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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
flat head from sleeping on back???
Ok, so my 2 1/2 month old has a little flat spot on one side of her head. My fiance's family is always pointing it out and saying it is from laying her on her back. (Their whole family chooses to put their baby's to sleep on their tummy, spite the whole sids risk)
They have been trying to convince me to have her sleep on her stomache because of that and also so her neck gets stronger.... I give her tummy time every day.. and I think she is doing just fine.
They showed my now convinced fiance some article about how after 3 months the skull becomes stronger and fuzes together and if there is a huge flat spot it can cause her to get a deformed face, get migranes and have to possibly go through sugery??? Has anyone heard of this?
I am just tired of defending why she should sleep on her back, since that is what every book says, and I am not confortable laying her on her tummy to sleep right now... any advice? TIA 
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Re: flat head from sleeping on back???
I put LO to sleep on her tummy once she's on me. I'm not against naps on her tummy while I'm around, but I am never watching her 24-7 to do this. Flat spots do develop bc of sleeping on their backs, but the permanent head shape is not until around 4 months which is when they start talking about PT and techniques to round out the head. In the mean while, you can try repositioning her head, using a donut hole, rubbing her head in a round way, and lots of tummy time. Some doctors recommend PT as early as 2 mos but my doc is not convinced LO needs it. Some LOs need to wear a helmet to round out their heads if it stays flat and it's expensive ($3000, cranialtech.com) so we're trying to be proactive.
Our ped said LO has a side flat spot bc her neck is shorter on that side so she favors lying on that side. He said it gets corrected with tummy time as her muscles build and the neck will be the same length in a few weeks usually, then she will naturally reposition her head. In the mean while, we are being proactive and doing the things I mentioned above.
I am not against sleeping on her tummy when I can watch her either, but I am not able to watch her 24/7 either.I have been trying to lay her on her sides and making sure to alternate...
What is a doughnut hole and how do you use it?
I'm lurking today...
I'm a first timer so I have no idea if this thing actually works, but I've heard about these little helmets that you can put on your baby to keep them from developing a flat spot on their heads. I googled "baby helmets for flat head" and quite a few results came up. Just something to check out if you're interested. GL!
Maybe this....https://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Noggin-Support-Brown-Wheels/dp/B001O9F6M8
This.
My daughter has a slight flat spot that she was born with from how she was positioned after she dropped. We are using a boppy noggin at night and she doesn't mind that. We have her in PT now because she favors turning her head to the right. This has caused a slight case of torticolis (sp?) and we are doing streches with her 5x a day to help stretch that neck muscle. It is ealier than a lot of people do this but at this age it is MUCH easier to have them do the exercises then when they get older and can wiggle away.
My brother is an orthotist and specializes is cranial molding helmets, which are used to correct flat spots or other shape issues on children's heads. He had me really worried about DS's head so I asked him what I can do and he said repositioning is really important and to not let him lay on his back all day. He says this has become a trend since the "Back to sleep" campaign began and isn't helped by the infant seats that many people use. The issue with the infant seat is that baby is rarely out of it when running errands during the day and some people even sit their child in it around the house. He also said try not to just sit him in his swing for super long periods of time. A lot of the things that pp suggest should help.
I have these! haha I do not want to be paying $3000 but we'll do it if we have to. My friend's baby has to do it and she hates it bc when they go out in public, people always ask if the baby has cancer...wtf. But she said otherwise, the only prob with it is that it's expensive!