Flat Spot on Head

we had the same problem with my daughter (now two) and the doc said if it didn't correct itself they would have to put her in a helmet...BUT she was 6 or 9 months when my doc said something so I wouldn't worry, the growth plates in a 2 month old are no where near closing so you have plenty of time "fix" the problem, just keep doing what you are doing...

Hello J. my son who is now 11 years old had a slight flat spot on his head as well from the cause of favoring on side. I will tell you that it does correct itself with due time. Just keep doing the tummy time and alternating side while sleepng!! Good luck, L.

Hello J.,
I can't remember when our dr. noticed a flat spot on our daughter's head (maybe 4 months??), but we had that also. I actually couldn't even see it, but I followed his directions nonetheless. You've already started rotating him in the crib, that is what worked for us. Babies naturally turn their head toward where the stimulus is coming, so noise, light etc... We were always laying our little love at one end of the bed and we simply switched her. She hated her tummy time so that wasn't very successful for us. But the next time we brought her back he said it was all gone. Can you see the flat spot? I have seen a baby or two with a very noticable flat spot and they weren't given a helmet. I would simply keep doing what you are and be watchful for any changes. I'm pretty sure this is very common. No worries for your adorable little man!

When we brought our son home from Russia 10 years ago, his head was flat. Now, he is just fine and beautiful. Don't worry about it. You may find peace in prayer.

S.

My son is 6 months old now and they told me at his 2 month and his 4 month appointments that he had a flat spot on his head ("I see he has a favorite side to lay on!"). AND this was after I made an effort to switch the sides I laid him on after nighttime feedings. He just had his 6 month appointment and the doctor said everything was fine. He does spend a lot more time on his tummy now, and we have a bumbo seat, which he really likes to sit in. I don't know if that has helped the flat spot, but everything is fine now. (And it always boggles my mind when people tell you something like that about your child and then say, "Don't worry about it." OF COURSE YOU'RE GOING TO WORRY ABOUT IT!)
Good luck! Hope this helps!

My son developed a flat spot at about 3 months. We freaked out but our doctor said the same thing...lots of tummy time and make sure he doesn't always sleep on that side.
He is 17 months now and you wouldn't even know he had a flat spot.
Try not to worry too much, you should notice a difference in a few months. If not then talk to your doctor. Good luck!

My son also had a flat spot on his head due to always wanting to lay facing one way. My pediatrician actually had us go to baby physical therapy at 4 months old for about 4 weeks. They said what causes it is the baby gets a tight neck muscle (from being tucked in so tightly in the womb with their little head tilted one direction). They had us do stretches and things (which he screamed at for 10 minutes straight) at home and of course tons of tummy time. Now the little guy is 11 months old and has a perfectly symmetrical noggin. If your little one continues to favor one side perhaps you could mention physical therapy or to learn stretching techniques that you could use to help loosen the muscles.

Hy J.,

My nephew had a flat spot and it was getting to the crunch decision time about a helmet, they were still able to "fix" it without one. Lots, lots of tummy time, turn his little head whenever you see it on that side, watch him for habits (like when he is in a bouncy, etc, to see when he goes to the flat side the most) and avoid those triggers, and just hold and love on him, rubbing head sounds like a good calming thing for both of you and if it works, what great bonus bonding time.

I find it so interesting - I had only heard of this problem briefly before, and now we know 5 close friends and family members that have gone through this recently...weird!! At any rate, I wanted to let you know that all of the babies ended up being fine without any further intervention, just being careful about positioning and doing gentle stretching - maybe your Dr. could show you. Good luck!! =)

Hi. My son, 3 months, also has a flat spot. His doctor told me the same thing. Tummy time, turn his head the other way everyday. She said most correct themselves because the brain is growing so quickly. If at 4 months it is still a problem she said there were special soft helmets to help fix it. It's called Plagiosephaly (not sure if that is spelled right). When the doctor said it could make his face asymmetrical, I kinda panicked. But really she said most cases correct themselves.

HI J.!

The nurse is right, don't worry yourself crazy about it. My daughter had a slight flat spot on the side of her head at about 3 months. She sucks her left thumb so her head went that way alot. I started putting her on her right side to sleep. I propped her up with a rolled up blanket and by the next month it was gone. Also, I made a point to rub her head alot, someone told me to do that(not sure who). All you need to do is rotate her each time you put her down. My daughters head is now perfectly round. Again, don't worry!

My son had a flat spot on one side at that age because he favored lying his head on that side. The doc told us the same thing as you. Rotate him for sleeping tummy time all that and he's fine. Hope that helps.

My little cousin had the same problem and they eventually had him wear a helmet. His head is fine now at 3 years old. The helmet just help reshape his head. The whole back of his head was flat from sleeping. It's nothing to worry about. One thing I will suggest is massaging his head. That really helps. Good luck! :)

My sister had this problem with her son...and she followed the dr's directions and never had to do anything else. Her son is now almost a year and doing great!

The same thing happened to my son. I quickly started reducing the amount of time he spent on his back. During naps, I would go in his room and roll him on his side and put a rolled up recieving blanket behind him (so he wouldn't roll the other way). I would make sure to take turns having him nap on his left and right side. Sure enough, it "evened" out his head and he is fine now! Try it.

Although this is second hand observation - my best friends son had "flat head". He had to wear a helmet for quite a while and it had to be on for 23 hours a day. I would suggest finding out right away what you need to do to avoid that. I was surprised at how many kids have this issue, I went with her to one of his appointments and the waiting room was full of helmeted kids.

I just had a little girl (last Friday) and the doctor told us to do neck exercises with her (ear to shoulder - repeat 10 times) after each feeding to strengthen those muscles and keep her from favoring one side thus reducing the chance of a flat spot.

Again, this is second hand advise - so please take that into account.

J., my son had this condition, it's called plagiocephaly. His was more severe and he had to wear a helmet for five months. I don't want to scare you though. When you catch it that early, repositioning can really help. I've known other moms that that has worked with, we just weren't that fortunate. Just keep doing what you're doing!

Be vigilant about make sure that he has tummy time and try to work on his sleeping positions. If after another month, it's not working, get your ped to refer you to Dr. Arlene Rozelle at Children's hospital. She's head of the department. She'll tell you whether or not she'll recomend a helmet. Our son had very bad torocolis. He wore one for over a year. (he was 6 weeks prem and had a head iv that forced him to lay on one side that caused flatting) Dr. Rozelle said lots of peds and nurses say it's no big deal and then when it's too late, it's harder to correct.

Don't worry - 2 months is early :) Mary Free Bed told me 4 months is when they like referals for helmets. Do all the suggestions for repositioning and more than likely he won't need any extra intervention. My son's (prior) doctor kept telling us he'd outgrow his flat spot and didn't tell us to reposition him. By eight months I took matters into my own hands and by then it was too late to fully correct it.

Yes, my daughter had torticollis and it made her head have a flat spot and "swoop".. it freaked me out so bad.. I had to do neck exercises with her to get her head to straighten out some and just kep rotating how she slept, mostly putting her on the side that wasn't flat! It ended up making her face look different and everything! One chubby cheek, one that looked skinny! I was totally obsessed with it, took her to a specialist and everything. Everyone just kept telling me that she would "grow into it" and she would be ok and to keep doing what we were doing.. So I'm happy to say that she is now 4 1/2 and perfect! I started noticing major differences I'd say around 6-9 months, thats when everything started evening out! Good Luck :)

J.,
My 6yr old had the same problem, in his case I just found out that it was because his neck is mis aligned. I recently started taking him to the chiropractor and we are working to round out that side of his head and get his neck in place. I know that every case is different, but don't worry too much.