Is a head this misshapen normal??

[MamaMorgana]

DS is 3 1/2 months old. His head is nowhere near symmetrical, and it's also pretty darn lumpy in the back by his neck! I find it cute; DH finds it worrisome. Will he outgrow it? We're trying things to get him to sleep facing the opposite direction he's been facing/favoring, hoping that will help a little bit.

[TSomm]

I don't have the experience to tell you whether its normal or not, but perhaps if he's favoring a side he might use an adjustment by a chiropractor? One side may be causing him pain or be stiff... We took our daughter in to a chiropractor to help relieve digestive issues.

[HoldensMama]

I only have the experience of my own 2 babies but they were both round like a softball. I know that when our doctor does check-ups he checks the fontanels and feels the whole head. If it was abnormal or something to be worried about I'm guessing it would have been mentioned by now. Have you asked your baby's doctor about it specifically?

[Cheshire]

Look up pics of plagiocephaly (just means misshapen head). If you notice it think about having it evaluated - there is a small window of time that it can be corrected.

[AnnaNova]

my son had a pretty misshapen head... he had a neck tonic where he'd only keep his head to the left, and one day we were bathing him and i noticed that his head was misshapen a LOT (he just had so much hair when he was born, you wouldnt even notice it unless his hair was wet). our dr said it will correct itself. but we did make sure he doesnt sleep on just one side, and took him to chiropractor once in a while. he's 16 mo now and you can still see a little bump on the back of his head when his hair is wet, but its not nearly as bad as it used to be... ask your dr if theres a reason for concern. our dr told us that in many years he has been practicing he only had 1 patient who had to have corrective surgery, and he had some major head-shape issues... so im guessing it's not all that widespread to have it turn into a serious problem.

[laurabfig]

You might want to check out www.cranialtech.com They were the founders of the DOC band, which is a gentle reshaping device to correct plagiocephaly. Correction is quickest if done at a young age, but can be done as late as 18 months, if I remember correctly. I used to work in a pediatric rehab facility, so have seen the results first hand. The website is a wealth of information that may help you as a parent to make informed decisions about how to proceed.

There is a neck condition that is common in children with plagiocephaly called torticollis, in which the neck muscles on one side become tight and then can impact developmental progress such as head righting, visual scanning, reaching, etc. While it is rare that it needs surgery, I feel strongly that parents should seek therapy to correct this condition at a young age before it affects motor development. Usually some simple positioning suggestions and stretches can correct the tight musculature. Pediatricians will usually say that kids will "grow out of it" but then the condition worsens b/c there was not intervention to position the baby correctly and to stretch the involved muscles. I'm not trying to worry you more than you need to be- chances are your child does not have this- but I'm a pediatric occupational therapist and I've heard the "he'll grow out of it" line from doctors all too often, and then would be treating these same children in therapy for the condition later on.)
Hope this helps!

[mommy212]

my cousin's baby (a twin) had a pretty misshappen head when she was born. When she was 6 months she had to have surgery to fix it. Make sure you ask yoru ped. Her surgery was great, it went easily and she recovered and looks exactly like her twin now