I had never really given Annabelle’s head shape much thought until we started noticing how flat it was in the back. This occurred around four months. So at her four month appointment I brought it up with the doctor. He didn’t seem overly concerned, and said that it should start to round out now that she was on her tummy more. I of course got home, and immediately googled “flat head baby” and learned about plagiocephaly. Basically, since we have started placing babies on their backs to sleep to prevent SIDS doctors have noticed babies heads becoming flat. Sometimes they round out on their own, other times a helmet is required (which is often not covered by insurance since round out a baby’s head is for some reason considered “cosmetic surgery”, which is BS, but that is a topic for another post). Since this is a relatively new condition not a lot is known about whether or not a flat head affects development, but the thought is that everything develops just fine.
Not wanting Annabelle to have to get a helmet I ampt up tummy time. Over the next two months we spent almost all of our non-sleeping time on our tummy or in the exersaucer. Her head however continued to stay flat. At her six month appointment the doctor said since her head is still flat she is a candidate for a helmet. I expected it, so I wasn’t shocked, but I was disappointed/sad. Sad that my baby girl would have to wear a helmet 23 hours a day (yep, 23 hours a day), sad that other parents would look at her and think there was something wrong or that I was a negligent parent, sad that I couldn’t do enough to help her head round out on its own. I plan on blogging about this journey to hopefully help any other parents out there. You can find the posts regarding her plagiocephaly under the Annabelle’s Journey section on my blog.