jmcummins3

I go back and forth. Of course I'd rather not have him in a helmet if he doesn't really need it, but if there is a way to make it better while his head is still forming, I don't know. I trust our pediatrician, and his head isn't really that bad and has been getting better with our efforts. I got together with a woman from my mom's group and her kids yesterday, and her baby has a bulge on the back of his head too, but his is more in the center so it isn't noticeable unless you're specifically looking at head shape. I didn't bring it up but she never mentioned anything about anyone suggesting a helmet or anything and his head looks relatively normal.

We don't alternate the side he sleeps on at this point since we're still trying to correct the problem without a helmet. He started out with a strong preference of sleeping with his head turned to the left (on his back), which is what caused the problem (he looks both ways and turns his head when he's awake, so it's not a developmental problem, just a cosmetic issue). We half-heartedly tried initially to alternate him, but he'd roll completely over so he could turn his head to the left (stinker!) so we didn't make an issue of it then and just let him sleep how he was comfortable (you do what you have to do to get them to sleep longer before they start sleeping through the night ). Now we prop him up on his right side to sleep, feed him on the opposite arm, and put toys and activity on his right side to encourage him to keep his head more toward the right for the time being to correct the problem. It's gotten better over the last month since we've been forcing the issue, so it could stilll get better on it's own with our efforts without the helmet. The doctor still wants us to focus on his right side and not alternate him yet, so it doesn't sound like he's abandoning the issue completely, just not putting him in a helmet since it's getting better. I guess that makes sense. He's got hair and from the front you can't tell, so no one else notices his head shape being a little off unless we point it out. Even my mom who sees him once a week couldn't figure out what I was talking about with the helmet issue and I had to point it out to her, so I guess it's really not that bad.