Solihull baby Olly gets into shape with round-the-clock headgear

With his bright blue safety helmet, baby Olly Herbert looks like a mini-American footballer ready to take to the field. But the headgear is playing a vital part in his life – because he wears it 23 hours a day to combat a condition known as flat head syndrome.

The five-month-old, from Smiths Wood, was diagnosed after his mum Samantha Kirkbright noticed his head looked lop-sided.

“When he was about six weeks old I noticed his head was sticking out on an angle and the back of his head was flat,” said the 28-year-old.

“I took him to the doctors and they reassured me everything was fine. But, after doing some research, I realised it may not go back to normal on its own.

“I didn’t want to risk Olly being bullied at school when there was a chance to do something for him now.”

The £2,000 helmet will help reshape Olly’s head as he wears it for up to six months. It was built after a consultant in Leeds diagnosed the baby with plagiocephaly, the medical name for the syndrome.

Now Samantha and Olly’s dad Carl are fundraising to repay a relative who paid for it.

She said Olly was not fazed by wearing the helmet virtually around-the-clock.

“He is a very happy baby in it,” she said. “Some people have said he looks like a little American footballer – he looks really cute and it shows off his chubby cheeks.”

Samantha works for Costa coffee at Birmingham Airport and has another son, eight-year-old Kaden.

She is also raising funds for other children through charity Headstart4Babies.

“We are doing what we can,” she said. “We are organising a car boot sale and a raffle at work.

“My brother-in-law is also doing the Great Manchester Run next week for the cause.”

If you would like to donate: http://www.justgiving.com/babyolly

Read the full story here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/health/solihull-baby-olly-gets-shape-7050543