DS developing flat spot on head

missmuffetsmum

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 8:43 am

My baby is 3.5mo. He's favoured lying on his back with his head facing his left since birth. I've tried turning his head in his sleep, putting him to sleep on his right side etc but he almost always reverts back to the left. He really dislikes tummy time. When I put him on the floor I try to make sure the left side is a wall and that sometimes helps him look to the right. His head is starting to flatten on the left side Sad

Any tips to help him use the right side too?

Chickensoupprof

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 8:47 am

Tummy time should be done, my son also didn't like it at the beginning but then I lied with him on the his tummy or gave him toys and I put him on his tummy on my lap and he was OK with that. Tummy will always help against a flat head.

mushkamothers

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 8:52 am

Hold him horizontally (side lying) laying on your arm with the weaker side forced to stay up.

You can Google for other exercise ideas, it's called torticollis

Engaging toys (shake something, or black and white cards - I have free jewish ones) to encourage tummy time. Babywear is also tummy time, and holding him on your chest if you're reclining on the couch

bsy

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 9:06 am

Look into torticollis

amother

Oleander

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 9:27 am

You can get a PT eval. With torticollis the younger it is addressed the faster it resolved.
Also look up @babybegin on Instagram

amother

Tealblue

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 10:13 am

What everyone else said. Also,does he have feeding issues? Reflux? Cry a lot? Poor sleep?

amother

Snapdragon

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 10:19 am

Is your stroller flat? Do you use a swing, bouncer, Bumbo?

amother

Cherry

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 10:26 am

My chiropractor told me about something called a Tortle. It’s basically a soft hat that keeps the babies head laying on the side without the flat spot. Worked for my baby

naomi2

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 10:33 am

Check for torticolis or vision issues

amother

DarkMagenta

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 12:00 pm

I’m really not one to shout therapy on every thread but it sounds like you should get him into PT, the sooner the better.

amother

Cadetblue

Thu, Jul 20 2023, 3:50 pm

missmuffetsmum wrote:

Any tips to help him use the right side too?

We had the same. I met with a PT for one session an they showed me a couple of exercises to do. I found it very helpful and would reccomend.
One of the exercises was: when baby is on their back, lead them by the hips to turn to their belly, specifically in the weaker direction. Do it slowly, so the neck muscles work to keep up their head while it's in the air.
Another thing was to try and have baby spend less time on their back so the flat spot has a chance to round out. Obviously on tummy is best, but even just to have baby play in a seat or stroller instead of laying on their back. Holding him like another poster said, on his tummy across your arm, weaker side facing up. When you babywear, try to turn his head to the weaker side.
Wall thing is great. Another way to encourage/tempt baby to turn to that side on his own: mirrors or whatever your baby likes looking at. Including your face! Should be where baby needs to turn to weaker side to see.
If he sleeps in your room, put him so you are to his weaker side. Baby naturally wants to be closer to you and will be drawn to face toward you.
As he gets stronger hopefully you see him voluntarily turn to the weaker side more and more. He also hopefully will tolerate tummy time more.
If he doesn't show improvement, make an appointment with a PT. If you're able to, it would be great to make an appt already just to have someone go over all these things in person with you and your baby.
BH we saw a PT around 3 months who taught me this. By 5-6 months he showed absolutely no preference anymore bH.

missmuffetsmum

Sat, Jul 22 2023, 7:05 am

Thank you everyone, especially the last poster. I don't believe DS has torticollis as he has good movement in both directions. He just turns to his left when he's laying. His neck muscles are quite strong (like my others were) and he's a very happy boy BH, sleeps well etc. Slight feeding issues but same as my others.
It's better for him to be in some sort of seat than laying on the floor? Because he basically goes from bassinet to feeding to floor...

amother

Cadetblue

Sat, Jul 22 2023, 10:48 pm

missmuffetsmum wrote:

Glad I can help! Floor time is pretty important in general for development so I wouldn't get rid of it. But as much as possible to do tummy time instead of back, that is definitely better. Do you find he turns to the side also when playing on the floor? If yes, then I personally would try and limit it and instead have him in a seat. If he's turning equally to both sides and the preference mostly comes only when sleeping, I wouldn't see as much of a need, but would still try and do some and some. The goals in general here are 1. To strengthen the neck muscles on that side and 2. To allow the head breathing time as much as possible so the flatness that is already there can round out. So keeping those things in mind can guide your decision.

amother

Bottlebrush

Sat, Jul 22 2023, 10:57 pm

Do you have a doona? They give horrible flat spots to babies. Don’t use containers for him. Hold baby or tummy time on a mat.

missmuffetsmum

Sat, Jul 22 2023, 11:05 pm

amother Bottlebrush wrote:

Do you have a doona? They give horrible flat spots to babies. Don’t use containers for him. Hold baby or tummy time on a mat.

No doona

What's a container for a baby?

amother

Bottlebrush

Sun, Jul 23 2023, 2:23 am

That’s great that you don’t use a doona. A container is a reference to anything that holds a baby such a swing, exersaucer etc;. You want to limit those.