Flat head on one side - anyone had any experience of this?

[Meels-Spot]

My LO is 6 weeks old and has always favoured sleeping with his head turned to the right which has resulted in him getting a really flat head on the right hand side at the back and it looks really unsymmetrical. I am really worried it's going to get even worse as no matter how much I turn him he always goes back to that side. I have also tried tipping the moses basket over a bit to encourage him onto the other side but that doesn't work either. At the moment I have started putting him down on a V shaped cushion on the sofa so that he lays with his head straight, but obviously I can only do this during the day when I can watch him. When he's in his moses basket I have no control over how he lays as he just moves back into his favourite position. I have spoken to the HV and doc about it and they seem uninterested and said it 'should' sort itself out by the time he's about 18 months old, but what if it doesn't? Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[mrsdcooper]

i brought this bumper that goes round the baby and stops them from roling, moving!! this might help him staay in the position you lay him down in

i have heard it sorts itself out so i would not worry

 

[missjess]

Hiya hun! Don't worry about it, it will sort itself out when your baby starts holding his head up. Josh had it quite bad and it is back to normal now. Lots of tummy time and bumbo time once your LO hold his head up, and it will be back to a round shape. xxx

Just make sure you try to put your LO on his tummy as much as possible xx

Here's pictures so you can see the difference.
Flat head
https://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v368/4/46/630246145/n630246145_1468047_7880.jpg

Now
https://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs023.snc1/2562_59894931145_630246145_1984492_1738427_n.jpg

 

[XKatX]

I bought a wedge to keep Oliver sleeping on his side and it is fab. I used to use it every night, now we just alternate nights with that and sleeping on his back. I think they find it quite snuggly.
https://www.babyreflux.co.uk/products/BEBECAL-Baby-Back-and-Side-Sleep-Positioner.html

 

[Meels-Spot]

Aah thanks, wow that's an amazing difference between the two photos! Seth's head looks very weird as it's on the side of the back of his head rather then all of the back, if you know what I mean, so it's pretty crooked! I will look forward to him being able to sit in a bumbo! How long did it take to go back to a round shape? In the meantime I think I might buy one of these wedge things then, thanks for your help ladies

 

[missjess]

Aah thanks, wow that's an amazing difference between the two photos! Seth's head looks very weird as it's on the side of the back of his head rather then all of the back, if you know what I mean, so it's pretty crooked! I will look forward to him being able to sit in a bumbo! How long did it take to go back to a round shape? In the meantime I think I might buy one of these wedge things then, thanks for your help ladies

It took about 5-6 month to get back to perfectly normal shape At some point his head on the left hand side was horrible!!! I'm sure it'll get sorted out for you hun xxx good luck! x

 

[Weeplin]

Jason has this right now. I have just bought a special pillow off ebay which apparently helps..Item number: 170305786026. He seems to have it quite bad, his ears are not aligned...

 

[charlotteb24]

I was worried about this also, my mum started fussing about the fact that Noah was prefering one side to the other and that his head looked a bit squashed down on one side. I hadn't really noticed it or thought about it before she mentioned it but now as you can imagine she has me worried!

I'm glad to hear it sorts it self out, that puts my mind at rest as he will put it to the other side but sleeping he always has it to the left not the right however much we try encourage him!

 

[notquite]

I think the wedge things will help... I don't have too much personal experience with this, but I know that my DB's son (now 3 yrs old) had flat head due to always laying on his back, they tried to correct it with wedges/pillows/etc. but couldn't. They ended up having to get some kind of special helmet for him to wear that helped to reshape his head back into place!! Not trying to give you a horror story hon just sharing what I know. And now his head IS fine, too.

 

[BlackBerry25]

Helena had this. I had to keep turning her head to the other side as much as possible. I took her to the doctors because I was worried that something was wrong with her neck and he bent her neck in every possible direction and it seemed to loosen it and she started laying on the other side. But I would just keep turning his head when possible and do as much tummy time as possible. Once he can roll over he will be on his tummy more and it will round back out again. Helena's head is pretty much round now and it was super flat before.

 

[Hoping]

Thomas was doing this, but we took him for cranial osteopathy and that really helped to loosen him up so he does not favour one side or the other any more.