Help with flat head

[frodabaggins]

Hi my boos. Just got back from baby's two month check up, and I never noticed she has a side she favors. So we've now got flat head on her right side. Doc said it's "significant", but totally reversible. He's giving me a month to work on it and then we'll check back in and see if we need to move on to physical therapy or possibly wearing a helmet.

First of all, I kind of feel like a crap mother that I didn't notice. He told me NOT to feel that way and gave me hugs, but I can't help it. I mean, I knew she preferred my left boob to breastfeed on, but other than that didn't see it. Anyone else been through this and can give me advice?

The other thing is she starts in daycare in 3 weeks. He gave me a note for them, explaining that they need to make sure she's turning to the left and not favoring her right. I love my daycare providers and they're the same ladies who took care of my son, so I know they will respect it.

She sleeps flat on her back at night in a bassinet and mostly naps in my arms and on my chest.

The last thing is that I didn't know she's supposed to be getting an hour and forty five minutes of tummy time. Again with the guilt because I haven't been doing NEARLY that much.

Thanks in advance!

[redhead610]

No help with the flat spot, but do not feel like a crap mother!! These things happen and it's not your fault.

But...an hour and 45 min of tummy time? What?? That sounds insane. Ds2 just started liking tummy time and I thought I was doing great with about 20 min a day. Did the doc elaborate on that - Is it supposed to include time on your chest? Because that also gets them off their back and working the neck/shoulder muscles.

[hannahbear]

Not your fault!! Sending big, big hugs your way.

[jennybeans]

Don't feel bad! It's so common with babies sleeping on their backs.
If you want, you could try seeing a chiropractor in the meantime to see if there is muscle tightness that causes her to favor that side.
We went to one after getting E's tongue and lip tie cut on the recommendation of the dentist and when he was explaining what he does with infants he talked a lot about how they have tight spots that may cause preferences. E was showing a slight preference to her right and after he worked with her she was much more willing to turn to the left and sleep with her head to the left. Before that even when I turned her head to the left when I laid her down she would end up turning back to her right.

[gratefulgirl]

DD2 still has a slight flat spot at 2. Only I can tell. Around 7-9 mo. at its worst she had one eye slightly smaller than the others, so we saw the helmet people. No joke they told us it was not worth the $$$ in her case. DD3 has a flat spot too. Pedi won't send us to the helmet people unless it impacts facial development or motor skills, so we are watching it.

The thing is, both girls had it from before birth. They wedged themselves into my hip and it developed there. With DD2 I did not notice until 4 mo! No one else noticed at all except the pedi, who did not make a big deal of it. So I know first hand how easy it is to miss.

An hour and 45 minutes of tummy time is longer than I have seen even pediatric PTs recommend. I mean, that's most non-feeding awake time for some kids! Do what you can, sure. But don't sweat what you can't. The blogs Pink Oatmeal, Mama OT, and Can Do Kiddo all have great tummy time tips. Since DD3 rolls out of tummy time now today her tummy time was airplane rides on my knees.

[elm1214]

Don't feel bad! DD1 had torticollis and favored one side. She had a significant flat spot on one side. She started PT at 2 months and was evaluated by the children's hospital plagiocephaly clinic at 5 months to see if she needed a helmet. Technically her measurement fell within their limits for a helmet, but they said they thought she was ok. It got much better when she was able to sit up on her own.

I went through all that with her and yet I still don't do nearly enough tummy time with DD3! I'm lucky to do like 15 minutes a day, whoops.

[elm1214]

You can alternate which direction you lay her in the crib/bassinet and that may get her to face the other direction.

[hannahbear]

Oh gosh, this has me worried about tummy time, too!

[remylove1011]

I work in early intervention and thats a crazy high recommendation. I'd be shocked of anyone was able to do that with a baby this age. I have heard a range of recommendations. The big thing is to try it a few times a day for as long as they will tolerate. My DD will only do 8-10 minutes at a time before she's fussy/upset.

[meagpt22]

No flat spot advice. But that seems like a lot of time unless the pedi is adding in time on chest.
On another note, when I place DS on his tummy on floor he basically passes out, no attempts to lift head. Haha.

[frodabaggins]

Thank you to all of you - when I'm on my computer tomorrow I will tag you all to say a better thanks. I really appreciate the responses!

[hollyberry]

Baby boy has a flat spot andnwe go to a therapist for it. She also says to put him on hia belly as much as possable bit didn't give me a time of how long. He juat does a few minutes before he starts to scream and we try to do that a few times a day. I was also told to make sure we feed him only on his good side. Of course you can't do that is he is BF. We moved his bed to the other side of the room to hopefully make his turn his head in the other direction to see what there was to see. (This didn't work for us, but maybe will for you) all hia toys are put on the good side to force him to look in that direction. Or they are put right in the center so he looks straight on (when on the play mat with the toys over him) we were also told to just have one toy on the play mat (the part that goes over him) to direct him to look the way we want.

Don't feel like a bad mother. I also did not notice the flat spot on him until we were told at the drs too. And I never even noticed he favours a side until I was told either. But I understand the guilt, I did feel bad too!

Just do what you can. And now that you know you can do what you can to help it get better! Good luck!

Oh to help with tummy time, you can push on LOs bottom (right in the middle-to the botton of his bottom) toward the floor and this will help take some of the weight of their head and that may help him lift his head easier. Then it will build up the muscles so he can do it on his own. I basically do not have to push on Baby boy any more after a couple weeks of this.
And with more tummy timwni am sure he will hate it less.
Let me know if you have any other questions I may be able to help with.

[gratefulgirl]

One more resource frodabaggins that should help you as you work on this:

http://instagram.com/p/85qrlYnS8f

[frodabaggins]

hollyberry thank you! Quick question - my doc mentioned that not only does she have the flat spot on the right side, she's gotten so used to looking to the right that her neck muscles on the right are weak. So I swaddled her last night and laid her on her back to sleep as normal, but kept positioning her through the night so she was looking to her left. When she lays on my chest to sleep, should I also be turning her head to the left? This puts her right cheek and part of the right side of her face/head squished against my cheek, but the flat part is in the back so I assumed it's OK and giving her more time with her head turned to the left?

[hollyberry]

@frodabagfins

That's what I would do. The flat spot is in the back so ya I am sure it would be fine. I do that with baby boy even though the spot is also back and to the one side. I assume it ok since its more his cheek thats on me.
Also when I have them on their back I will sometimes use an rattle to get them to look in the direction that they hate or to move their head from side to side. Now baby girl is stubborn and doesn't always donit unless she wants.to. but we still try. I will also do this at tummy time as well once they could lift their head high enough to move it from side to side.

[bocaburger]

Sorry it took me so long to get around to reading and responding to this.

We are dealing with this with both babies. Our pediatrician showed us some stretches to do to help loosen the neck tightness. I've also heard that Mama OT has good info about this but I haven't had a chance to check it out.

We also just ordered a tortle which we plan to use at night when they are asleep. It's basically a hat with a thick portion on one side to keep them from turning in that direction.

[pttomato]

DD has had a definite head turning preference for a while, her pedi agreed she prefers to turn to the left but wasn't concerned about it. Is it possible for a baby to spend a lot more time looking to one side and not develop a flat spot or other problems?

[hollyberry]

Oct 20, 2016 8:19:07 GMT -5 pttomato said:

DD has had a definite head turning preference for a while, her pedi agreed she prefers to turn to the left but wasn't concerned about it. Is it possible for a baby to spend a lot more time looking to one side and not develop a flat spot or other problems?

My guess is that it would be, but just in case I would try some exercises during play time to get her to look the other way. Like putting her favourite toy on the other side or talk to ger from the other side to promote it and to make sure the muscles don't get too tight on the one side. It wouldn't hurt to try at least.

[remylove1011]

Oct 20, 2016 8:19:07 GMT -5 pttomato said:

DD has had a definite head turning preference for a while, her pedi agreed she prefers to turn to the left but wasn't concerned about it. Is it possible for a baby to spend a lot more time looking to one side and not develop a flat spot or other problems?

It doesn't always develop into a flat spot, but typically a turning preference leads to muscle tightening. I'd just be mindful of it and encourage her to look the other way

[frodabaggins]

I'm not getting great sleep since I found out about this...Constantly waking to check her and make sure she's sleeping with her head turned to the left and repositioning her if she's not.

[hollyberry]

Oct 21, 2016 23:13:05 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

I'm not getting great sleep since I found out about this...Constantly waking to check her and make sure she's sleeping with her head turned to the left and repositioning her if she's not.

I am sorry, try not to stress, at first I also wanted to always fix his head as he slept, but he would wake up and then not want to go back to sleep. I am sure if you do what you can during the day, sleeping at night in her preference wont make it worse. Or fix it when you go to bed and then try to just let it be. You can only do so much.

[thelorax]

I've always heard tummy time counts as time when they are off their back- so time in a carrier or hanging out over your shoulder. As long as they are engaging the muscles it doesn't have to be on a mat on the ground.

[frodabaggins]

bocaburger how is the tortle working out? Would you recommend?

Also boca and hollyberry and gratefulgirl, did any of you try the pillows? There are various pillows available on Amazon that I am thinking of trying, but not sure if they're worth it.

[bocaburger]

Nov 1, 2016 10:15:59 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

bocaburger how is the tortle working out? Would you recommend?

Also boca and hollyberry and gratefulgirl, did any of you try the pillows? There are various pillows available on Amazon that I am thinking of trying, but not sure if they're worth it.

So far they kind of hate it so it ends up coming off pretty quickly. Instead we're trying to be more vigilant about turning their heads on the activity mat, etc.

[hollyberry]

Nov 1, 2016 10:15:59 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

bocaburger how is the tortle working out? Would you recommend?

Also boca and hollyberry and gratefulgirl, did any of you try the pillows? There are various pillows available on Amazon that I am thinking of trying, but not sure if they're worth it.

I told the physiotherapist that I used my breast feeding pillow to prop up the babies for tummy time. And she did not seem impressed and said they needed to be on their belly for best results to improve their muscle tone. I have not used it since for that. But the babies still hate tummy time and only last no more then 5 mins at a time. However their control is getting better.

[gratefulgirl]

Nov 1, 2016 10:15:59 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

bocaburger how is the tortle working out? Would you recommend?

Also boca and hollyberry and gratefulgirl, did any of you try the pillows? There are various pillows available on Amazon that I am thinking of trying, but not sure if they're worth it.

Got a Tortle and ended up returning it as reviews were so negative. I have been focusing on repositioning tips from a book I got. The flat spot is holding steady. As long as it doesn't get worse we will avoid a helmet.

[hannahbear]

Oct 22, 2016 15:16:19 GMT -5 thelorax said:

I've always heard tummy time counts as time when they are off their back- so time in a carrier or hanging out over your shoulder. As long as they are engaging the muscles it doesn't have to be on a mat on the ground.

I've been wondering about this - e seems to fall asleep if I put him on the mat. And yet, he's clearly developing strength and can now hold his head up unassisted for a while.

[frodabaggins]

Nov 1, 2016 12:09:26 GMT -5 gratefulgirl said:

Nov 1, 2016 10:15:59 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

bocaburger how is the tortle working out? Would you recommend?

Also boca and hollyberry and gratefulgirl, did any of you try the pillows? There are various pillows available on Amazon that I am thinking of trying, but not sure if they're worth it.

Got a Tortle and ended up returning it as reviews were so negative. I have been focusing on repositioning tips from a book I got. The flat spot is holding steady. As long as it doesn't get worse we will avoid a helmet.

Thanks, is it the book you linked me to above?

[gratefulgirl]

Nov 1, 2016 13:47:43 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

Nov 1, 2016 12:09:26 GMT -5 gratefulgirl said:

Got a Tortle and ended up returning it as reviews were so negative. I have been focusing on repositioning tips from a book I got. The flat spot is holding steady. As long as it doesn't get worse we will avoid a helmet.

Thanks, is it the book you linked me to above?

Yup. I found it helpful.

[frodabaggins]

Nov 1, 2016 13:56:01 GMT -5 gratefulgirl said:

Nov 1, 2016 13:47:43 GMT -5 frodabaggins said:

Thanks, is it the book you linked me to above?

Yup. I found it helpful.

Thanks! I got it on my kindle and reading now.