Hopefully someone has some encouraging words... my son has had a flat spot on the side of his head and I just went for a follow up visit with his pediatrician and she said she may suggest sending me to a specialist to get the little guy a helmet. She mentioned the flat spot is not effecting his head growth or interfering with the structure of his face, so it would be totally cosmetic. I was so disappointed to hear the news. She said she will make the call at his 4 month visit. Does anyone have any information on these helmets?
Well we went to his 4 month visit and my son has a mild case of the flat head, so he is not a candidate for a helmet. Whew! His pediatrician said she saw a little progress, but thinks he might be a good candidate for physical therapy if he isn't rolling over by his next doctor visit. So needless to say we are practicing every day. I'm not sure if its helping him or hindering him, but more tummy time won't hurt. Thanks to everyone who had encouraging words and advice. I really appreciate it. I have told so many of my friends about this site, because it was nice to have a network of moms to post to. Thanks again!
I don't have any personal experience with this. But I have heard others say that Chiropractic care will fix an infant's flat spot. It might be worth looking into.
My son had a helmet for a flat spot on the back of his head and it was covered by insurance. My advice is try all the things people have said but if the Dr at 4 months says go get scanned for a helmet, do it! I was told by Mary Free Bed that 4 months was the best time to get it because the head has so much more to grow and with the helmet it'll round out nicely. My son got it at 8 months because my doctor fought me on it. It did do some good but not as much as it could've at 4 months. Babies adapt to the helmet very quickly.
J.
My son had this problem. We noticed it at around 7 weeks. He was diagnosed with Tortocolis - this is a neck condition that causes the child to favor one side. After speaking with the pedatrician we did notice he was sleeping with his head on his left side all the time.
As a recomendation from our ped. we put our son in physical therapy 3 times a week for 4 months. They did stretching exercises with him and massaged his neck to keep the muscles on the right side lose. This worked and he never needed a helmet. We also would turn his head to the right when we noticed him favoring his left side.
Today he's almost 5 yrs old and has no problems.
Let me know if you want the name of the physical therapist. This guy had specific experience working with infants.
Good Luck!
HI J.. I have an eitht month old little girl and we just finished the process with a helmet. She got hers when she was about 4 1/2 months old. I was so nervous and read a lot about it. Some people think it is mean, you may feel like you are being mean to your son...pleas dont! My daughter could of cared less about the helmet. It did not bother her at all! She was very cute in it actually:) I was the one worrying...so many people came up to me and inocently asked why she had a helmet and many already knew and told me that I was doing the right thing. Her head looks great now...no flat spot it took around 3 months. You just have to be careful in the summer that he does not get too hot but other wise it is not a big deal. Believe me your son will thank you when he is older and he does not have a flat spot on his head:)
If you have any questions about the process or where we went for the helmet please email me I will be glad to answer any questions you have...Good Luck and dont worry it is really an easy process:) J.
I've heard some great things about the helmets working, however, since this is considered a cosmetic issue, your insurance will not cover it and I've heard they're quite pricey. You may want to investigate for yourself a physical therapist who specializes in infants and flat spots on their heads. Good luck!
Good Morning J.!!
I would just like to say that all the suggestions given to you by Kathy are great!! Start doing them today!!!
These flat spots seem to come about because the child has a favorite position they like to be in, so they are getting a consistant pressure on one area, and their little heads are still soft and a flat spot occures. The helmets are to reshape the head.
If you can do all the things Kathy was suggesting...hopefully at the 4 month check there will no longer be a need for a helmet!
Good luck!
Peace,
B.
P.S. And if you're a Christian, don't forget to pray!
hey J. is the flat side on the side he lay all the time and feed on all the time if so try switching side the helmet work great but i know alot of people who say it was hard to keep it on even the smallest on if they go with the helmet go to wright and phillup i would go to the one in flint they are great there my mother inlaw and cousion work at that one and they have the best group of doc and most insurance cover them there they find away around it
Hi J. ~
I agree with Kathy. Everything I've heard is that it's caused by always being on their back. He needs to be on his back to sleep, especially at night when you can't watch him. But when he's awak get him off his back ~ lots of tummy time, support him sitting up in the swing, walker (or non-walker, but whatever that thing's called! LOL).
Good Luck!
D.
My son wore a helmet for four months (starting at 5 months old) He saw a Cranio-facial specialist through Children's Hospital in Detroit and his helmet was made through Wright and Fillipis. THere is also drs through UM Ann Arbor. I had a great experience through Childrens. I would make sure that he does not have Tortocolis(tightening of muscles on one side of neck) which may have been the cause of his flat spot. If he does have it the doctor may recommend he go to PT for a short period or give you some streching excercises for you to do with him at home. My son went to PT and we had excellent results with both the helmet and the PT. Be aware that usually the younger your child is when he starts wearing the helmet, the shorter period of time it will be for him to have it. So if you or your doctor think it is pretty significant, I would suggest getting the process started asap. Another reason to get started asap is that it usually takes about a month to get in with the doctor and then have the helmet made. In my opinion it was well worth it for my son he didn't know any better and those four months flew by!
My son had plagiocephaly and had to wear a helmet for four or five months. I highly recommend Dean Woolcock with Springer Prosthetics in Lansing. He was also able to make adjustments. He was great with our son. He eased a lot of my worries.
The main thing to remember if you child does get the helmet is that it's not as bad as it looks. In fact, it was a lot harder on me, then it was on him. He totally didn't notice it and never fought it. I think at the end, he missed it.
Best of luck to you.
My cousin's son had one, I don't know much about it, but I do know that he only had to wear it for a very short period of time. I think the goal of the helmet is to take the pressure of the skull bones as they form together correctly by creating a barrier from what he is laying/sitting against and the head itself. In the next week or so, keep an eye on your son - does he spend a lot of time on that side of his head. If so, try to get him to spend time on the other side or the back of his head - or tummy time. That will help allow that side of his head to form correctly.
My friends son had to wear one and it helped greatly. That is as much as I know about them. My doctor had us use a positioner in the bed to switch our daughter from side to side since she was starting to get a flat spot at about 3 months.
My sons little friend had to have a helmet. Their Dr. said that the helmet was for more than just "cosmetics. If a childs head is misshaped it will affect more than just looks -bike helmets, glasses, etc. will not fit properly. And really a helmet for a couple of months now if you need it, sure beats having a misshapen head for the rest of your life.
Besides, there were times when my son was trying to stand and walk, that we were quite jealous of the helmet. So many worries of him falling could have been relieved!
But definitely try everything first
Hi there,
My son (now 20 months) had the same issue. He had torticolus (sp?) where his neck muscles were tightened one way. We started to see a D.O. who specialized in infant issues. I cannot for the life of me remember her name, but she's at Metro Health at Burton and Breton. Along with that, his pediatrician sent us to Mary Free Bed to get a scan and talk helmets. My son's head was right on the verge of needing a helmet. He said to do EVERYthing to keep him off it and see what happened in a month. We didn't end up needing one, but were prepared. Things you might not think about...don't keep him in his car seat carrier for anything but the car- get him upright in a stroller or front carrier. Prop him up in a highchair, exersaucer, jumper, anything to get him off his little head at all times but sleeping. Good luck!
If it is not interfereing yet, you have a month to help him out. Get him lots and lots, and lots of tummy time. Put him to sleep on the opposite side and switch him whenever he moves back, or put him to sleep with a positioner so that he can't lay that way, maybe try naps in a swing or something like that and put a toy in they way of turning his head. Just a few thought, but you really need to get this fixed before it causes severe problems and if he needs a helmet then it will be worth it.
Hi J.,
i am the grandmother of a little boy who had to have a helmet. And he was 4 months old when he received it. He is now 5 years old and you would never know that he ever wore a helmet. The only problem after he got his helmet off was he was always throwing his head back when he got mad or upset and could hit his head on the floor and it would not hurt him. Well when he got the helmet off he learned that he could no longer do that because it hurt. But he caught on real quickly to that. We tried to make sure he did not hit his head but he was stubborn like most little ones and had to learn on his own. But today like i said he is a very bright 5 year old. And very happy one also because he just started school. And loves it. Well i hope this helps you. If you have any more questions i would be happy to answer them.
Debra
My little cousin wore the helmet for a few months and his head is no longer flat. Also, try not letting him lay or sleep on the flat spot. Maybe put him on his side. There are also massages you can do to his head as well. Try massaging it when you give him a bath and before bedtime. Good luck!
P.S. - If he does need to wear the helmet, try decorating it with some cute stickers.
R.
R.
Hi J. my daughter now 2 had a head shaping helmet for a year and it helped her out a lot. It is best to do early intervention with this because once the soft spot closes it is harder to make improvements. I saw a doctor at Childrens Hospital in Detroit by the name of Dr. Rozelle. She was good. Does your baby get plenty of tummy time. This was a big issue with us. She never could roll so that is how we got our flat spot. Hopefully this helped. If you need more help let me know through an email. ____@____.com.
H.
