5mth old with very strange shaped head - abnormal?

[ScreamEagle]

I babysat for my 5 mth old nephew today and am quite concerned about him.

His head is a very strange shape - at the back one side is very flat and the other side at the back is very rounded. When picking him up he feels very floppy and seems to have very little strength in his back and his head flops about quite a bit and he doesn't appear to be able to hold his head up - it flops backwards.

I picked up also that he didn't respond to me calling his name so tested that by shouting and clapping loudly behind him and he didn't even flinch. Also I pulled him up by his hands when he was laying flat on his back - again his head flopped backwards and he didn't attempt to pull up. Similarly, holding him up with his feet on the floor, he didn't push against the floor with his feet either.

Now, to me this is very worrying but I don't want to be accused of interfering if I say anything. Does this sound normal to you (I think the answer would be no though, really) and what should I do as a concerned aunty?

[ScreamEagle]

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[TrickorTwiglett]

distraction tests don't really work with infants .. hence I would draw no conclusions from him not flinching

muscle strength takes a while to develop .. he may just not have much on the tummy time .. I wouldn't worry personally for a month or so about that ..

some kids don't like pushing against the floor

I basically think he's only 5 months old and I wouldn't draw any conclusions

if your concerns all sprang from the shape of his head .. many babies have flat heads

personally I think you might be over-reacting and I wouldn't worry but I would maybe keep an eye on his development from a concerned auntie pov

[ScreamEagle]

My ds3's head is flat at the back so I realise babies head shapes are different. Dn's head is very pointed on only one side at the back iyswim.

[TrickorTwiglett]

have the parents any concerns .. or their health visitors

I think you might be jumping the gun a bit that's all

[ScreamEagle]

ok

[donnie]

I agree that the shape of his head does not sound like it's anything to worry about. My dd1 had a weird shaped head for months, all flat at teh back and it didn't really change until she was sleeping on her front more.
The floppiness though could potentially be a bit worrying....babies can usually hold their heads up pretty well by 5 monht. You could mention it to your sister/brother ?

[ScreamEagle]

I know heads can be flat at the back or rounded - but his is not symmetrically flat iyswim. One side begind his ear is really flat then it tapers to a really pointy shape behind his other ear giving the whole of the back of his a startlingly lopsided look which to me does not seem natural at all.

If this seems normal to other mner's then I will be reassured.

tbh bro and sil are not the sort to take anything like this without thinking I was having a go so I need to tread carefully.

[Kelly1978]

flatness can be more to one side than the other, there are diff types. One is called Plagiocephaly and the other Brachycephaly.

[ScreamEagle]

Does this correct itself or would some intervention be needed?

Should I mention it? It's never been mentioned by bro or sil but they are renowned for brushing things under the carpet they don't want to acknowledge may be wrong. I am now the third family member to mention his head and his floppiness/lack of muscle tone.

[Roobie]

Ds has a flat head on one side so his head looks quite asymetrical when you look down on it from above - we have seen the paed and he has confirmed that this is common due to babies now sleeping on their backs.....so the odd-shaped head in itself is probably nothing to worry about.
How often do you see him? Perhaps his apparent floppiness could be down to him being tired.....ds is 5 months and although he holds his head up well and can nearly sit (if you get his centre of gravity right!) when he is tired his head can loll about quite a bit.

I'd just keep an eye on him at this stage ....if there really is anything wrong it will soon become apparent in due course.

[meysey]

it is probably all linked - there is a flat-headedness syndrome caused by babies spending too much time in one position, common with babies sleeping on their backs these days, spending a lot of time in car seats etc

if baby spends a lot of time like this, the muscle tone won't be good, and they need to have more goes lying on their tummy...

you should mention it. the not responding to sound is also a worry, though I am no expert. (is this not one of the things that gets looked at in the six month check, though some doctors have phased this out to save money)

most of the time the head thing is not problematic and corrects itself... but sometimes it can cause problems and the earlier correction starts the better. i read a newspaper article about some kind of cap that can be worn - sorry I can't remember which paper

also the kid will know about any lopsidedness when he gets older and may be embarrassed... when he realises it could have been avoided he won't be pleased I should think...

[ScreamEagle]

Hmmm....will think some more about how to mention it in a tactful way.

He does spend a lot of time propped up in front of the telly in a bouncy chair and his head is almost always tilted to one side - this probably explains the lopsided flatness at the back of his head.

Bro and sil are not too approachable when it comes to things like this though so I will have to be careful how I word things with them.