flat heads

After reading the topic about helmets for flat spots I had a couple of questions:

At what age does the doctor look at for getting helmets?
My babies spend most of the day in their swing or on a boppy, so what can I do to help them not get flat spots?
They sleep on their sides at night, which I switch every night...will this help??
How much tummy time should they be getting a day?

TIA!

 

We had flat heads by our 4 month appointment. If they weren't corrected(mostly) by the 6 month appointment, we would have gotten a referral.

We were the same up until 4 months old. We had terrible reflux, so I always tried to keep them upright in something. After the 4 month appointment that changed though. I started putting them on their tummies only when they were on the floor for playtime. If I did put them in their swing/bouncy, I positioned them, with blankets, so that they were not laying on the flat spot. I also got the Boppy Noggin' Nest for their carseats.

Yes.

As much as they will tolerate!

 

We just had our 4 month appt today and the doc noticed flat spots. I have never heard of this before. They suggested getting an Early Intervention eval. Now, the doc that saw them isn't our regular doc, so I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not. They are very active, so I don't think the spots will stick around for much longer. Should I get a second opinion?

 

flattness of the head is referred as Plagiocephally. My son goes next weds for his helmet fitting. His is due to positioning while he was in the NICU, can also be caused inutero. More common with twins and preemies...pediatrician gave up until 6 months before referring him to be evaluated. He got in at 7.5 months old. Dr had us wait and return 6 wks later to see if there was anymore improvement on its own and there wasn't. It has improved ALOT since he was little and is only slightly flat on the right side (back) still but his forehead is fuller on the right and his right ear is 1mm more forward than his left (asymetry) The flat spot was found when he was 5 wks old, he was in the NICU almost 4wks.....Positioning on different sides with the help of a blanket does help with evening out the shape. Most people don't notice but I SEE IT!

 

My boys are 12mm and 14 mm (that's the difference between the widest and the narrowest measurements of their heads) The ideal time to get the helmet is 4-5 months, but that's also the time when positional work helps the most, so most doctors delay.

 

I used a noggin nest for Tyler. He had a small flat spot on the back of his head and I freaked out Becuase one of his older brothers is almost 4 now and he still has his flat spot bc the helmet didnt work. So I invested in 3 noggin nests and used them everywhere that put pressure on his head. You are not supposed to use them while sleeping in the bassinet or crib but I did. I felt comfortable doing this because I used an Angel Care monitor in his bassinet. Ty moved to a crib on his 7 month birthday so thats when we did away with the noggin nests. The flat spot is TOTALLY gone and I could not be happier.

PS... I did not get the noggin nest till he was 4 months old. I had NO idea there was something like this out there.

 

I just took my twins in today for a helmet evaluation. They've been receiving PT for the torticollis that caused the positional plagiocephaly and that has helped a lot. The Dr. today said we still had time before deciding to get the helmets. My ds has it worse and is 8mm. He said he actually prefers when they are starting to crawl and sit up on their own because the helmets, although very light, may hinder these developmental milestones. He said a recent study that was done said that 40% of children with flat spots would correct on their own by 6 months. He would have done the helmets now if I insisted but we decided to give it one more month. In the meantime, they are monitoring their head growth. If there is no improvement in a month, he said it probably won't correct on its own. He also said that right now their heads grow 1mm a week!

As for prevention...when we noticed our twins flat spots close to 3 months, we started putting them in Bumbos and tummy times as much as possible. They didn't like tummy time at first but the more we did it, the more they tolerated it. We were lucky to get 3 minutes at a time in the beginning. It increased more and more over the weeks. Now Kyle prefers to sleep on his tummy (he rolls there on his own). The rolled up towels under the shoulder/side of body to keep them off the flat spot never really worked for us. They were way to squirmy and would squirm and fight until they could turn their head to the left (because of torticollis).

Ok, sorry for the rambling. It's just that this has pretty much been the focus/stress for us these past couple of months! Good for you for trying to prevent it! :good: I WISH I knew about flat heads before so I could have possibly prevented it. Good luck!

 

Our dd had developed a flat side early maybe 4 weeks or so. We were told tummy time all the time they are not asleep. Tummy time did not work for us- at all. however they are good movers now. DD now has had his helmet 3 weeks - he is now 6 months. We were told ideal range is 4-6 mo and after 9 months they dont like to recomend the helmet. I would be aggress on all/any prevention. My adopted neice has a very flat head and not only is it troublingly obvious but also it will cause her pain in her jaw as she gets older.

Best of luck!

 

Does anyone know where I can find a noggin nest in Canada?

 

Ebay!