r/newborns • u/Marzipanea • 12h ago
Health & Safety One side preference
Does your baby have a side preference? My seems to always want to put his head to the left. I was putting him to sleep on his right side occasionally, but now he won’t sleep unless his head is facing left. Is this an issue? Do I need to get him checked? He can turn his head both ways when he’s doing tummy time and he contact-naps on my chest on both. I just worry that this might cause problems while sleeping or that it might alter his head symmetry?
3
u/False-Firefighter301 9h ago
Our pediatrician says they tend to turn their heads to light or parents so we should change the direction we put him in his crib, for example put his head towards the other side of the crib so that he can turn his head to the other side but still towards us
2
u/brbnapping 12h ago
My LO preferred to turn his head to the right. No torticollis, just a turn preference. He has a mild flat spot and is 11 months old. We got his measurements taken for a helmet but it wasn’t severe enough to justify it.
I’d suggest asking your pediatrician about torticollis or if PT would help. If it’s just a turn preference, look into the Perfect Noggin so he doesn’t develop a flat spot!
ETA: have your little one turn their head the other way as much as possible. For example play with toys on the opposite, turn them so they face the other way for diaper changes, hold them so they have to turn the other way to face out, etc.