Flat spot

navyblueladybug · January 2016

Anyone else's baby getting a flat spot on their head? Doctor Google says about 50% of babies these days get one because of the back to sleep campaign. Just curious if anyone else had noticed this.

thatgirlree24 · January 2016

None of my babies had this then again none of them sleep on their back. Even if I try, they roll to their side. Right now LO just learned how to roll on his tummy and likes sleeping like that. I do a lot of tummy time with him to make sure his neck muscles are strong just for this purpose.

ATolentino89 · January 2016

No personal experience but I hear that's why they stress the importance of tummy time so early.

Gingermom15 · January 2016

Henry doesn't have one, but he doesn't sleep flat on his back either because he rolls and puts his face in the mattress. He does lots of tummy time, too.

Bombmom3 · January 2016

It's very common these days because of the back to sleep campaign and also because most folks keep their LO's in their car seats for hours at a time (since the new "systems" allow for car, stroller and even swing use). Mine never got a flat spot for the same reasons pp stated - they either flipped on their stomachs on their own or are side sleepers. All of my babies have had neck and head control within a few hours of birth and all of them rolled on to their sides by seven or eight days old. DD1 I got no sleep with trying to flip her on her back every time she rolled on her belly. Her pediatrician finally told me if she was strong enough to fight me to stay on her tummy I could rest easy that she was unlikely to smother at night since I don't use blankets or toys. Just to lay her on her back and let her flip on her own if she wanted to.

I flip DS each overnight nurse so he isnt lying on the same side all the time to prevent a flat spot on the side of his head. He is a tried and true side sleeper.

navyblueladybug · January 2016

My sisters DS was held all the time and he couldn't sleep for the first year unless he was being held! Wouldn't sleep more than 2 hours at night and naps were sitting in a chair with him 2.5 hours twice a day. I babysat him one summer and refused to have this happen to my future kids. Well, DD is 8 weeks and sleeping 7 hours at night and naps on her own, but yeah... Flat spot. She HATES tummy time, so I'll have her do it on my chest and she likes that better. Im wondering though if it's mostly from feeding. It's on the right side of her head, and she's FF and I'm right handed so that's the side she's resting on my arm when I'm feeding her. I'll have to flip sides every other time.

pupsicle23 · January 2016

I'm worried that DD is developing one, although my husband says I'm being paranoid. We do tummy time several times a day, and I'm trying to mix up where she sleeps... she used to sleep on her side, but is all about sleeping on her back. Probably so that she can flail her arms to her heart's content. I'm not sure what else to do about it.

Mizuiro007 · January 2016

DS couldn't stand tummy time for a long time and had to be held to sleep. One thing we found is you can do the colic hold and build up to tummy time that way as well as help avoid flat spots.

DD moves herself around between back and sides enough as she sleeps we havent had to worry about it with her yet.

angelicac06 · January 2016

My LO sleeps on his back at night and in his bouncer during the day. After I read this I checked his head and it looks fine, lol. My LO grunts and flails his arms while he sleeps a lot so he constantly moves his head. It never stays in the same spot. Honestly though I should probably do more tummy time.

ATolentino89 · January 2016

Off topic but.... The arm flailing!! I could watch this all day! I don't know why but it makes me laugh every time.

Mizuiro007 · January 2016

ATolentino89 said:
Off topic but.... The arm flailing!! I could watch this all day! I don't know why but it makes me laugh every time.

This. I woke up a couple nights ago to DD talking away at her crib mobile and she had arms and legs going so she was bouncing. She looked so excited and way too awake for 4am. However, it was too cute so I gave in and turned the mobile on.

Gingermom15 · January 2016

ATolentino89 said:
Off topic but.... The arm flailing!! I could watch this all day! I don't know why but it makes me laugh every time.

Henry really gets going after naps and gets the RNP rocking by himself.

LaceyH13 · January 2016

Mine has a pretty severe case of flat head. It was already flat when he came out of the womb because of the way he was positioned in my pelvis. To top it off he has a wicked case of torticollis on one side of his neck, so when he lays on anything he favors one side over the other, so that side is particularly flat. His pediatrician is keeping a close eye on it. She said it isn't the worst case she has ever seen, but if it isn't getting better around his 4 month appointment she will probably send us to physical therapy. Then if it is still bad by his 6 month checkup we will need to see a plastic surgeon about a helmet.

We do tummy time as much as we can and do at-home exercises for the torticollis, but it is hard. The muscle in one side of his neck just isn't developed as much as the other so it is painful for him to turn it that way. Chest-to-chest tummy time is the best, and we lay him on his back and lay on his bad side to try to get him to naturally turn his neck the opposite direction. Nothing makes me feel like a worse parent than forcing my baby's neck to the side knowing he is crying because it is painful.

dmendo01 · January 2016

How long do you guys do tummy time? I try 10 minutes with her daily but she isn't a big fan so once she starts crying I usually end the session. She does naps and sleeps at night in her RNP. I try to kind of lay her to where her head will lay opposite sides every other time she goes in there but I know flat spots are a risk with the RNP.

LeggoxMyxPreggo · January 2016

My mother rotated me and my siblings like she was incubating eggs to help shape the head (using pillows as props for sideways sleeping etc).

I know the docs all say to only let them sleep on their back but I followed that tradition for day time napping where he was being monitored. No flat spots

Elizabella85 · January 2016

My LO sleeps on her back in a RNP at night and naps in a different bouncer, my arms, or a carrier during the day. She has bad acid reflux so laying flat is problematic for her. I've been worried about flat head because of the RNP, but no signs of one yet. I just try to get her off the back of her head during the day. It helps that she likes turning her head to either side when sleeping too.

BellaM110 · January 2016

I've been paranoid about my LO getting a flat head also. He sleeps in a RNP and everytime we do tummy time he rolls to his back and I am constantly turning him back to his belly. I've been propping him up with the boppy and having him get some tummy time that way cause it keeps him from flipping.

redfallon · January 2016

Holding your baby on your shoulder or on your chest also counts as tummy time. Anything where they can lift their head up and use those muscles counts. (per our pedi)

pupsicle23 · January 2016

So I had to go to the pediatrician today for other reasons, and I mentioned the flat spot. She said it was super common now and that it should fix itself when she's crawling and moving around.

millieb14 · March 2016

Wanted to bring back into conversations. My LO doesn't prefer one side or anything but she is a very good sleeper and sleeps on her back with her head usually turned to one direction or the other. She sleeps a 7/8 hour stretch followed by another 2 hour stretch at night. My question/issue is whether a "flat head" is super noticeable. The back of her head isn't round like a ball but definitely not totally flat up and down. I worry I'm just paranoid. I carry her/hold her/bouncy chair pretty much anytime she is awake. She can completely hold her head up and look around but doesn't love true on her stomach tummy time. Anyone else worry about this or have thoughts? my pediatrician said her head looked fine at her 2 month appt

navyblueladybug · March 2016

DD's spot hasn't gotten any worse. She prefers to look to the right so I've been holding her a lot more and trying to do some neck stretches because she looks like she has Torticollis. She's due for her 4 month pedi appointment at the end of the month so I'll talk to the pedi then about it, but I've been doing a lot of research. I was worried she would need a helmet and not a lot of insurance companies cover it because it's "cosmetic." They're really expensive too. But there are lots of articles online that say flat spots round out when babies start sitting up and crawling around and they aren't even sure if helmets do anything. They do, but would the baby's head round out on its own eventually? The studies say they will. I'm still going to talk to her pedi, but I'm going to keep holding her more and stretching her neck in hopes she starts looking left more because of it.

LaceyH13 · March 2016

the physical therapist treating my LO said there is little to no evidence that helmets make any difference when you compare an 18 month old with one and an 18 month old without one. She has instead recommended 6-12 months of physical therapy which IS covered by insurance (and no cost to us because of a city-wide program we went through).

if the plagiocephaly were truly an issue, you would know it. There is absolutely no doubt that my 3 month old has a flat head. And even with his incredible flat-need his pediatrician said he should be fine - she has seen way worse cases end up perfectly fine.

And FWIW the physical therapist also said that laying directly on the floor was better than bouncy seats or swings, etc., because it allows for full range of motion of the neck whereas apparatuses don't.

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