A sunken softspot is a sign of dehydration, however, not all by itself. There are other signs, at least some of which need to be present. Well, I made the mistake of mentioning this to mom. So of course, in the middle of the night, she felt her softspot and started freaking out. Partly because Ashley slept for over 6 hours, after not eating that much, but also because she actually didn’t know what the softspot felt like before. I felt it, and since I have felt it every day since birth, I knew whether it was good or bad. She however did not. As a caution to any parent, DON’T FEEL THE SOFTSPOT FOR THE FIRST TIME AT 3AM!!!! Especially not emotional mommy. Its just a bad move all around.

Don’t be afraid of the softspot. You are not going to lobotomize your child by touching it. Yes, you shouldn’t press on it hard, duh. But i guess a good way to describe how much pressure you can touch with would be to press no harder than half as hard as you would press your own eyeball without it hurting (even after your done pushing). At least that is what it seems to me, but basically, just enough to feel the edges of the skull, and the depth of the depression. But really, how many infant lobotomies have you ever heard of by a parent pushing to hard on the softspot. Even by accident, you will end up pushing on the spot, harder than you want, while changing her clothes for example.

The softspot is a result of the skull plates not being fully formed so that the head can be deformed allowing it to fit through the pelvic opening during birth. As an adult, your skull is a mostly solid casing for your brain, that no longer flexes to external pressure. Even after birth the softspot serves a purpose, indirectly. Since the skull plates are still loose fitting and able to deform, your baby’s head is actually pretty tough against impacts. Most babies have hit their heads at some point, often falling out of a chair, off a table, or out of the parent’s arms, no matter how careful you are. It has almost already happened to me, since Ashley seems to have the legs of freaking Olympic Weightlifter and gave a big push right as I was switching arms. Short of getting stabbed by something sharp in the softspot, its actually a good thing.

The other thing people don’t realize is that the softspot is not just a layer of skin, then brain. There is actually a fairly tough fibrous membrane that protects the brain from poking and prodding. If you want more info about it check out this article on DrGreene.