Flat spot

gymnst1013 · August 2011

Will mild flat spots generally work themselves out as a baby gets older? N's head has always been slightly lopsided - probably no one would notice but MH and I. The pedi is keeping an eye on it but said it is likely nothing to worry about but I'm still concerned. Not because I think it will affect his health - more because I want (vainly) him to have a perfectly round little head!

He always laid with his head to one side which I think exacerbated the flatness. We've worked with him so that now he looks the other direction but at night he still prefers to sleep with his head on the flat spot side.

Anyway, will something like this round out or is he doomed to have a lopsided head?

BRSaugust20 · August 2011

We noticed J's flat spot and the fact that he always looked left and brought it up at our 2 month appt. Our pedi sort of brushed me off and told us to stretch him the other way. I bought it up again at his 4 month appt because it wasn't getting any better. We wound up doing PT to deal with the torticolis and did the helmet to help with the plagiocephaly.

I am glad your pedi sounds like they are watching it more closely. J was in the helmet for 3 months and it made a huge difference. The first few days were rough but he adjusted fine after that. It was more annoying to us because it we couldn't snuggle, etc.

sescms2004 · August 2011

Our DS was born with torticollis (due to his position in utero), and it lead to a flat spot. I started noticing it around 2 mos old. Mentioned it to pedi, he dismissed it (as most pedis do), and said it would 'round out on it's own'. Well, after months of physical therapy, repositioning, and doing everything we could to help him, we finally got a consult for a helmet. I would say keep doing what you can for repositioning. Lots and lots of tummy time (even though he'll probably hate it...gradually work up to more minutes at a time....2 min...4 min...6 min...).. If you still notice it at 5 mos, I would get a consult for a helmet. There is a prime window to have it treated, and it lessens the amt of time they're in it.

You're doing all the right things for now....and it just might resolve itself. But, be sure to keep a close eye on it.

sourpop · August 2011

One of my girls had torticollis (but we didnt notice a flat spot) - it was more of her tilting her head to one side. We noticed it around 2.5 months. Pedi got us into physical therapy right away. PT was awesome, we only went twice b/c they taught us stretches to do at every diaper change, and it worked quickly (i want to say it took about 3 weeks to get her all straightened out). We went in for a follow up and she was good to go, but they wanted us to keep up with the stretches until she was about 10 mons, but we only had to stretch her twice a day.

I would call pedi and tell him you want to go to phsyical therapy. PT went on and on about how important it is to catch early, so you can correct it. Oh and PT was a good experience, it was basically like walking to a play area/gym with mats and toys everywhere. The PTs were all young girls who were super nice.

Dragonfly1226 · August 2011

P had the same thing. He always faced one side when sleeping so his head was lopsided. Once he became more mobile and was able to roll over it got better. He now rolls to his stomach to sleep and rolls/creeps all over while he is playing so he hardly spends any time on his back. We were just at the pediatrician, and she says it looks a lot better. At 4 months she was ready to send us to a specialist. By 6 months she said it looked okay. I think it looks a to better.

armywife76 · August 2011

Ditto the positioning suggestions for a month or so, but if it doesn't get better or he continues to favor that side, I'd recommend a helmet consultation. They can measure and tell you how much it's off normal and if they think it will help your situation. We missed the prime window, but had some dramatic improvements after 5 months of wear that I know wouldn't have corrected on it's own. I can show you before and after pics if you want to see. GL!

gymnst1013 · August 2011

Thanks for your input ladies. I'm going to ask for a consult at our next appt. He'll be going in for vax next week. I do think I see some improvement from before we started encouraging him to lay with his head the other way, but their is definitely room for improvement.

Armywife, I'd like to see pics if you don' t mind.

armywife76 · August 2011

Sure! Here are the before and after pics: https://whosayslifeisfair.blogspot.com/2011/04/before-and-after-helmet-pics.html

And one from right before we got the helmet: https://whosayslifeisfair.blogspot.com/2010/12/ohr-update-and-other-news.html

We had great results--not perfect, but much, much better. I think if we would have started earlier, it would be perfect now. I still notice it sometimes, but most people probably don't. Unfortunately, we had to push hard for the helmet referral. We got so sick of hearing "don't worry, it will round out on it's own." If your pedi is supportive, that's pure awesomeness!

Good luck and please page me with any questions you have. LucyP is the resident helmet expert, and I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help also.

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