Only turns head to one side

I agree with the PP. It sounds just like torticollis. Some kids do great with physical therapy others require surgery to fix the problem. It is a shortening of the muscles on one side of the neck.

The big risk with torticollis is that many babies with it develop flat spots on the side of the head that they tend to favor. This can require wearing a helmet to mold the skull back into the right shape.

I know people here don't like the Bumbo seats so don't flame me for this. : I actually found out about Bumbo seats from the physical therapists at the hospital I used to work at. They recommended them for the LO's with Torticollis. It helps keep the pressure off their heads and allows them to strengthen their neck muscles.

Here is a link to a great site about infant torticollis:

http://www.infant-torticollis.org/

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Yep. My little guy could turn both ways, but definitely showed a preference. The chiro really helped with that. Just be sure to get one qualified to work with babies.

Maybe you could see a ped/family doc to rule out the other stuff, and then try a chiro if it's nothing major?

When our 5th was in the NICU, the doce mentioned that he had torticollis and that we could expect that in the future he would have to have one of the helmets and that he might have to have surgery for it, though they did not give any helpful suggestions on how to help the problem. We called our friend who is a Chiropractor and he visited once in the NICU ( we said he was my brother) and adjusted him and after he was discharged we went a few times a month and the torticollis was resolved quickly, we made sure to pay attention to which side he ws favoring and we wore him constantly in a wrap, turning his head carefully to make sure that he loosened up. He was checked by the local Childrens Hospital for delays when he was 4 months old and they questioned whether he had had torticollis at all, we assured them that he had and told them what we had done, they were surprised but very supportive of whatever we had done to help him. We also used Craniosacral Therapy to help him along with the torticollis and some sensory issues he had from the NICU.
Good luck with your brother and perhaps you could check with a chiro about any stretches you could do at home...
laura

My 8 week DS has torticollus (sp.?) and we have our first physical therapy appointment next week. Do a quick google search, and you'll find all sorts of easy things to do at home to encourage your foster brother to look the other direction.

I'd also consult his pediatrician: he can have a simple hearing test to rule out hearing problems and the pediatrician can feel for any knots in his neck that would indicate torticollus (sp.?).

We're doing the physical therapy because I want to have an actual physical therapist show us how to do the stretches so we do them correctly at home.

Re: helmets: except in very severe cases, I wouldn't be comfortable with that. Our pediatrician threw that out as a possibility if DS still has the flat spot at 4 months, butfrom what I've read, flat spots usually correct themselves once the baby is more mobile.

My nephew had a severe flat spot across the back of his head, and my sister heard everything from surgical rec's to helmet rec's to just leave it alone depending on the doctor she consulted. She went with her family physician's suggestion to just leave it alone and by 13 months, his head shape was OK. Flat spots don't affect babies cognitively- it's purely a cosmetic issue- so I'd be hesitant to go with surgery or even a helmet unless the problem was very severe.

My son would only turn to the right, and only nurse on one side when he was first born. After one quick, and very gentle, trip to our chiropractor it was all fixed! And his latch was better!

~heather

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if you do not do regular excersices with a tort baby, it can start to affect other things. my sons eyes and ears became misaligned and this can lead to vision problems and developmental delays.

Sounds like torticollis to me... my dd had it and we got her acupuncture and massage to get it fixed. The ped wanted us to force her neck to the right (she was always looking left) by holding her left shoulder and pushing her head the opposite way and it was really hard because dd would scream in pain So, we took her to an acupuncturist and within about a month, she was doing fine! It was very gentle and I'm glad we went with that.