her tummy to play. Not only that but she mentioned to switch sides when i lay her down each time so that the problem doesn't progress to a specific side of her head as well. good luck and hopefully it works itself out without a helmet.

Hi,

I had the same problem with my now 8 month old and trust me, I freaked out. I was so scared because her pedi. told me that if it wasn't any better by 6 months, she was being sent to a specialist (that's how bad it was). I now know I worried all those months for nothing. What they don't tell you is that anymore it's really common and most babies' heads correct themselves between 6-12 months, so try not to worry. Also, I hear the helmet doesn't really work all that well. I bought a soft foam sleep positioner for her to sleep on, which I think helped, but honestly, it pretty much corrected itself. Her head too was really flat from the delivery. Just wait and see by 6 months. If not, you can always tell your DR no and wait until it corrects itself, which it usually does (they don't bother to tell you that). Like I said, most heads correct themselves by a year. The only other option is to try the Bumbo seat and maybe a play gym to keep him interested. They have some that are made just for tummy time. Other than that, try having him sleep on his side or tummy.

Hello L., my daughter had the same problem from birth through 4 1/2 months. my pediatrician first diagnosed her with tortacolis, (at her 3 month well baby) she couldn't turn her neck muscles correctly and we had to do excersices to stretch them, then we had to use rolls of blankets behind her back to keep her up on her side when she slept, we alternated sides. we also put her in her walker with blackets tucked in the seat to hold her up. our pediatrician said do anything that kept her off of her back flat. she is 8 1/2 months old now and you can't tell her head was once flat. good luck

Hi L.,
My nephews had flat heads from sleeping on their backs. Remember they are born with sof heads and the bone plates do not fuse till later (hence the fontanelles-or soft spots. The problem corrected itself when she started positioning them on their sides with a rolled up towel or positioner.
Good luck.

Hi L.,

Have you tried to lay him to sleep on his side?
We had our daughter positioned differetn every night and
her head is very fine. We bought one of those positioner cushion things and put her to slepp on her back and the two sides.
Also very nice are walkers/bouncer seats with toys ont hem, they get distracted for a certain time and they sit upright. \
While the bimpo seat is slightly off the ground and they cannot reach anything. My friend tried one of those and was very unhappy, because her daughter just hated it, she got frustrated not beeing able to get to her toys.
Then she bought her a walker and she loved,a s wella s my daughter (now 14 months old).

T..

My baby is almost 5 months old and we have similiar issues with a flat head. We have had mixed responses from 2 different doctors. One doctor made us feel the problem was very severe and that we would have to get a helmet. Our regular doctor seems to think that he is going to grow out of it as his time on his back becomes less and less. Sometimes it takes longer. We have increased our tummy time. We also made a little head rest for his crib using towels to keep his head propped up so he doesn't favor laying his head on the flat side. I have stopped using his activity mat because all that was doing was promoting his ability to lay on his back and look in one direction (usually favoring the flat side). He naps during the day in his cradle swing which has a nice head support. I also have him sitting up in the Boppy pillow now that he is able to sit up with some assistance. Our son's head is in the 50% while everything else is in the 85%. I wouldn't worry too much - unless for your 6 month check-up his head size goes down on his growth chart. As long as the growth is consistant, you should be fine. Our doctor said that the helmet helps SOME, but for all of the work and effort, it doesn't make THAT much of a difference.

Hope this helps and good luck!!!

L.,
It has only been in the last 10 years that the doctors recommended you have your baby sleep on back or side. (this was to prevent S.I.D.S. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

However, most of us slept just fine on our tummies. The main thing you need to do is:
1.) Keep the are under and around the face clear so they are not sufficating. Or breathing in Carbon Dioxide from the ex-hale of their breath.

2.) Check up on the baby to make sure all is well.
(my 18 year old always slept on tummy-was the thing
do back then! But he used to scare me as he was a quiet sleeper so I would place me hand on his back to be sure he was breathing or if shallow would GENTLY stir the bed as not to wake but just get a gasp out of him. Or feel the breath by nose or mouth. These are all things recommened at my child birthing class.)

3.) Change the way the baby's head is facing each time. This way the head "ROUNDS OUT" naturally.

4.) NEVER PUSH OR SQUEEZE THE BABYS HEAD.
I have seen fathers try this to "HELP ROUND" )

Make sure your care giver knows these things as well and works with you to help this issue get resolved.

I do not know of anyone using a helmet you may want to ask on google for results for Head Rounding advice as well as the Helmet.
Good Luck,
I'm sure which ever method you choose the baby's brain will develop normally and he will be fine.
C.