Pillows for flathead

[Mooshie]

My LO is 13 weeks old and ALWAYS lies on the left hand side of his head when sleeping, playing and just laying down. I've tried everything to get him to lie on the right side but he refuses.

He has a bit of a flat spot on the back of his head now and although I've spoken to my HV and she's not worried about it, I am.

I'm thinking of buying one of those pillows that help flat head syndrome. Has anyone used one and do they work? Are they safe for him sleeping on at night?

 

[georgebaby1]

Hey hun i Dnt av the link as Im on my phone but if u go to kiddicare.com n search pillows u should find a memory foam pillow from birth. they are very gd and u can breath through them. if ur still a lill nervous u can buy a sleep positioner from there swell which stops them rolling my lo as both.

 

[KerryGold]

We've got a left winger too!

We bought a heartshaped one from jojomamanbebe but it's only recently she will lie on it. She always wriggles off to sleep so we jyst use it in the day.

We've a hospital checkup this week. I can report back if you want.

xXx

 

[Tinylo]

You could try the love nest pillow, we have this for our second lo, only wish we'd known about it for our first.

They're cheap and imo really work, loads of places sell them on-line.

 

[Mooshie]

We've got a left winger too!

We bought a heartshaped one from jojomamanbebe but it's only recently she will lie on it. She always wriggles off to sleep so we jyst use it in the day.

We've a hospital checkup this week. I can report back if you want.

xXx

That would be great, thank you!! I really appreciate it!

I've been looking at the heart shaped ones on Amazon. I'll have a look at Kiddicare too though, thank you!

 

[spleen]

Hi,

When you say that your little is always on one side, are you able to turn their head the other way for them? My son was always on one side and it was impossible to turn the other way. The doc said he had torticollis and referred us for physiotherapy which sorted the neck problem out. We used a Lilla Kuddis(?) pillow but if they keep moving off you can get special mattresses called Sleepcurve.

 

[KerryGold]

Our LO just has plagiocephaly but if you're worried ask for a hospital referral. Our LO is being checked regularly.

xXx

 

[cherryglitter]

ive seen some quite cute ones on ebay

 

[Ruth 1980]

Hey mooshie, as someone has said above- you need To be sure you CAN turn LO's head the other way or it could be torticollis. If it's just behavioural you can try putting baby the other way round in the cot (baby will want to turn head towards you, lights, noise), also when baby is lying on a playmat- always approach her from the side she doesn't like (again drawing her to your voice) and put all her toys on that side. If you always carry her on one hip (so head is turned to look forward) make sure to carry her on the other hip (your back might not like this at first!)
Hope this is of some help! good luck!

 

[DarlingMe]

I agree with what someone else said about turning him. Put his feet at the end of the cot where you have been putting his head. If he is in a swing or bouncer alot move it somewhere else. They will turn their head toward you and wherever they hear noise. So if you can move them so they turn the other way it will help him stay off that side so much. See if that works for a couple weeks. Just make sure you switch things around every so often or else you will have the same problem on the other side! Im sure they are fairly safe, but I would be hesitant to use a pillow if I didnt have to.

 

[Aberrance]

Could make a loosely filled pillow of rice, maybe? So you can form a bowl into it for his head.
My doc told me lots of tummy time in the day to keep my LO from putting pressure on the back of her head, because it's best for LO's to sleep on their backs.

 

[Mooshie]

Hi,

When you say that your little is always on one side, are you able to turn their head the other way for them? My son was always on one side and it was impossible to turn the other way. The doc said he had torticollis and referred us for physiotherapy which sorted the neck problem out. We used a Lilla Kuddis(?) pillow but if they keep moving off you can get special mattresses called Sleepcurve.

He does lie just the one way. We've tried moving his gym mat the other way and turning him different ways to sleep but he always lies on the one side. He can turn his head when sitting up, but he does look to the one side quite a lot. He doesn't turn his head atall when lying down.

Should I be worried? My HV is coming over on Tuesday again so I'll talk o her about it again. Would I maybe be better going to my GP?

 

[KerryGold]

Your LO sounds a lot like ours. For the longest time nothing would make her turn her head lying doen. In the last 4 weeks she has started to turn her head straight when lying down often and to the right more but it's clearly more difficult for her.

We're really glad the paediatrician at the hospital is monitoring her so I would suggest asking your GP for a referral.

She is improving as she gets stronger but the longer it goes on, the flatter they can get

xXx

 

[Mooshie]

Can I ask what your paediatrician has said? Do they think your LO has Torticollis or are they just monitoring her to see how she goes?*

My husband is worried too, we've tried everything over the last 2 weeks to get him to turn his head and he just refuses. Normally he would just say I was being a paranoid mummy, but not with this.

I knew I was right to be worried, but my HV just fobbed me off last week with "all babies do that". I'll see what she says on Tuesday and I'll push for a referral buy if she won't give it I'll take him to my GP.*

I've just done some googling (probably not such a good idea I know!) and from what I can tell Torticollis is something they have from birth. Is it possible, that when i was pregnant his neck was squished up in there? I was so huge by the end beause of polyhydramnios and he was a big baby, I wonder if that could have caused it?

Thank you so much for your advice KerryGold, I absolutely appreciate it! x

 

[KerryGold]

We don't have torticolis (although we thought we might). Because she CAN move her head fully. She has plagiocephaly (if you Google you can find diagrams showing head shape from above and you'll be able to see).

If it gets severe they can be fitted with a helmet and we're really hoping it won't come to that for us.

Leila was squashed at birth. One ear wad glued flat to her head and her nose was all squashed over and one nostril was barely open. My H is tall and I'm tiny. They think she was quite long and wedged in one place inside me IYSWIM.

Our biggest concern is that her face doesn't start slipping round the side as that's when they start to worry. The paediatrician measures from edge of eye to front of ear and these distances need to remain even on both sides.

xXx

 

[Mooshie]

My LO was like that when he was born too. His nose was completely squashed over to one side and his ear was folded over.

Ill go and have a look at plagiocephaly, thank you. x

 

[KerryGold]

I'm off to Mass now but will be back later. I hope you find some good info!

xXx

 

[spleen]

I don't think you need to worry about the torticollis as some physiotherapy should fix it but you do need to get it seen to. Don't bother with the HV, she can't refer you for physiotherapy (or can they?) So just go straight to doc and tell them he doesn't turn head one way. My son had torticollis and developed plagiocephaly which the Nhs doesn't treat and largely doesn't acknowledge. I've learned to be a little hard nosed and push to get the right treatment for him. I would say that you shouldn't just accept what the docs say but take their advice and do your own research before deciding what's right for you.

The physio made a huge difference within just days of starting it for us. Unfortunately at 5 months he still had a flat spot and an symmetrical face so we decided to get a helmet. The helmet companies say to try repositioning up until about 5 months. They can also take measurements to assess the flattening and whether it is worth having a helmet. It's not right for everyone but we are so glad we did it. He wore it for 3 months ( we just finished 2 days ago) and I'm so pleased with results. As you have to pay for it yourself, there is a charity that helps people called HeadStart4Babies (I think, I'll check).

But don't worry about that yet, you need to get the torticollis sorted first or you'll struggle with repositioning to work on the head shape. The Nhs will tell you the shape will fix itself or that hair will cover it. I feel they are biased as they consider it cosmetic but they should treat the torticollis.

Oh dear, having written all that, I've reread your reply. If he can turn it, then it may not be torticollis, I don't know. I'm not sure if there are different severities, my son couldn't't turn at all even when the doc pushed his head over (gently!). I would still get it checked out so you have peace of mind and can focus on the flat head.

 

[JLB]

We used the heart shaped love nest mainly in the day when she was on her playmat or bouncy chair did use it at night when she was in her moses basket but she wriggled off it as soon as she went into her cot. It did seem to really help and now at 11 months she doesn't have a flat spot much at all.
Bought it second hand (they are washable) off ebay for a couple of pounds.

 

[mumoffive]

Can i just reassure you that flat head in most cases rectifies itself. My dd had it and now its not there. She is 4