UPDATE on the flat head and a solution...

Ok, so I posted a few days ago about my ds who is developing flat head. Well, a few of the ladies suggested that putting the babies down to sleep on their bellies would help. I caved in and I did it last night. I was scared but they did great and I had relief that there wasn't all this pressure on their poor little heads. But there, was one thing, ds woke up around 4 hrs later and was squirming around (which he never does) and dd woke up about 5 hrs later doing the same. They weren't comfortable on their tummies. So after waking so much in the middle of the night I just rolled ds onto his back and I did the same for dd. My question is, is this a learning curve for them and it will get better in time for them to sleep on their tummies or is it just a big no no all together??? I'm hoping if I continue to put them to sleep on their tummies that they will get used to it....whatya think??

Thanks again, ladies!!!

 

I don't think attempting to prevent a flat spot is worth the risk of tummy sleeping, especially if they would prefer to be sleeping on their backs. There are treatments for flat spots if need be......................

 

I agree with ehm. Mine were back sleepers, so I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions. What did pedi say about the flat spots?

 

hi,,,, it's risky putting the babies down to sleep on their bellies ,,,,,
keep the babies for some time on hard floor, it will help to develop the round head
or else u can use a pillow filled with "MUSTURED SEEDS" for ur little ones.... it really works

 

How old are your babies? I agree that a risk of SIDS is not worth it.

 

I think if your babies are typically back sleepers, then let them sleep on their backs, but if they're belly sleepers, let them sleep on their bellies. One of mine went through a stage where he only wanted to sleep on his belly. It made me nervous at first but I let him do it because he was most comfortable that way. Eventually he decided to be a back sleeper again.

As for the flat head... I'm probably not the best person to address these concerns because I tried different methods to keep C's flat head from worsening with no luck (he is now in a helmet). I did find that putting up a crib music machine on the side of the crib that he was least likely to face helped significantly. Also giving him lots of tummy time and keeping him out of things like vibrating chairs, swings, etc reduced the amount of time that he was on his flat spot. We also rolled up a small blanket and put it in his crib so he'd be forced to sleep on the round side of his head.

As I mentioned before, C is now in a helmet. He's always been a back sleeper so I don't know that I would have forced him to sleep on his tummy if he didn't prefer it that way. There are lots of other things you can try and if those don't work, you can always see a PT and get your little guy evaluated. Remember, after about 18 months, their heads are pretty much completely formed and you cannot correct flat head issues. If you feel like you aren't making any progress at home, you may want to consider professional help.

 

My first DS had very bad moulding from birth that just got much worse after the constant pressure. We had to have him evaluated for premature fusion of the plates in the skull. Thankfully it was just moulding. The neuro suggested propping him in a sleep positioner on his side. It had to be really, really tight. We also bought an exersaucer for daytime, so there was no pressure on his head. He saw a chiropractor for shifting the plates. That helped the most. But in the end it never really completely corrected itself. His hair helps cover most of the odd shape but if we get it cut too short it shows a little. Maybe I'm the only one who notices it.
If you haven't spoken to the Dr about it, I would. If it's really bad enough to correct, they should be able to give you suggestions and guidelines for positioning. And if that doesn't work than they can recommend seeing a specialist to get them evaluated. From what I understand and experienced, Dr's want you to try positioning before they even consider any other interventions.

 

I also agree that tummy sleeping is not worth the risk. I mean a flat spot that can be treated is temporary and SIDS is forever.

My DS had a bad flat spot that we noticed around 3 months. We did some work on our own with repositioning and at 4 months the pediatrician recommended PT for torticollis and a consult with a pediatric plastic surgeon to see if band/helmet therapy was needed. His spot was bad… the back of his head came to a point where the left side was rounded and the right completely flat.

We were able to correct it through repositioning so that by the time we got in with the specialist 6 weeks later, it was barely noticeable. (I think we caught a high growth period because the change was so quick.)

We used a sleep positioner and propped him on his side to sleep. Since his right side was flat, we propped his right shoulder up using the positioner so that his left side was touching the mattress. We used this positioner which helped so that he couldn’t wiggle back to the flat spot.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2341851

We also did lots more tummy time, limited time in the swing or bouncer, and used a rolled up receiving blanket under the right shoulder to make his head roll to the left when we had to use the swing or bouncer.

We did the same for DD so that we could prevent a flat spot on her. And it worked.