My 6.5 month old has a flat head. How do I help her without doing helmet therapy,wich has been suggested?

Question

her head is really flat,not a little but alot. She wont sleep on her side. Her doctor recommends helmet therapy. We are open to any suggestion that may prevent this course of action.
We are starting to use a memory foam for her at night and she is starting to have alot more up time...will this help?

Answer 1

Honestly, by 6.5 months, repositioning will do very little. I know this b/c my son ended up having a DOC band at 7 months and wore it until about 10 months....after memory foam, aggressive repositioning etc. It does depend on the severity, if she just needs a few mm of correction then repositioning can help. However, if she is still very flat by now, then you need to seriously consider the helmet. I didn't want to do it...it's expensive, insurance won't cover it(for the most part), and I didn't want people staring at him. But looking back(he's 20months now) I'm soooooo glad I put him in the DOC band! His head improved fast and dramatically just in three months and I know that wouldn't have happened without it. I'm not trying to push the helmet on you, I just know that you will never look back and say, "I shouldn't have put her in a band," but you might say, "I should have done something when I had the chance."

You might want to check out the yahoo groups website too. There are two groups...parents of children with positional plagiocephaly(flathead syndrome) and parents of older children with plagiocephaly. I joined the first and there are some very good stories of people who've had success with both repositioning and helmets. The second is a group of parents who's older kids do have flat heads and it may be a good idea to get some suggestions from them. Good luck!

Answer 2

My son had the helmet therapy. Please go see the sepecialist if for nothing else than information. In my son's case, it was very sever and the specialist said that we could choose not to do the therapy, but our son's case was rather sever and with out the helmet he may be left slightly flat.

Sometimes they will tell you that your child isn't as bad as other cases and that the head may reshape with out the helmet..

It really isn't as bad as you think....My son had a rather sever flat spot on the side and it only took a couple of months of wearing the helmet. And he really didn't mind it...in fact he thought it was funny. He was about your son's age when he started wearing it.

It;s really your decision but please go see the specialist if not only to become more informed. If a helmet is really needed, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to change the shape and the longer your child will have to wear the helmet.

Answer 3

When your baby is awake NEVER let her recline or lay down, exersaucers, jolly jumpers, etc are great. In your arms is even better. When she is sleeping you need to positioner her in a position that doesn't put pressure on the flat spot. At 6 months she should be capable of rolling over from belly to back and back to belly, which means she can sleep on her belly.

But if your doctor says to get a helmet, get a helmet. This can become very serious if it is not treated properly.

Answer 4

i know people are going to give me a lot of problems with this...but try letting her sleep on her belly. Don't think it's really a bad thing, almost all the babies from the 80's slept on the belly (it was recommended then). During the daytime, let her sleep on her belly while you monitor her. it will help with the flat head. it looked like my son was getting a flat head until my mom made him sleep on his belly. his head looks perfect now. again, keep a good watch when sleeping on belly. what i do with my son is put a pacifier in his mouth while he sleeps. the pacifier blocks his head from facing all the way down on the bed.

Answer 5

During the day have her spend less time laying down on her back, sit her on the couch beside you, sit with her on the floor, use a jolly jumper, lay her on her tummy. I thought the same thing for my daugther, and I noticed it early so prevented it pretty fast. Didn't you notice this earlier? Maybe try putting her at opposite ends of her crib so she might turn her head the opposite direction. Good Luck

Answer 6

I even have supplied baby care in my residing house for 20 years. I even have 4 infants of my own who're now 28, 26, 23, and 10. interior the early years of be certain-hood and being a care service, the advice replaced into to continually positioned toddlers to sleep on their tummies. over the years, because of the fact the advice began to alter to back drowsing, i spotted that it replaced into extra user-friendly for toddlers to advance a flat head. in maximum situations, that is not any longer a severe reason for difficulty because of the fact the pinnacle will start to regain that is shape because of the fact the newborn starts off to grasp rolling over and sitting up for this reason spending much less time on his/her back or in a swing or infant seat. 5 months is somewhat on the extra youthful area whilst maximum pediatricians will prescribe a helmet to help reshape the pinnacle. I even have cared for a pair toddlers who did positioned on a helmet plus i be attentive to of a few others. In each and all the situations i'm attentive to, the helmet replaced into worn 23 hours an afternoon, it replaced into very mild-weight, molded to in advantageous condition their head, and not one of the toddlers minded it. i think of the toddlers have been all approximately 9 months previous or so as that i be attentive to of. i might advise you come to the expert who outfitted the helmet to be certain it rather is wisely outfitted. Tummy time does help as does utilising a seat and not using a back such because of the fact the exer-saucer. definite, her head is amazingly mushy and it will re-shape itself merely advantageous as she grows. she would be in a position to no longer exchange right into a teenager with a flat head. I merely had a concept - is the helmet you obtain like one you will positioned on whilst driving a motorbike? in case you probably did no longer get it from a expert, that's the incorrect form of helmet.

Answer 7

Belly time,is she ok with belly time?My son has a flat head,its not too bad but I try to keep him in his saucer,on his belly in his jolly jumper anything I can through the day to keep him off the back of his head.If she is not that big on belly time you can lay down with her on your chest and slowly lay down flatter till she gets stronger,this is what I also do with my son.At night time try to wait till she is asleep and and turn her head sideways,do it to the left and right every other night,even if you get up in the middle of the night to the bathroom sneek in and rotate her head.I hope this helps,I know what you are dealing with!

Answer 8

When my sisters and I were babies my mother constantly turned our head when we slept (we slept on our back). She never let our head lie in the same position for very long. She would gently turn it to the right, the left, and center.

There are also infant pillows with a hole in the back where the head would be laying down on the bed...you could always try one of the those.

Answer 9

It may help, but a child's head takes most of it's form when they are tiny babies. Their heads can become flat when they are not held enough and they are always laying down. It is going to be very hard to convert your babies head back to the way it was. You should most likely listen to your doctor and do what he reccomends. If he is reccomending it , it may be the only way to get your childs head back to normal.