DS2 has a spot on his left side. He doesn't have trouble moving his neck around in all directions, but he favors his left thumb and sleeps at night mostly on that side.
Our pedi isn't concerned at this point, but I am... but I also know helmet therapy isn't all that effective especially in mild cases.
If your LO had a flat spot did it resolve on its own? How old were they when things "evened out"?
pineapple / 12793 posts
We were told to keep an eye on DD2 at her two month appointment. By her four month appointment there was nothing to worry about.
nectarine / 2173 posts
Our LO had very mild flat spot at 2 months. But as soon as she started liking tummy time, rolling, etc it went away. Most of the early flat spots are corrected when the LO is more mobile. But you can make sure LO is held, carried, and try to put them down with their head in the other direction.
honeydew / 7230 posts
My daughter had a bit of a flat spot as a result of torticollis. She went to physical therapy from 5-8 months, when it was totally evened out. I'm sure therapy helped, but the biggest thing is that during that time she started sitting and crawling and generally not spending as much time on her back. I think that made the biggest difference. My sister's son had a pronounced flat spot and he had a helmet for about 4 months. Both of our kids with flat spots were twin As (closest to cervix) and it's pretty common for twin As to have these issues because of positioning in utero.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
Same situation, LO is a thumb sucker and favors her right thumb only. She had a pretty significant flat spot but it has since went away as she's gotten older. My oldest niece had to wear a helmet, and my sister regrets doing it because her hair would have hid the misshaped head.
papaya / 10570 posts
E's flat spot never went away. Her head is quite mishapen - but her hair totally covers it. You'd never know to look at her
persimmon / 1355 posts
DD's was a little flat before she started sleeping in the side and belly, but it corrected itself as her head grew. I stressed big time about it though! You'd never know now.
pomelo / 5789 posts
B's was flat and we went through helmet therapy. It was extremely effective in his case. If your pediatrician isn't worried though, it's probably not as bad as his was.
persimmon / 1233 posts
Yes, and it resolved on its own around 7 months. We did a few things to try and help it along though:
- Exercises to make him more comfortable turning both ways (recommended by the pediatrician)
- I wore him in the carrier for at least a couple hours a day
- Used this pillow during diaper changes and when he would play on his playmat: http://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Noggin-Support-Brown-Wheels/dp/B001O9F6M8
papaya / 10560 posts
Ds has a really bad one in my opinion! He had plagiocephaly and torticollis as a newborn. We did PT to correct it and the PT/ped decided a helmet was not the way to go.
No one can probably tell except me but the right side is flat as a board! I'm sure it's because I had a vacuum assist.
grape / 75 posts
Both of my boys had pretty significant flat spots at 2 months. I tried really hard to keep them upright as much as possible (baby wearing instead of stroller, time in jumper rather than bouncer, etc.) and both were pretty much completely resolved by 6 months.
pomegranate / 3863 posts
Yeah! He had trouble turning his head in one direction so he'd always lay on one side. We evened it out by laying him on his other side and wedging him so he couldn't roll to his preferred side.
persimmon / 1431 posts
LO had a flat spot that corrected itself. At her 3 month appt, the doctor said it was ok for now, but wanted us to keep an eye out, and said a helmet would be an option. It eventually corrected itself she she started sleeping in different positions. I think it was around 4-5 months?
nectarine / 2262 posts
LO is 12 weeks and has a pretty noticeable one - I think it's from sleeping in the RnP 
We try to turn his head and we're (sort of) trying to transition him to the crib out of the RnP - at least for naps in the crib I notice he does seem to move his head more so I am hoping that will help.
apricot / 340 posts
My babyis 6 months old and has had a flat spot on the back of her head ever since she was born. I have asked about it at every apt and have been told, dont worry its not a big deal.
We saw a different ped today because ours was on vacation and the first thing the new one says is "are you going to treat the flat spot on her head? If you leave it untreated it can cause her head and face to become mishapen and her facial features can become asymetrical" i almost just burst out in tears!
The new dr said she admits she is agressive with treating flat spots, but now I am so torn! I actually felt like it was starting to get a little better, but I am so worried I am going to somehow ruin my daughters life and face if I dont treat it when I should. I made an apt with a place to have her hear laser measured to see what degree of asymetry she has
nectarine / 2028 posts
My son had a slight one from birth that mostly went away. As I was very aware of plagiocephaly, I was absolutely vigilant about changing which end of the crib he slept on every night, holding him evenly on both sides, being worn a lot during the day so he wasn't on his back too much, etc. He also started sleeping on his tummy as soon as he learned to rolled over, and I'm sure that helped. When I was a nanny, two of the kids needed helmet therapy, so I was pretty determined to help my son's head from staying flat! As an aside, one of my kindergarten students had a pretty bad flat spot that probably should have had helmet therapy. I can tell that his mom thought his hair would just cover it but it totally didn't. Trust your mama gut and keep an eye on it if it concerns you!
cantaloupe / 6923 posts
We're on our 2nd child/2nd helmet and are happy with the results!
pomegranate / 3401 posts
DD1 had a little bit of a flat spot/unevenness and we would stick a tightly rolled up towel down the back of her onesie to force her head to turn one way (or the other) during her naps. (Never at night). I also wore her quite a bit and it all evened out and she has a lovely shaped head now at 2.5 yrs.
On the other hand, I totally have a little flat spot on MY head. But I have a lot/thick hair so it covers it up. 
But if you felt my head you would totally feel it!
pomelo / 5791 posts
@mrsjyw: Hows LOs head now? DS2 has a flat spot, and while my ped said it wasn't a big deal at every appt we had (I mentioned it every time), I'm growing more worried it's going to be permanent the bigger he gets. I made an appt to have it evaluated further by a specialist. Hoping they say it's mild at least.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
DD had/has the most beautiful round head b/c she slept on me for forever, hahaha 
nectarine / 2951 posts
Have you considered an osteopath? We took DS for his tongue-tie/nursing issues, but the Dr. also worked on his flat spot and neck. DS seemed to always turn his head one way and didn't have as much mobility until the Osteopath worked with him.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
@ValentineMommy: it's better than before, getting equaled out by a flat spot on the other side, but it's def significantly flatter on the left side. I'm not concerned about it; not worth the helmet therapy in our situation. Pedi told us it will take years before it evens out 100%. Most ppl have told us they wouldn't notice if we didn't tell them. He's never had any issues with torticollis/neck movement. So ours is purely an aesthetic issue.
grapefruit / 4079 posts
@Alba4: I see a DO for my neck and back issues. My son had torticollis and a helmet because of the same exact neck issues I have. I never thought to take him but I might now! Thanks for mentioning it.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
Mine had a weird shaped head for awhile (first due to being born lol, plus she then developed a flat spot). We'd ask our pediatrician about it each time we saw her and she never thought it was concerning so we stopped worrying about it. Honestly I don't know when it went away but it did.
My niece and nephew both had "serious" cases and had to wear the special helmets for most of their first years. I really can't say that theirs looked much worse than my LO's, but I didn't have LO back then so I might not be remembering correctly. It wouldn't surprise me though if either their pediatrician or my SIL just pushed it more.
nectarine / 2951 posts
@ladybee: we swear by our DO (who specialized in kids and babies)! We saw him until DS was 1 and we think he helped so much with his physical development! We will definitely take #2 as well!
apricot / 431 posts
@ValentineMommy: Have you tried doing stretches at every diaper change? My LO had a flat spot and torticollis. I started doing stretches at every diaper change and it worked wonders! If you are interested, I will find the link of some good stretches that we used to do.
ETA - I just saw that you said it was aesthetic so the stretches probably will be pointless 
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