Head Control at 4 weeks

Our babes hit the 4 week mark yesterday, and I am a little concerned about my Baby A's head control. I am taking the two of them to our GP tomorrow to ask about reflux, which they both are showing symptoms of.
However, Baby B(Benny) has excellent head control and has since birth. He will push himself away from your chest and look around, wide eyed and looking from side to side, while Baby A(Emma) has almost complete lack of head control. I had just been chalking it up to newborn neck, and her head was and is significantly bigger than Benny's, but through some research into GER, Torticollis came up. I know I know.. never research medical stuff on the internet. But she is exhibiting some of the signs of it. Her head is almost always tilted to the right side, and she looks around with her eyes only.

Should I mention something to our Doc tomorrow? How well were your babies holding their heads at 4 weeks? Has anyone out there got any experience with torticollis?

Our babes were born at 37 weeks.

 

Kenneth had a very mild case of it when he was born. The doc said it was because he was in the same position in the womb for weeks, unable to move or turn his head, and the muscles had begun to stiffen that way. He was favoring his left side, so we did neck stretching exercises for a few days and it went away. Both him and his brother were holding thier heads up and turning them from side to side by 4 weeks.


Kenneth and Ian are 6 weeks old

 

If it is torticollis your doctor will suggest doing some stretching exercises or have a PT come in and show you how. I don't remember exactly what mine were doing at 4 weeks but I know they had terrible head control compared to how my DS was. They would just lie there during tummy time and barely lift their heads at all. They were born at 37 weeks as well.

 

If your worried about it definately mention it, i think one of my daughters has it but i'm struggling to get it diagnosed as when we go to the drs she looked both ways and proved me wrong lol.
I do know that the earlier it is treated the easier it is to fix so i would ask about it, especially since she is tilting her head. If she does have it it is supposed to be easily reversed with physical therapy. Good luck

 

Ours didnt have much head control at 4 weeks. They didnt really hold their heads up until about 4 months actual.

 

good head control won't happen until 3 -4 month mark. i know my girls started to lift their heads at 2 weeks and kept trying but they would always flop back down. it was until 3 months when they would hold their heads up for much longer. my baby isabelle has torticollus but it wasn't something we noticed until she was 2 months old. i wouldn't worry about it too much at this age but if you are that concerned bring it up to your doctor.

 

Ok, so im just curious. i notice that my boys are doing these things like holding thier own head up for extended periods, have good control, and sitting assisted waayy earlier than many babies here. Is it just because my two were bigger at birth and therefore thier muscles were stronger or more developed earlier? i mean, i look through the weights of other babies here at 6 weeks, and they are barely what mine weighed when they were born. Kenneth and Ian are 6 weeks, and a week ago ( at 5 weeks ) weighed in at 10.4 lbs and 9.15 lbs. i guess what im trying to ask in my fumbling way is...does the amount of baby's weight affect how strong they are? And if a baby who weighs 7 lbs at 6 weeks cannot hold thier head up, will they be able to when they reach a higher weight?

Sorry if that was confusing. :huh:


Kenneth and Ian are 6 weeks old

 

QUOTE(indisbelief @ Jun 2 2009, 03:01 PM) [snapback]1338133[/snapback]
i guess what im trying to ask in my fumbling way is...does the amount of baby's weight affect how strong they are?


I think there is a good correlation between weight and strength, but that would also mean to me that most who weigh more at the same age were probably born closer to the 40 week gestational age. You would have to account for the ones who weigh less that may have been premature and therefore need more time (adjusted age) to reach the same milestone as a near term baby.