Flat Spot on Head

I think a lot of times it corrects itself, but I would ask the pediatrician about it. Do you do a lot of tummy time with him? That would help a lot. I would also carry him around in a sling part of the day, so that he is not always laying down, in a swing, etc...

Hi M., My youngest child had the same thing. His Pediatrician even had me take him to a therapist who taught me how to lay him down, hold him, etc., as if I didn't know, as I have had three others before him, but did not have this problem. Well, this didn't last very long, as my Friends told me that that was a common thing and he did not need therapy. I tried the wedge pillow, stuffing blankets snuggly and the whole bit, but he still had the flat spot (you could tell he loved sleeping on that side), on the left side of the back of his head. Nicholas finally started moving around, so he wasn't just sleeping in the same position. Now at 18 1/2 months, the flat spot is gone and you would never tell my looking at him, that he even had one in the first place. Don't get yourself stressed like I did, it will go away when he becomes a toddler. Take Care M.... :)

Hi M.,

Infants usually favor one side because parents do too. Do you always lay him on the same side to change his diaper? Do you put him to sleep a certain way? Do you prop up his head on the other side and make him lay directly on his other side of his head? My son had a favorite side of his head and it was to the point where I would stand to the side I wanted him to look to get those neck muscles going. Or when he was in a bouncer chair I would fold roll up a blanket to get his head to lay straight on the chair. My son still has a flat right side, and a round left side on his head. Hes almost 5 now, but they said there is nothing they can do. Your child is pretty young still to correct the problem, try just to encourage your son to look the way you want his head turned. The doctor at the time told me that when he was older his head would shape up regular, but it never did. I wish now I would have tried harder to not let him favor that side! Good luck!!

M.,

We had a similar issue with my son. He always wanted to lay on a certain side. He had a flat spot and the Dr. said to rotate what side we layed him down on. I would also try tummy time and anything that keeps him off of the back of his head for a bit. My son hated tummy time and would scream, but try it for a bit. If you are seriously concerned - call your pediatrician. My pediatrician said that it will usually correct itself once the child starts sitting up and is off of the back of the head so much. good Luck!

L.

We too noticed a slight flat spot at 2 months, I ignored it and tried to reposition, but it got worse. At 4 months we took him to Cranial Technologies and had him fitted for a DOC band. If it is moderate to severe, you will want to check into that...there website is www.cranialtech.com A great resource is the group on Yahoo, Plagiocephaly (which is the medical term for it). My son wore the band from about 5 months to 7 1/2 months and looks great. We had a year and a half battle with our insurance company to cover it, but we finally won and were reimbursed 100%. My suggestion would to get educated about it and listen to your "parent" intuition in making the decision for your child.
K.

Try more tummy time, or a play saucer/walker if he is sturdy enough to balance himself for a while. I have also rolled a burp rag into a roll and placed it under the flatter side while swinging or in boucy chair I have found that it does help I think it puts more of the head weight onto the not so flat side. Also ask the doctor on his next visit. I have watched several children that came here with flat spots and none of them have ever had to wear a helmet, One was really bad the entire back of his head was flat and bald I am talking about a 4X6 inch spot, it was really bad and he is fine now he never had a helmet.

My son had this same problem and my doctor recommended some exercises to strengthen his neck and we had to make sure we put him on his tummy during the day for some tummy time. It took a few months but it did end up going back to normal.

Check with your pediatrician but I don't think that flat spots always require a helmet.

We have a nearly-3-month old baby girl who favours the right side of her head. It started going flat so we took the head cushion out of her carseat and put it in her crib so she can't turn her head in bed. So far it's worked really great - hope this helps !

Your child's pediatrician will need to make a referral. We have an appt this month for our 2 month old son with Cranial Technologies DT Phoenix. He has a stiff neck and rarely likes to do tummy time. My first son, who's almost 4 y.o. now, had the same problem but not stiff neck and liked to do tummy time, but never was referred to get band/helmet. My friend's daughter has a Band on her head and said she also had to get physical therapy/neck exercises. She said she had it on for 6 months and then a new one after that for another 4 months. She said it gets really sweaty in the summer.

My son went had a very bad flat spot when he was 4 months old. We took him to a physical therapist who did some stretching exercises for his neck and taught us how to do it at home. After stretching and growing more it all worked out. He just turned four and his head is perfect now!

Hi M., our second son wore such a helmet from about 6 months until he was 9 months. We ( and the pediatrician) did not notice the flat spot, until his whole head was completely asymmetric. That seemed to happen very fast. As the face was already asymmetric the pediatrician highly recommended the helmet. If it is only a flat spot, it might not be nessecary for your son, but you might want to watch it carefully. Also, you should ask your pediatrician to consider physical therapy, because your son might have Torticolis, which means, that one neck muscle is shorter than the other one. Perhaps you can avoid the helmet. Feel free to contact me, if you have any further questions, especially if it turns out, that you have to consider the helmet. I know it is a hard decision. Good luck
A.

My son had surgery to remove part of his skull at 2 mos of age, and we had to be VERY careful of rotating his head so that he didn't develop a flat spot. (He had craniosynostosis) We looked into getting a "helmet", but they were VERY expensive (over $1000), there was no proof it worked for my son's condition, and United Healthcare wouldn't cover it. There is a group in AZ that can help you get one if it would be a financial hardship.
To rotate his head, we bought the wedge pillows from Babies R Us, but what we did for the most part was put him to sleep in his swing, and roll up a blanket and stuff behind him on one side, and the next night, the other side etc.
Your first step is to talk to your pediatrician, though. And if your pediatrician looks "lost" as to what to do, get another opinion from another pediatrician. The pediatrician when my son was born didn't say anything about the ridge down his head, but when I took him to his "real" pediatrician, she immediately started testing and referrals.
Good luck.