Concern About Flat Head

I've noticed (from my family and friends) that this is a very common concern. The 15 minutes really does make a huge difference. I use to put my daughter on the changing table or crib with her head at different ends so when she looked over it would rotate the direction her head would turn. Or when I'm playing with her and she was lying on the floor, I would go to different sides. The head is very soft right now and forms easily. If your doctor isn't concerned, I probably wouldn't be. If you are, take him to another doctor and get a second opinion.
Best of luck and enjoy this time!

Perhaps in addition to tummy time you and your husband could carry him around in a Baby Bjorn type carrier when you're walking around the house? I think this is a pretty common issue, and your doc has probably dealt with it a lot. Perhaps it is hard to notice changes when you see your baby all the time. Maybe you could take a picture and you could compare your son to it in another month?
K.

I distinctly remember my cousin Norman's head having an enormous flat dent on one side when he was a baby. His mother was sweet but a bit of a ditz. (Not that you're a ditz but those were in the days when no one talked much about sleep position and she just let him sleep the same way all the time and didn't think twice about it.) The next time I saw Norman a few years later his head had popped out, and was normal. (Norman isn't so normal, however, but it probably didn't have anything to do with his flat head.)

Not the most scientific answer to your question, but there it is. :)

My daughter always seemed to turn her head in one direction as an infant (turned out she had a visual impairment on her left side). Anyway, because of this preferrence, she developed a flat spot on one side. Her ped said to position her on her other side when she slept, and also the tummy time thing. We bought one of those sleep positioners that provided back and belly support. (I think I've even seen ones that have a head support that is designed to help relieve the pressure and therfore the flattening of the head.) Despite having her sleep in a new position and giving her tummy time, she still has her flat spot (she's 5 now), but thankfully her hair hides it pretty well (except when it's in a pony tail). I think at three months, you should be able to reverse the flat spot pretty easily though. I think my daughter was closer to 7 months when we started to address the issue. Goo luck.

A 3 month old should not be spending "most of his time" in cribs, chairs, carriers, etc. Try babywearing!! It's proven to produce calmer babies and moms and gets your little one up and involved in what you're doing around the house. The flat head problem is unique to our culture where we buy all these devices to leave babies in all day. Sure, it probably will fix itself when he is sitting up, but I'd take it as a sign that he is spending way too much time on his back in caregiver-replacement products.

That happened to James. Once he got old enough to sit up on his own and sleep in what every position he chose at night it went away. For the most part. There is still a little flat spot but i am sure it well go away as he grows. I would not worry about it. Having your son sleep on his back know is more important than him having a perectly round head. Besides how people do you see walking around with a flat head. As they grow up it goes away.
A.

My cousin's son had a real bad case of flat head. He had to wear a helmet 24/7 until he turned 1. Now he looks fine.

Maybe at night you can lay him on his side for a while and role up a towel to put behind him preventing him from rolling back. Then do it on the other side.

good luck

If you notice that it's flat... I would want the Dr. to take it a bit more seriously.... OR give you a plan of action... This is correctable when they are tiny... if serious enough... they wear a little helmet that has the inside carved out so the head can properly shape... I would just make sure that your Dr. has a plan as to when this should be done... so it's not too late later...

Good luck!

My daughter also got a flat spot on the back of her head when she was younger. She's now 18 months old, and she doesn't have the flat spot anymore. As long as the flat spot is not sever, the head will round out again once your child gets older. Our pediatrician gave us some advice on how to prevent the flat spot. She suggested putting her to sleep in a bouncy chair or a swing during the day instead of flat on her back in her crib. Also, during the day when your infant is lying around, try to put him in other baby contraptions so that he is not flat on his back all of the time. Our pediatrician suggested propping our daughter up with pillows or holding her, etc...

b/c of the way my daughter had her head crammed up under my ribs for 9 months she had a very odd shaped head (especially for a c-section baby.) Her doc told me to lay her down on her back but turn her head to the side to help it round out. In my case we always had to turn her head to the same side to let the other flat side round out. You should probably go back and forth between sides.