Helmets or Other Remedies for Head Flatness!

From the parents/kids I know who have had helmets, none have complained that they got in the way...most kids just adapt and are fine, so I say go for it!

I have never had experiance with helmets, but when my son was that age my cousin got me this head support. It worked great and we never had problems with head flatness. Good luck!

http://shopboppy.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&c...

Our daughter had a very, very flat head. As first time parents, we didn't realize the necessity of doing tummy time. We found out she had torticolles and so saw a physical therapist. That helped with her neck, but position changes and such weren't working, so we went for the helmet. She has been wearing it since the last week in December and she doesn't mind it at all. It has made a tremendous difference in her appearance, especially her face shape. At first she wore it 23 hours a day, seven days a week, but now she just wears it at night and in the carseat. I'm glad we did it. Her head won't be perfect, but it will be much better. The other bonus of the helmet was it protected her head when she started crawling and then trying to walk.

We went to Hangar Prosthetics in Portland, at the bottom of the hill of OHSU. Randall Rowland supposedly is the best there is in the U.S. We are happy with them.

Good Luck

Hi S.,

2 things that came to mind~!

I think it is really cool that you are a professional opera singer!! Opera isn't as popular as it used to be and it is wonderful that you are keeping it alive.

Helmets - not cool at all, especially if your head shape "specialist" is not sure if he needs one or not.
You just said that you don't want your snuggle buuny to have a hard heavy weight on their head. So don't get one! You are right. I think it would be quite traumatic for a 7 month old.
Or at best completely wierd!!
What did all those babies do long ago that had soft skulls and slept a certain way?
My first child had such a flat head. She HATED tummy time and I was convinced that she would always have a flat head.
Now 2 years old and perfectly round.....no helmet

keep singing and believing in your mamma's instinct
Not all specialists are as special as you are

Hi S.,
My son had an odd-shaped head also, and we actually did go for the helmet (ours was paid for by insurance - fyi, i think they are sorta spendy). My experience with the helmet was just "ok" - it was hard to keep it on him the whole time, probably harder for me than it was him, especially at night so we ended up not wearing it. I know it probably wasn't comfortable for him either, he did grab at it and did get easily frustrated when it was on. I just gave it up all together, he is now 3 1/2 and with his hair grown in you can't tell anything, his head has formed nicely through the years.. not sure if that helps or not, if you have specific questions please feel free to ask away!
K.

I would take him to see a craniosacral therapist, it would me very gentle and likely fix it completely with a little time. My son had a flat spot that has been completely fixed with a few sessions of crainosacral work and no pain or unsightly thing to wear around. It has eliminated the worst of the head aches he had and he is doing really well. I took him when he was much older than your son, so likely yours would respond even more quickly.

I know a good one in this area that specializes in working on children, her name is Sherrie McGuffey and her phone is ###-###-####. Hope all goes well!

S.,

We didn't have a helmet issue, but my first thought is have him sit up more. Both of my kids got small "normal" flat spots on the back of their heads that went away when they were steady at holding their heads up. They also loved being able to see more of their world from Mom/Dad's lap.

I don't know the whole story, but that's my suggestion for you and yours.

Hope this helps,
Supportively,
Melissa

Hi S.,
I have had a great experience with an osteopathic doctor to help with a baby's odd shaped head. One procedure that was really helpful was called "cranial-sacral work" and it involves easy touches to the neck area and the lower back. Some massage therapists also do this but I found a great DO who commonly does this adjustments to babies. I would start out by finding an osteopathic doctor who works with children and also find out how much it costs, because the doctor I went to charged a lot; but I think it was well worth it because his head rounded out and she helped with some sleep issues we were having too. This is a very gentle adjustment and my son loved it(and he doesn't love a lot of people messing with him either).

I'd let him sleep on sides and tummy more. I know the doctor won't tell you that, but if you do your own research, you'll find that SIDS has more to do with vaccinations than back sleeping. If you don't feel comfortable with it though, let baby at least nap on his tummy so you can be awake and check on him often. I'd also check into getting a chiropractic adjustment. They are pain free and can do wonders for helping babies head form correctly.

No worries, S.. My daughter had a flatter right side of her head than the left right around that age. Her doctor didn't recommend a helmet though (she didn't make a point of NOT recommending it either though). We were really diligent about watching her during the day and switching her head over and we also switched the end of the changing table that we always put her head as well. It took about 4 months but she has a nice little round head now!

i don't know anything about this pillow it just came up at the top of my e-mail it is called Goi Goi baby pillows. it says it helps to keep from getting flat head and maybe reverse it. i just thought you could look it up and read about it yourself. good luck!!!

i didnt read the other replies but i would say talk with them and see if there are other things you can do first to avaoid having to use one. but also getting it done and out of the wway now may be better than waiting. did they say how long he will have to wear it ... days, weeks months?

i will pray that you are able to come to the best choice for you both and that you will have peace with the choice you do make.

hey there...my daughters birthday is october 16th! (2004). my advice to you is to check out craniosacral therapy. it is hard to explain, but i believe that it is gentle massage in the neck and head. it has been proven very helpful in babies. there is a therapist is eugene that we have used: benjamin bell. he saw our daughter after she was born. she came out face first and had lots of face and lip swelling, also one of her eyes was bloodshot,and one of her ears was folded (man, birth can be rough!). he did one 40 minute session with her and we saw results in days. we have also seen him wuite a number of times since. my daughter had to get a filling and had a traumatic experience at the dentists (beware of dr.barta!), followed by some teeth grinding. he saw her a few times and the grinding stopped. quite a population of our community sees him. his energy is amazing. he is such a gentle person. and not too expensive. craniosacral is especially helpful with the bones in the head, so it may be really helpful for your son. it is alternative, and your doctor may not be knowledable in it, so may not necassarily advice. but it looks like you are looking outside your box. good for you. life with a helmet sounds tough. try this kind of therapy, it may work. his number is : ###-###-####. let me know if you call him ~s

Hi there,
My daughter did wear a helmet for 7 months to correct her head shape. She had torticollis (sp?), which meant that she couldn't turn her head all the way (easily resolived with PT, once we figured it out), but she did develop a preference for sleeping in the same exact spot on the back of her head, which resulted in flattening. We were always good about not leaving her in head flattening contraptions during the day (swings, carseats, etc), but once they develop their spot, it is hard to redirect them (sort of like a rear-end indent in a couch- it is more comfortable to sit there than anywhere else).
Her dad has the exact same flat spot and his head does look a little funny and he was teased as a kid for it, which is one of the reasons he didn't hesitate to try and correct her flatness. The teasing was a big issue for him, and I think it is probably more important to correct the issue in boys, since girls will usually have long hair to cover it better.
When we began helmeting her, we were told it would take about 12 weeks. It took 7 months!! I HATED having the helmet on her, because it was hard to snuggle her, we got stared at all the time, and it was generally a nuisance. It didn't completely fix the problem either, but our orthotist told us that side flat spots correct easier and faster than back ones. All that being said, I don't regret it at all, since her head is still in better shape than it was and I don't even really remember her in the helmet until I see the pictures. I just remember my baby :)
If you do decide to helmet your baby, the sooner the better. It works by your child's head growing, so you want to take advantage of the most growth spurts possible. After two years old your head is pretty much set.
There is a yahoo plagiocephaly support group, by the way. You might want to check it out and ask questions of the parents on there. Good luck!

I was told the same thing about our son at 6 months old. We actually went in and got fitted for a helmet and let me tell you..I never got past about 3 hours a day! My son (and Mom & Dad) Hated it!! I would cuddle him and go to kiss his head, and kiss the helmet instead! Thankfully, his head did reshape on its own with lots of Tummy Time. Maybe try that for a couple weeks and see if you notice any difference. I wish you the best!!

Our first son had the same thing happening with him and his pediatrician suggested we do a cat scan to make sure everything was ok and that his soft spots weren't closing up unevenly or too soon. He was ok in that respect but still had a very uneven head (his problem manifested itself in his forehead being very uneven: one side stuck out farther than the other. Very noticable if you looked at him from the top) In our case, we realized that we had been laying him in his crib the same direction every single time and he liked to look one way to see certain things. That is what caused his flatness (and protruding forehead), and at that point when we started laying him in bed the other direction, he still insisted in looking the same direction because it was more comfortale for him. So we had to start doing exercises with him where we would hold him laying down on his side with his back to our stomach and have to do a certain number of reps of pretty much forcing him to look the other way for 10 seconds at a time. It wasn't much fun at first and he really fought it, but after a bit he was ok with it and it just became routine. We didn't have to do it for too long before the problem corrected itself. He is now almost 2.5 years old and I just looked down on his head from above and I can see the tiniest bit of uneveness on his forehead, but I think it's only because I know it was there. Hope that helps. Ask your physician if there is any exercise you can do to try to remedy the problem. Good luck!

Hi S.
I haven't heard about wearing a helmet because of head flatness.
When my son was born his head was a little uneven and pointy.
I had my chiropractor adjust the plates on his head (yes they do move a bit, especially with babies when the plates are still a little soft.) It has never been a problem for my son-his head is normal.
I have several other friends who have used this chiro for their babies and we love her. He name is Nancy Edwards and she is a fantastic chiro for both kids and adults.
Call the Chiropractic Centre (in Seattle near Queen Anne)
and get her opinion before you give up on life without a helmet.

I dont have a child in a helmet BUT I did get braces from a place that makes them and asked questions, I looked online, and I have 2 children who both at one point had a flat spot. The reason your baby has this is because he prefers to sleep on his left side. Make an effort to roll him over, turn his head etc while he is sleeping so that he isnt always on the same side.
The helmets are cosmetic. There is no danger to his brain or health. I dont know of anyone who has a perfect shaped head, we are all unique. In the extreme it can cause facial irregularity (pushing an eye off center) but I am really questioning the nessesity. Babies have been sleeping on prefered sides since the beginning of time and helmets just came out, yet I have not seen someone where I could say that their "funny" looks were due to a mis-shapen head. I think that this is mostly a product of our societies drive for unnessesary perfection. Just my opinion, I dont know all there is to know. My daughter had one side noticably flatter, we just rolled her at night, it evened out and at 2 yrs you cant see any difference.

S.,
My son has a good friend with a flat head. He had used a helmet, but I think his mom didn't put it on him very much because his head is still flat. He is now 8yrs. There are two issues I have witnessed. The first is that his head looks different and people comment on the flatness. The other issue is that during baseball season, none of the batting helmets fit his head at all. (Something to think about.) Kids are mean and I know when he gets older that he will be picked on because of his head shape. (I hear MANY parents comment on his head at ball games.)
My cousin had the same thing. My aunt was very active about keeping her in the helmet all the time. My cousin's head is now normal and she didn't have to wear the helmet for very long. (I think because she wore it all the time.)
I wish you well.

I will first admit that I didn't read through all the replies, since I, off course, am a busy mom. I, however, wanted to put out a bit of advice I got that probably isn't going to solve your problem, but it may help you or others since proper positioning is so important.

The BEST tip I got with my daughter who suffered from torticollis (a big reason for plagiocephaly or flat headedness...have you tried physical therapy? We used that and had great success...she was discharged before she was a year old)was how to help position her in her car seat. It was to take a "noodle" (the long foam swimming "tubes") and cut a length of it that would fit from her shoulders to the top of the seat. Then cut it again lengthwise, in half (leaves you with two "c" shaped pieces). Take these and put the flat side against the hard foam padding that is under the cloth padding on the seat so as to build up the sides and help to hold your child's head more in midline (centered on body). If this isn't enough (I needed to add more for awhile since my daughter was very small) you may also need to add a rolled towel or receiving blanket to either side. I even had a roll positioned next to her ribs/trunk on the opposite side of the one that was weak so that she was really nicely lined up...you may want to consult with a physical therapist for something like this so you get it right (show them how your child is positioned in their car seat).

Oh, and the other helpful thing was for us to use a wedge for side sleeping so she wasn't always laying on the same spot..but your son might already be rolling and this might not work as well as if he was younger. We only used this until my daughter started rolling a lot.

Good luck!

Have you consulted a chiropractor? Are there x-rays?

the reason I ask is this: There are 8 skull bones. during birth, they may get dislodged. this can also happen to adults when there is force to the skull, whiplash, or when the head comes in contact with a hard object, like hitting it on the floor during a fall. Anyway, it is easy & simple to shift these bones back into alignment, the child will probably not even feel a thing, besides the hands on his head. I have had mine done, (from getting hit by a horse head in the side of the head) and there is this odd sense of relief. It might be why he is always touching his head; there may be some discomfort with the misaligned bones.

I would hope you can get around this "helmut" concept, I've not heard of it, but it does seem like it would be traumatic to have this thing put on your head at that age. He would have no concept of why this had to happen.

It may be that he really has a flat bone, (x ray's would show this) but my guess is, that as pliable as bones are, that's not the case.

It looks like you are in Redmond. I don't know her name, but there is an amazing woman in Bend that could probably help you. Seems to me she is(or was) a rock climber at one time.

If your interested, I can contact my friend over there & get her name.

God bless you,
Ang

Good for you that you're questioning the helmet idea! I would strongly suggest that you see a really good experienced craniosacral therapist or cranial osteopath who specializes in working with children. I saw a woman in Seattle years ago with my daughter, but I don't remember her name and don't know if she's still in practice. I'm sure there are several good ones in the area, and I'd recommend talking with all of them to find a good fit. I have heard terrible things about helmets - not to mention the trauma of having to wear one 23-1/2 hours a day! Please don't do this to your baby! And I don't know if you've been laying him down to sleep on his back or always on the same side, but I'd suggest having him sleep on alternating sides, and on his belly with head turned to alternating sides. Lots of babies are ending up with flatness in the back of their heads because of the "back to sleep" campaign - because of a misguided attempt to prevent SIDS (not true) - which is why there's so much use of helmets. I do think it's important to see someone about this soon, because the flatness is not just a cosmetic issue, but it's very important for brain and nervous system development and all sorts of other things, that there is optimum room for growth. If he's having any sort of symptoms or difficulties, getting this work done may help clear them up as well. There's also a book called Baby Beautiful that explains a lot about craniosacral therapy for babies, and gives suggestions for things you can do at home as well.

I haven't had any experiances with helmets, but I have had experiances with doctors and specialists. If they said "your baby may or may not need it"-that is usually code for "lets wait and see". I'm all for wait and see (especially if he likes to rub his head to go to sleep). In the mean time, if he has a flat head, get him in an excersaucer, swing, or something that doen't require his to be on his back all the time. Both of my son's liked to be "up" vs. laying down. They didn't like floor time, and I had to make them play on the floor for "tummy time". Once he is sitting up full time, the "flatheadness" may go/or grow away. I would wait and see.

You could get a referral to see a pediatric physical therapist. We specialize in treating kids with torticollis (preferring to look in one direction more than the other), which often leads to a flat head on that side. If this is the case, we can show you different positioning strategies and strengthening exercises to try and correct the problem (or not let it get any worse). Often though, a helmet is the only way to see significant changes. That's because by 6 months a child's head is fairly soft and conforms to the surface it's placed on. After that, until about 2 years old, the skull continues to grow, but at a much slower rate. After 2, the bones in the skull fuse together and the only way to change head shape is surgically. If you decide to do a helmet, make sure you investigate all the different options, as some are more "breathable" and cosmetically more appealing. Again, a pediatric physical therapist can evaluate the helmet to make sure it is a good fit. Hope this helps.

Hi S.,
We had the same problem with my son. His head was absolutely flat on the back as I kept him on his back 24/7. I didn't know that is OK to have him on his sides when he was awake. I went through the same pros and cons like you for two weeks (lost my sleep) but decided to do my best to move him around but not to go for the helmet. Now his head shape is OK (4years old), a little bit bumpy here and there but not a big deal. Trust your mother's instincts, look for the head shapes in your family and if they are pointy, your little guy has a big chance to have it close to normal. May be if I had a girl, I would go for a helmet but with a boy... Who looks at boys head shapes? Talk to your ped too to see what he thinks. Good luck!

Hi S., I have a now 5 1/2 year old boy who had quite a flat spot on his right side and back of his head. We saw the pediatric Neurologist when he was 4 mos old because they thought his plates might have been fused, they weren't but the doctor told us the same thing in the middle. We chose not to do it, I just didn't feel good about it and over the last year his head has really rounded out a lot more. Our pediatrician would look at it every year and say not to worry because they have until 4-5 years of age before things really fuse in there. So do what you're most comfortable with and know that it may just round out over a time span. No one else really noticed it once he started growing and his hair came in, we knew it was there, his ears were not level but they are very close now.

hope that helps a little, good luck with your decision
J.

My situation is very similar to Amy N.'s. My husband had a flat head and was teased a lot as a kid, so when our daughter ended up with his head he wanted to do what he could for her to have a more "normal" shaped head.

So we got her helmet at about 7 months and she wore it for 4 months. We followed the 23 1/2 hrs pretty well so she could get it off sooner. The sooner they get one the less time they wear it. I did hate having it and missed her head, but I am glad we did it. I look back at pictures b-4 the helmet and realize what a difference it made.

Also, she did see a Physical Therapist for Torticolis sp? which is very common for kids with flat heads. So be sure to get a referal to a P.T. and have your baby checked out. This is more important than the flat head issue. It can effect their entire motor development.

Well, good luck with your decision. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Megan

My son had a flat head on the left side, but was due to a tightness of the neck muscle that made it difficult for him to turn his head to sleep on the other side. We went to physical therapy where they showed has how to help loosen and strengthen up those muscles. Basically the more time they spend on their tummy the better, even if it is for 5 min at a time. We would alternate the side we put his head when laying him in his crib and when changing his diaper so he would have to look a different way and get him off the flat spot. We also saw a specialist after four months of doing this and she felt we were on the right track and wouldn't need a helmet. It does start to round out on it's own as the child spends more time sitting up....I don't know if you child has started doing this. I know this can be difficult decision to make. Our son's head is not perfectly round, but nobody can tell anymore (who has a perfectly round head?). We also have a friend who's son has to where a helmet so we were able to do a lot of comparing and talking with her. It has helped her son a lot who is looking much better, but they have had their difficulties with it.

We also put our baby in a side sleeper to get him off that spot on his head. After much discussion over having something in his crib, SIDS, etc, with his PT (her recommendation) and dr we decided to try this. Our son had no problem with this and now has out grown it. I know this isn’t for everyone, but in conjunction with all the other things we his head has gotten much better.