plagiocephaly / flat head

[Gem & Leland]

Leland has mild plagiocephaly / flat head syndrome and as u may remember i spoke about his stiff neck and favouring always laying with his head on one side

i just wondered if anyone else babes had this / have this too ? did it right itself ? did u need further treatment ( skull cap ? ) did u get that in nhs or pay the 2k

ive also seen these pillows ? Goi Goi baby pillows , there ment to help and prevent ?
anyone used them with success ?



i wouldnt be so worried if he was a lil girl whose hair will cover the hed but being a boy i dont really want him to end up with a deformed skull

this is him today

we are being refered for baby physio for his neck but god knows how long that will take ! and im trying to move him when his asleep but he always turns back , also been putting toys etc on the side i want his head to be on to look at but his not that interested in toys yet and dodesnt really follow them much

any adivce from other mums with flat head babies ? and would you get one of those pillows ( or a cheap one from ikea lol )

 

[evemarie8]

Clarks head went seriously flat at the back when he was just a few weeks, its getting a bit better now he is learning to sit or play on his tummy but he still looks like he's been hit with a shovel! It's never really worried me though beause I have seen babies with it before and they always seem to grow out of it!

 

[monster_munch]

Not sure hun but George lies either on his side or on his back with his head to the side so I'm keeping a look out for flat spots. TBH it's hard to know what to do as I want his to be comfy but I don't want him to create a problem
Isn't being a mum great fun

 

[Gem & Leland]

he just alway lays with his head looking left i just didnt know it would cause these problems till his consultant visit , of cause id notice his head changing shape but its not very well publisised that being in the same place all time causes problems and because he was prem his slept so much and not played much yet so of cause his always laying in same position ! at this min of got him alseep on my bed on a pillow and kinda half rolled onto his right , of cause it means the pressure is off his left side skull but his all wonky , must be comfy tho his been asleep for a couple of hours like it

 

[Tangerinedream]

I posted about this when Jake was 6 weeks old- here is the thread http://www.pregnancyforum.co.uk/forum/v ... p?t=45475&

It has sorted itself out now because he spends so much time sitting up.

He did used to favour lying on one side so we alternated which end his head was in his cot because they naturally turn to face the light apparently. I cant remember if that worked.

He still has a bit of a strange shape at the back but it is hardly noticable. Im not worried as it is sorting itself over time

 

[trixipaws]

my boyf's twin nieces both have this, and its a lot more noticeable than that pic. think its coz they were prem (4 or 5 weeks i think- theyre couple weeks older than millie but she was due couple weeks before them) i think prem babies have softer skulls?
my boyf's SIL told me they will correct themselves. they are almost 11 months old now and still look the same to me, idk how long it takes to correct

 

[lauramumof2]

Joe has this. The hv mentioned it and it was never taken any further. It was quite noticeable whilst he was a baldy but now its not. The flat bit is still there and is not noticeable. I know its there and if he is sitting right in front of me and I am looking down I can jus about see it but I have to feel it

I tried all the lying on one side stuff and never really noticed the stiff neck. I was going to try cranial osteopathy but I didnt.

I never noticed any other side effects

 

[abbiesmummy]

Hi,

I have just posted my details about our situation with Thomas. Only got a few minutes at the mo (got to get kids ready to go out!) But, basically you are in a great position to help your LO because he is so young.

Here is a link about repositioning and this is the first step to help with flat head syndrome before it gets worse. (wish we had know this!)

http://www.ossur.co.uk/plagiocephaly/repositioning

Really hope this helps. Don't worry too much as many cases do improve and you can do alot to help.

Feel free to ask any questions, I am no expert but trying to raise awareness and help other babies.
Sarah

 

[Krystal]

My godson has this, he would only ever lay with his head on one side. My cousin (his mam) mentioned it to HV all the time and they said it would sort itself out. It hasn't and he is coming up 2 now and it's fairly noticeable.

TBF though because the HV kept saying he would grow out of it etc they didn't do anything. I have heard plenty of tummy time is good for it. Also those head support things you put them between when they sleep look good.

Good luck

 

[Emmylou]

Hi

A friend of ours' son has this, he had quite a bad case though, unfortunately they couldn't get the cost of the skull cap covered on NHS so they had to fork out for it, I think it came to about £2.5k from memory and he has to wear it for up to 12 months, you would never know, it just looks like he's wearing a hat, and they put a beanie over it most of the time anyway.
I think see what happens with your referral, I am sure when i chatted to our friend they said that most cases do correct themselves.

 

[kimmumof2]

none of my girls have ever had it but my nephew did have a really flat head and my sis did get quite worried it would never go but he is now 16 months and his head is normal, cant remember exactly when it changed but it has.

xxxxx

 

[Gem & Leland]

thanks girls

i am glad it beens noticed early , guess it helps that cos of his premmie his under consultant till 18 months so i really hope it will be monitored , ive brought a cheap ikea pillow at mo that altho i wont let him ahve at night i will use durring the day and i think i will get a bumbo seat when he can hold his head up he can sit in that and not have his head on anything



i just cant beleive noone mentions about whats happens if there on one side all the time , i knew he favoured that side i just didnt know what damage it could do , all be it cosmetic but kids are cruel , i spent years bein bullied and i dont want leland to have the same fate

 

[muppetmummy]

James had a flat head at the back when he was a baby. He saw a consultant who suggested I tied a toy onto the side of his moses basket and change the side it was on each day to encourage him to lie with his head on both sides.
I was also told to make sure he spent time on his tummy each day when he got a bit older.
His head was noticeably flat for the first year or so but eventually evened out. Although it's not totally round now, you can only notice if you're looking for it.
Not many people have a completely round head anyway. I think they only use skull caps in extreme cases.

 

[Pregnopaws]

Connor was diagnosed with this by the pedi, I had no idea what it was before but I did notice that he favoured sleeping on one side all the time. The only advice I got was to prop one side of him to encourage sleeping the other way and to do some tummy time each day.