Help! Flat Head--plagiocephaly

Does your son and daughter-in-law take your child to her well-being checkups? Have they said anything about it?

Quite honestly, if I were you I'd make one more inquiry then let it be. I understand that you're looking out for the well-being for your granddaughter, but unless you consider your son to be completely negligent, I'm pretty sure they too are looking out for their daughter.

Others may disagree with me, but I think this is overstepping your boundaries if you continue to push this. Make one more effort, then let the parents do the parenting.

My daughter had the same condition due to torticollis in her neck. She wore a helmet for a little over 3 months. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to see pics. I was very worried about the whole situation, but the baby never minded wearing the helmet and the results were very good. I believe Cranial Tech will do a free consultation, but you may need a doctor's referral. My insurance covered the helmet, but I have heard other insurance companies will not approve it. Your granddaughter is lucky to have such a concerned grandma :)

By the way, we went through Cranial Tech in Glenview and they were fantastic!

My son had the same issue. He was born with a full head of dark hair so we only noticed it when he was able to sit up by himself in the tub. Then we could really see it when his hair was wet.
This was when he was about 8 months old or so.
He got plenty of tummy time, he didn't spend all his time in the swing, bouncy chair or car seat.
Some babies don't have enough space in the womb and their heads don't grow properly.
My son was born at the time when "back to bed" was starting so this is also an issues with some babies.
My son got his helmet right before his first birthday and wore it for 3 months 23 hours a day. He had no issues with it.
As most children won't. It actually worked out well for us because he was learning to walk and when he would fall he had protection.
The older a child gets the harder it is to "correct" the skull. If I had this done when he was younger we would have had better results. But we are happy with the ones we got.

It breaks your heart to think your baby isn't perfect, I was not happy with the decision to do the helmet, but am very happy that we did do it.

When your granddaughter is laying in her crib try laying her where her feet were or switch her toys to the other side so she is putting pressure on the other side of the head. And like another M. said, tummy time is a must.

You and your family can go to a consultation with the wonderful people at cranial tech. You are under no obligation to get the helmet, and they can give you some exercises to help with the neck.
This is not always covered by insurance and it not cheap, but I thought it was worth it.

We went to the one in Oakbrook and the people there were very nice.

Good Luck to you and your family.
If you have any other questions feel free to email me.

Mary

Any decent pediatrician would be looking at this at every visit. I would think that if this baby needed a helmet, that process would begin relatively soon. I have a friend who's baby girl is wearing one now & she was born in november of 2007.
Is the baby getting plenty of tummy time? Babies who are on their backs all the time can end up with this problem... especially since they also have to sleep on their backs...

My first son had a flat head too. From the front it looked fine but from the side the back of his head was completely flat. I too was concerned and the doctor recommended a helmet but he would have had to wear it for 23 hours a day.I decided against that so my doctor suggested more tummy time and to put a light blanket under one side of his head as he slept so he wouldn't be laying completely on the back of his head.
Today he is almost four and has a full head of hair and you can barely notice it.

Hi J.!
I am a mother of an 11 mo. old daughter who had a similar problem. The left side of the back of her head was flatter, which caused the front right (forehead area) to be a little "pushed back" as it seemed. I did consult with my doctor and he recommended a helmet. It was not a necessary treatment, but as a cosmetic issue. My daughter was 6 1/2 mo. when she received it and wore it for 2 mo., and only that long because we already had it. When we went to the hospital to get fitted, they didn't really think it was necessary, but with having little hair, it was too obvious to me, and without knowing how much it would correct itself, I did not want to pass up on the opportunity to make it better. So now, she may have a little bit more hair but it looks a lot better. I would never know if it would have corrected itself to this degree, so I am glad that I did go through with it.

Have they consided consulting with a chiropractor? I recently discussed this issue with my chiro and he said that helmets only force the head into another shape instead of getting to the root of the reason it is misshapen. This can cause other problems for the child. My chiro does cranial sacral therapy work and it really helped my son. He carried his head to the right when he was born and had a hematoma. He's doing great now.

I'm happy to give you my chiro's info to help. Email me if you are interested.

T.