Flat head

LaciJaxx

Our LO is getting a bit of a flat head. Has anyone tried a Tortle? Our pedi doesn't seem too concerned about it at this point. I've done other measures to try and help like moving his toys so he has to look the other way, moving everything away from his bed on that side, etc... I'm just checking into things in case it doesn't seem to be helping. I really don't want him to have to wear a helmet. I swear this just came out of nowhere. It feels like one day it was fine and then the next day it's flat. Ugh!

https://www.tortle.com/

DrRx

Definitely increase tummy time that you are able to do with him, and try to wear him as much as possible if he is over 7/8 pounds.  I'm not sure what a tortle is. 

Missa_g

In a plagiocephaly board I used to be a part of there were good reviews for the tortle. It came on the market too late for us to use though. Does your son have torticollis? Getting him in with a PT quickly is important if you think it's a possibility. Otherwise tons of tummy time, holding, being in a carrier, etc, is important. Keep him off the back of his head as much as possible during waking hours. FWIW my oldest twin had a helmet and it was ultimately no big deal.

Kelly_12

My LO had the same issue, bam flat spot out of nowhere!
We do tons of tummy time and took him to a chiropractor who helps to adjust his neck since he clearly favors one side. The chiro said he has more muscle tone on one side so he keeps it there and then it gets locked up and tight so he likes that side more.
Anyway since both interventions he is doing much better and it's definitley not as flat anymore.
Goodluck!!

LaciJaxx

I have started putting him in his Boppy for some of his play times during the day too. He loves his Boppy. I place blame on the floor gym. Within a few weeks of getting it, his head was flat. Of course it doesn't help that we have a tile floor in the living room. It's on an area rug but I also put a couple blankets under it for extra padding. After the fact though. I also moved all toys from the side if it that he has a flat spot. So now the only toys are on the other side. The mirror too. That being said, I feel like he has learned a lot from the floor gym. When we first got it, he struggled to control his arms/hands. But shortly after he started to really work at it and now he has great control.

I just looked up torticollis and no, I don't believe he has developed that. He did have a stiff neck though, when I noticed the flat spot. I actually would turn his head the opposite way very gently ever so often and it seemed to have gone away. I think moving the mirror also helped alot, because he likes to look in the mirror. He def prefers to look to the one way but will look the other way also now. We also switched the way we put him in bed so he would only look at the wall on the preferred side.

LaciJaxx

Yes, I too feel a little guilty. I feel like I let him down. I'm def trying to do everything I can to correct it before it gets bad enough for a helmet. I'm not saying that having a helmet would be the end of the world but I'd like to at least try to avoid that. It's really not bad right now but it's bad enough that it worries me. 

I like the idea of the tortle but I'm just not sure if it would work for us. I know he would hate it and would probably wiggle his way out of it. Plus he is pretty warm blooded so I think he'd get hot. I was hoping maybe someone would have tried it and could chime in.

As far as tummy times goes, we try to fit it in at least a few times a day but it doesn't last for more than a few mins before he starts screaming. He's really not a fan. I wish I would have done more earlier, when he didn't mind it. I didn't do it very much early on because his reflux was so bad and of course, that made it worse. We still have to do it before feeding time, when his tummy is closer to empty instead of full.

jenniferraborn

From someone who is dealing with this right now I would like to say that just because they "can" look to the other side does not mean that torticollis is not an issue. I was completely ignorant about the whole situation and did not even know that flat heads were an issue...until we went to our 6 month checkup. My DD "could " look both ways but had a strong preference for looking to the right. Long story short we were treated for tortiollis and that preference is no longer there but she now has to wear a helmet. If I had known I would have looked into it sooner. The helmet is not the end of the world but I wish we could have prevented it. Good job being proactive!

LaciJaxx

Ohhhhhh ... Thank you for the info. I will do more research. He is doing much better but I still think he prefers the one way.

carrotcake06

We have an eval on Tues for one of my boys. He has a strong preference for one side and a noticeable flat spot despite all the "tricks". Well see.

LaciJaxx

carrotcake06 Keep us posted. I hope everything turns out just fine

Gibson824

DD's Tortle came in the mail yesterday after I read this post.  Her flat spot is on the back of her head, so the difficulty that we are facing right now is that she will shake her head a few times and it wiggles off.  We are hoping that it works out in the long run.  An added bonus is how adorable she looks with it on

carrotcake06

lacijacques said:

carrotcake06 Keep us posted. I hope everything turns out just fine

We had our consult on Tues and his flat spot is considered "moderate" but no dx of torticollis so a helmet would most likely not be covered by insurance. His bald spot is moving more towards the center of the back of his head and his face is symmetrical, his ears are ever so slightly off, and he's spending more time "sitting up" these days, so well most likely just continue w repositioning.

I'll look into insurance to see the cost, but at around $2K without insurance, we'll be skipping the helmet unless insurance comes back much more reasonable.

LaciJaxx

Thank you both for the update!!!

Gibson824 - I decided our LO would never keep it on so it would likely just sit in the drawer. He always hated wearing hats. And he is getting where he can grab things now so I'm sure he'd pull it off. Not to mention he gets hot a lot with just a onesie on. He's like his daddy.

Carrotcake06 - Glad to hear your LO doesn't have torticollis. But sorry to hear that might be the difference in you getting a helmet. $2k? Holy cow!!! I really hope it will get better for you since your LO is sitting up more. Our LO is not a fan of tummy time or sitting yet. Ugh.

LaciJaxx

Is this bad? Moderate? Sorry, hard to get him to hold still

Missa_g

@Lacijacques Its hard to tell from the picture but I would personally ask for a referral to a neurologist or cranio-facial specialist. They can take measurements and pictures and tell you how severe it is.

LaciJaxx

Yeah, I just thought maybe you could see it and give an idea how bad it is. I am clueless.

We have to move soon (military) so threre isn't much I can do right now other than try new things and to keep him off that side. We will see our pedi here one more time for his 6 month on Dec 30 and then we pack to move on Jan 2.

That being said we will have a new pedi so maybe we can use that like a second opinion. Unfortunately my LO will be seen on post by a military Dr at our new location without any options for choosing doctors so I really hope and pray that we get a good one who is familiar with preemies.

Thanks for all the input.