Infant Sleeps on One Side of Head - Any Ideas

My son did that as an infant. I would roll a receiving blanket and place around his head when he slept so he wouldn't turn either way. My mom used to roll a very thin piece of cloth (rolled to size of his head with a little hole in between ) and het him lie on that. He wouldn't turn.
Another thing to do is massage his neck on the side he doesn't turn towards and slowly turn his head to the other side. We were told his neck muscles on the side he doesn't use could be stiff, so massaging helps. Also if he always sleeps on one side , whenever he is awake try to turn his head to the other side(always) so that he uses both sides.
You have to do this all the time during the day. I did it because I didn't want my son to end up using a helmet as well. He was fine. Just make sure his head is not becoming flat on one side and keep turning his head to the other side.

I noticed my daughter would only look to her left - follow a toy with her head until it reached a certain point on the right and then she'd stop.

My ped said it was a shortening of the muscles in that side of the neck and taught us some gentle stretches we could do. She said it wasn't bad because her head was still shaped well, but she said if it didn't get better we'd need to do physical therapy.

However, the stretches worked really well. She didn't seem to mind them. Ask your ped or see if you can find gentle stretches you can do for her. I would try to explain them, but it was a while ago (over a year) and I don't think I'd describe them that well...

I'm a pediatric PT and see this ALL the time. Even if neck muscles don't look right, chances are they are getting that way. The skull is malleable (reshapable) Up to a year, meaning it needs to be corrected BEFORE then, not wait till then. If, after 6 weeks of VERY DILIGENT repositioning and LOTS AND LOTS of tummy time (keeping pressure off the flat spot)--if it isn't better by then, you need to see about the helmet. Better now when it's cold out, and better to start before 6 months old if needed--better success rate. I haven't read your other resposnses, but the 'big deal" about a misshaped head includes: If you look closely, her eyes may be misaligned, ears are not symmetrical (potentially affects hearing, equilibrium, balance, not to mention trying to fit glasses later in life if needed), jaw will be misaligned (all those bones and muscles get shifted off of their ideal align,ent), etc. Keep her OUT OUT OUT of bouncy seats and swings as much as possible--they "allow" her to be in that position and continue to put pressure on the flat side. The skulll will grow where it has room to grow (the areas without pressure). As she gets flat, it's easy for her to rest in that position compared to "balancing" on the round (normal) spots. TUMMY TIME--I can't emphasize it enough, even if she hates it. It's necessary for a "bazillion" reasons. When she's awake, have her lie on the side that is NOT flat as much as possible while you are with her. Not trying to flatten the round side, but rather trying to keep pressure OFF the flatter spots so it can fill in; this will not work for much longer b/c she will figure out how to roll. Be diligent for the next 6 weeks. Good luck!

Put her on her stomach in the day time and turn her head from side to side each time you lay her down. If you lay her down with head to right one time then next time put her on stomach with head to left side. You can have really bad issues if you don't take care of it now. It can make her neck so you have to have therapy too. Not just a helmet. I had 8 children now all grown. All but one of them slept on the stomach from birth on, in those days it was normal to do that and nobody I ever knew or heard of had crib death. So if you don't want to do it at night please do it in the daytime where you are able to keep an eye on her for your own peace of mind. I know doctors can also tell you exercises to do for that, can't remember what they medically call it when the neck goes only one way, but I'd ask a doctor who knows about it what you could do besides gently turn her head several times in a row as an exercise. My one daughter did that with one of her twins who also preferred one side to turn his head to no matter what. We rolled a small blanket and put it beside his cheek when he was in the swing, etc. so he couldn't turn it that way but they still struggle to do it. Don't let it go though. Rarely, if ever, did I see a flat or misshapen head when kids slept on stomachs in the old days. If nothing else be sure to rotate however you lay them down. At her age now though you may not be able to keep her head the direction you put it when she's down even on stomach. See a good doctor who may be able to recommend a good therapist to give you exercises that help.

Sounds like she might have a mild torticollis...tightening on one side of the neck. I would ask your pediatrician for a referral to PT or OT for her ASAP. This is much easier to correct earlier & she could possibly avoid the use of a helmet.

During naps, I'd actually turn my LOs head to the other side. They always conked out so hard that they wouldn't notice me turning it.
Nighttime, you kinda just have to deal with it.

But for naps, if you're thinking of it, try turning her head yourself. If she's really out, she'll probably stay that way.

The infant car seat head pillow worked great. My daughter was born with an extreamly lopsided head. Very noticable. Her nose was smooshed to one side and her eye appeared much higher than the other. I asked the nurse about it and she said it would stay like that. She was very wrong. While her nose took several months to not look smooshed (like a finger was holding it to one side on the tip) her eyes re allined. I asked our pedi about it and he said dont worry about it. She is almost two and her head shape has grown back to normal. No head gear at all. I almost forgot her head was so missappen. She was laying too long on my pelvic bone and caused the misshapes on her face and head. Of course she favored one side and her hair was rubbed bald because she favored it so much. Try to relax about it and not stress they will do what they want. We just flipped both our kids back to the correct position as much as we could.

I second the recommentation to see a chiropractor. I worked in a chiro office for years and was amazed at how a treatment or 2 could help these infants to sleep better and not favor one side. Make sure it a Doctor that has experience with infants.

Please look into physical therapy. Talk to your pedi about it. If she's able to easily turn her head to one side but doesn't to the other, it means her neck muscles are tighter on one side. PT can very quickly help her gain the strength in the other side of her neck and teach you how to do stretches and exercises with her. Also, keep it up with propping her head.

We didn't do as well as we should have for one of my girls and she has a lopsided head at age 4.5. It's not horrible and no one will really notice unless she cuts her hair really short... but I feel awful that neither I nor the pedi realized that she PT until it was too late.

My DD would turn her head, but had enough daytime tummy time or holding time that her head did not get misshapen. When she's awake, encourage her to look the other way (put her on her tummy, put something fun on the other side, like you) and see if that doesn't help. If she can't look the other way, look into PT.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned chiropractic care. All three of my little ones saw a chiropractor shortly after they were born. It started when I noticed that my first wouldn't turn his head very easily to a certain side. I asked my chiropractor about it when I went in for my own adjustment (I slipped and fell down the stairs hitting my tailbone a few weeks before I was pregnant and had to deal with that discomfort throughout the pregnancy.) My chiropractor said that it's common for that to happen to babies who happen to be "stuck" in on position for a long time in utero. He figures that's what happened with my first.

The adjustments were so gentle (pressure you'd put on a tomato) and it took just a couple of visits and he was turn his head either way easily.

I took my second in because I figured he needed to be looked at as he was a very big baby (10 lbs 5 oz!) and I figured he had to have be squashed for some time! Again, just a few adjustments and he was fine.

I just took my littlest (she's six weeks) to see the chiropractor on Monday. It was just for a checkup, but I had noticed that whenever I ran my hand down her back she squirmed away. She was laying transverse in utero and when the dr. did the incision her hand popped out first, so he had to push it back in and manuever her around to get her out. (All three ended up as c-sections as I had complications with my first and a failed v-bac with my second). Her neck was out of alignment on one side and her lower back was out on the other side.

For those who question chiropractic on little ones, think about this- child birth is one of the most traumatic things your child will go through- getting squeezed through a birth canal or messed with during a c-section can do some harm. Every single chiropractor has told me that he's done adjustments/checked over his child shortly after birth.

And my little girl seems to be much more happy as a result of her adjustment. He said that because she was laying transverse it didn't give her body as much room if she had been laying up and down at the end, which is why her back was out.

It's an option for you to try and in the long run, possibly not as expensive as wearing the helmet etc.

Good luck!

Our youngest has sagital craniosyntesis (sp?). So he is always laying his head to one side or the other. He's 2 mo by the way. I prop him to lay on his side. And switch the sides he lays on, since he has trouble turning his head when he is on his back at this moment. Not sure if this helps at all, but it's what we do.

My daughter had the same thing. I did the same as you, propped her up. I also tried to always hold her so if she was snuggled, she was facing the correct direction.

I did LOTS of tummy time.

Just keep at it.

We did end up going to see the plastic surgeon to check to see if she needed a helmet (on the recommendation of our pediatrician) but he assured us it was minor and she'd be fine without the helmet.

My daughter is now 3, and you can't tell at all.

J.