Flat head? Helmet?

Question

At the beginning of this week we went to the Dr. because my son had an ingrown toenail (the dr we went to is not my sons primary pediatrician we travel with my husband for work so we just used the local one here) anyways, he said that he wanted to refer my son for a helmet when he comes back for 6 month shots, this caught me a little off guard since we had just seen his primary ped in December for his 4 month check up & he said everything was perfect. What do you guys think? I plan on taking him to his primary the end of Feb. to get his opinion. Anyone else have a baby with a helmet? Or experience with them? I hate the thought of my baby having to wear one :(

Answer

My son got a helmet last week. One side is definitely flat because you would always sleep on that side.

Answer

An aerial view would be good also to see how it looks.
My first was in a helmet. Majority of pediatricians do not recommend helmets because “they’ll round out on their own”. However, not ALL babies will round out on their own and the timeframe to helmet is so short so if you “wait and see” and it doesn’t self correct then they’re stuck with the result. The anterior fontanelle closes anywhere from 9-18 months. So basically you have up to 18 months to helmet. Once the fontanelles close you’re done. The other problem is your biggest growth spurt is 6 months, followed by 9 months, and some at 12 months, and from there on growth slows way down. So the sooner you helmet, the faster results you get. Helmeting after 12 months typically won’t yield as good of results as opposed to helmeting at 6 months. 
These were my first daughter’s results. She had left side plagiocephaly and some brachocephaly. She was in the helmet from 7.5 months to 10.5 months. No regrets. My Ped just kept saying it would get better and it wasn’t. Finally at her 6 month appointment I requested the referral.

Answer

Definitely not flat. Maybe a little cone-ish. I mean that in the least offensive way. I understand not wanting him to wear a helmet but it’s probably only be for a short period of time and you probably aren’t going around in public too much if that’s a worry. If he does end up needs one it’s for his own good. Try not to stress. My sisters baby had to wear a hip brace for the 1st month of his life bc of he was in such a crazy breech position in the womb.

Answer

Doesn’t look flat at all to me. Sorry if this sounds cynical but are you in the US (and therefore private health?) I’m in the UK and I had never even heard of a baby wearing a helmet until I got this app. Babies here just don’t have them and their heads sort themselves out on their own as they become more mobile. It seems to me like it’s just a way for private medicine to make money on something that isn’t necessary

Answer

My niece had a helmet because she had
A big head as a baby and it was a lot of work for her to keep that thing off the ground so she ended up getting a flat spot. She has it on for 6 months and it was honestly the cutest thing ever, she was unbothered and honestly it made her more brave!
My daughter will be getting a referral for one as well at the end of the month at her 6 month checkup. When she was born she had Torticollis pretty bad so we had to work on really helping stretch her neck to loosen the muscles but because her neck was so tight she struggled with tummy time and has a flat spot because of it. The helmet is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about a lot of babies get them! 
But looking at your pictures I don’t think your babe has a flat spot at least not from the angle of these pictures.

Answer

Two of my three kids had to wear a helmet, one for plagiocephaly and the other for a combo plagiocephaly with brachycephaly. My youngest son is almost five months and we have about 3 more weeks left in his helmet. I personally think that your son could benefit from a helmet based on the pics you posted. You could always have a referral done and get input from the experts that handle these things every day. I don’t regret having my sons in their helmets one bit. The improvements I’ve seen are outstanding and they only had to wear them for 6-8 weeks.

Flat head? Helmet?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey