Well LO had a flat spot at his 4 month appt and she referred him to a physical therapist for neck stretches. 3 minutes after I got there they said he needed a helmet and would have to wear it until he is a year old. She did say that he did not have torticollis and did not need neck stretches.
I asked if sitting up or more tummy time would help and she said they find that makes little difference once the flat spot forms.
I want to get a second opinion. Anyone have experience with this?
Re: Helmet!
My niece had a pretty noticeable flat spot as a baby. I can't tell she has one by looking at her now at 8 years old, even though I can feel it. I have read a few articles about them because I overly worry about everything, and I was under the impression that helmets are only required for very severe flat spots. Of course, take that with a grain of salt because I have no medical degree. I'd probably seek out a second opinion just in case, but I wouldn't be opposed to the helmet if it was ultimately determined to be beneficial. Just my thoughts.
I was looking for a post like this. We just had W's 4 month appt. yesterday and they are sending us to a specialist Wednesday to have an ultrasound done of her skull. She has a flat spot on the back right side of her head. It has me worried that something major could be wrong. Did they give any details of why the helmet, is it just to reshape it? Of course I was on the internet all last evening and was reading the worst case senarios
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/nearly-half-babies-have-flat-spots-study-finds-6C10551689
Edit: clarification.
She did say the wait and see idea is not good because I would be wasting time and she said there is little evidence his head would reshape on its own.
Like many of the PP's I would suggest you get a second opinion. I actually was concerned about my DD's flat spot and slight bump on the right as she favors her right side when sleeping so I went ahead and made an appointment to have it checked out as I wasn't comfortable waiting 2 more weeks for her 4 month check-up to get it looked at.
Anyway, we went yesterday and our Ped wasn't overly concerned about it (and trust me it's noticable). He did a serious of neck stretches to test her mobility and was happy with that - no strain on her part. He then sat her up and made sure her facial features were straight and thankfully they were. Finally he felt all around her head a few times to see exactly where the flat spots/bumps were. He then explained that most babies end up gettign a rounder head around 6 months or so as that is when they are sitting up more etc. I asked abuot the helmet and he said she is no where near needing one nor would he recommend I see a specialist; however, they will continue to monitor it at each appt to insure that it is, in fact, getting better.
Here is the "prescription" we were given for our DD:
Hope this helps!
ETA - Obviously, I'm not a Doctor, nor do I play one on TV lol - I just wanted to share what we were told about our DD's flat spot. Gettign a second opinion is never a bad idea when such things are involved.
A little PSA: Target has them for $42 and currently has a Cartwheel coupon for 10% on Fisher Price toys, and you can combine that with 5% off with your Red Card. I planned on doing that today but stopped by Walmart first, where I got the last one on clearance for $32.
I think helmets are overrated. I've got a pretty prominent flat spot on the back of my head and I like to think I turned out just fine and don't look too weird