Flat head syndrome!

[hev&madi]

i want to get one of these

has anyone got one?http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lovenest-Hear...0QQihZ020QQcategoryZ32868QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Dee1985]

its worth getting one of them pillows hev. i wish i had got Harley one, i ordered on recently but he rolls of it.

the back of Harleys head is flat, at first i was devistated, but now im not to nothered... he does sleep with normal pillow now, some contries give the babies pillow in the hospital as soon as they are born to get them used to sleeping with one?

http://www.goigoibabypillows.co.uk/.

 

[hev&madi]

thanks for the link i will be getting on before madi is born

 

[Bagpuss17]

Thanks Bob, if you could check in your catalogue that would be great.

I'm going to do more reading about this and take it from there. I know my husband is concerned about it. I am worried in case he has the same condition as Kinas daughter with regard to the tightening of the neck muscles.

The pillows could be worth a try, I'm not sure I'd be happy with him sleeping with a pillow overnight but certainly during the day when I can keep an eye on him it could be well worth trying.

I've never heard of that one on ebay. I'm going to try and source a new one from somewhere.

 

[skatty]

I'm confused now, I thought pillows were no a good idea because of SIDS? Can't you reduce the likliehood of flat head by letting babies be on their tummies sometimes while they are awake?

 

[Bagpuss17]

Dionne, what's different about that pillow you bought and a normal one?

 

[Dee1985]

Dionne, what's different about that pillow you bought and a normal one?

they are near anough the same apart from the ones on the website are very light. but Harley just has a cheap normal pillow a thinish one thats light. not a big expensive heavy one..


Skatty in the uk the hv say not to use a pillow. but other contries do. so its just a case of looking into it and deciding. just like sleeping with babies causes more chance of cot death but in china they all co-sleep yet in the uk there is a higher rate of cot deaths were here most people dont co-sleep?

im happy for Harley to have a pillow its never gone over his head or any thing

 

[Rosieroo]

I'm confused now, I thought pillows were no a good idea because of SIDS? Can't you reduce the likliehood of flat head by letting babies be on their tummies sometimes while they are awake?

Yup and reducing the amount of time they spend in car seats/buggies.

Bagpuss have you tried positioning his cot so that the light from the window is on the side you want him to turn to? That's something to try. If he really wont keep his head on the other side then I would definately get him checked out by your doctor, personally I found my HV useless. A chiropractor would also be useful. We tried everything with Ella - putting her pram toys on the 'good' side, trying to get her to turn to the good side when we played with her etc but nothing was helping. I just wish I'd paid more attention to my gut feeling when my mum said her face was looking swollen when she was around 6-8 weeks old

There are some basic exercises here to help with tort, though I did find a good website a while back with some proper pics
http://www.pedisurg.com/PtEduc/Torticollis.htm


There are some causes for flat head syndrome here:

if a baby is premature it has a softer skull, which is more prone to being moulded;
it can be caused or started off in the womb, usually due to a lack of space: being a twin or triplet means a baby is more squashed in the womb and the lower baby's head is usually engaged for a lot longer than other babies; lack of amniotic fluid in the womb means a baby has less cushioning against the mother's bones; longer babies get squashed up more; a small mother will cause the baby to be more squashed;
torticollis - this is one of the biggest causes of plagiocephaly and torticollis can often be caused by trauma at birth (a long third-stage of labour, forceps delivery, etc.) or the muscle can shorten as a result of the baby's position while in the womb;
positioning - another of the biggest causes - babies who are on their backs all day are more at risk - they spend lots of time in baby swings, bouncy chairs, car seats, buggies, etc.

This is a good usergroup for anyone with a baby suffering with flat head and considering a helmet. When you see some of the pics of their babies heads you can understand why they chose a helmet and also the good that it did for their child.
http://groups.msn.com/PlagioUK/plagiouk.msnw

 

[Bagpuss17]

I'm going to try one of those cushions from Sweden but not to sleep overnight with, that would worry me. As he was 5 weeks prem, he's still not strong enough to hold his neck up so it will help during the daytime as he's still on his back a lot for play time.

Those links are really useful Kina, thanks. I will also investigate referral to a kids physio.

I'm going to make sure that I play on his good side and get him on his tummy as much as he'll let me and in the bumbo seat. He doesn't like it much in the bumbo seat at the moment.

He doesn't spend excessive time in his puschair or car seat.

His moses basket is next to my bed, the window is on the opposite side of the room on my husbands side of the bed, perhaps we'll have to move it. I'm going to follow as many of the tips on the sites you've sent me. Fingers crossed we'll see an improvement in a couple of months.

 

[Dee1985]

Harley was 5 weeks prem might be one of the reasons he has it

 

[cassi]

At the baby show someone was selling special crib/moses basket mattresses that shaped specially at the head area to prevent it. They are safe but obviosuly abit more expensive than the pillows..il try and find mybaby show guide from may and see if i can find it

 

[Dee1985]

this is Harley asleep on his pillow. it was from tesco £1 sumut, its thin and light and worked a tread. i lay him on his side becuse of his bad eczma on one side so i always roll a blanket up behind him to.
the pillow has helped loads

 

[cassi]

awww he is so cute!!! bless him covering his eyes! like "get lost im trying to get some kip here mom!!" hehe

 

[Dee1985]

At the baby show someone was selling special crib/moses basket mattresses that shaped specially at the head area to prevent it. They are safe but obviosuly abit more expensive than the pillows..il try and find mybaby show guide from may and see if i can find it

yeah they look great, sleepcurve mattress they are called

im so tight wish i wasnt now as this is the problem im left with

 

[cassi]

i am too hence me not getting one then!

its ok though D it will shapen out in no time esp now he has his little pillow bless him

 

[Dee1985]

Harley before a pillow, 2 months ago

and this is the most recent pic i have of his head

 

[Soozee]

When my baby was born I was instructed how to safely put my daughter in bed to prevent flat head. Plus she had a bit of cauliflower ear. So I checked her sleeping all the time. Rotated her onto her left and right sides and now her ears are flattened out normally. She did end up with a bald patch on the back of her head, because babies have to sleep on their backs most of the time, but her hair grew back fine.

 

[cassi]

its looking much better in 2nd pic but its not that bad anyway hun, i have seen much worse and in most cases it has straightened out really quick, just give him loads of tummy time in the day aswell

off to bed now cant sit on here no more cause of my back


ttyl

cas xx

 

[Bagpuss17]

Ahh, Harley looks so cute in those pics. Isaac's flat head is much worse than Harleys was, it's all flat on his left side.

I checked with the docs 6 weeks ago and she said it would sort itself out, I wish I'd read around more at that time to get on with trying to correct it. Still it's not too late to try and improve it, he's still my gorgeous little baby.

That's interesting Soozee, was it the midwives at the hospital that showed you how to avoid flat head syndrome? Nothing was mentioned at all at our hospital.

 

[beanie]

I have used the sleepcurve mattresses. We had one for the crib, and I really liked it

We have one for her cot as well but she tends to move off it in the night so we are thinking of taking it out.

I can really recommend the crib one though