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Mr Big Head....

IansMommy
2 Recommendations

Our Ped says Ian's head is growing too fast. His weight and height is average but his head has spiked to the 95%. We go to see the Neurologist next month for a check-up. And he told us to ask the neurologist about his head growth.

Now I'm worried, I thought big heads are a preemie thing. Not to mention I was a big headed baby and I was over due.

What is too big for his noggin? he's 25inches tall, 16 pounds, 44cm head.

Here's some recent (Christmas) pictures:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Angelahk28f/DSCN5520.jpg
Photobucket

Explore topics in this discussion:

Meningitis Falls Hydrocephalus Stress

18 replies

2inoneyear

I am obviously not a neurologist or a pediatrician so I can't say it is nothing to worry about, but I will tell you that both of my girls have very large heads and they are fine. Natalie has always been between the 25-50% for height and weight, but actually above the curve (over 95%) for head circumference since she was a few months old. I think that she was around 75% at birth. She got back on the curve right at 95% just recently and she is over 2 years old. My pediatrician has always said we would just keep an eye on it- as long as it stayed on "her curve" and didn't have a sudden increase in size, there was nothing to worry about. I used to worry about it and dread every well-baby check up because I knew we would have to look at her head on the graph, but it never got any worse.

By the time Audrey came along, I was not at all surprised that she was the same way. She has always been 15-25% for height and weight and around 95% for head circumference. The pedi has never even mentioned anything about her head- I guess we all just assume it is a family trait now.

On that note, my husband has pointed out many times that I have a large head. I have no idea if I did as a baby, but a couple of my cousin's kids are also off the charts for head circumference so maybe it is the kind of thing that runs in families.

How old is your little one? I think that both of my girls jumped "off the charts" around 6 months chronologically, about 4 months adjusted.

I would definitely go ahead and talk to the neuro about it, but don't stress too much. My pedi always told me that this is very common. She never mentioned it being a preemie thing, but she said there are lots of kids that have a one-time jump and then even out.

IansMommy

He was born on 08/08/08 at 30 weeks. Will be 6 months on 2-08-09, 3 1/2 adjusted.

evagracemom

My girls heads have always been 20-30 % points above their weight, the doctor has not been concerned. We call them big dome gals. Thank God they were C-Sections!

evagracemom

He's just adorable, by the way!

mommyinneed

awe,
he is sooo cute! I wouldn't worry too much about it. My son who is now three had a small head when he was born and it seemed like it just grew over night. I remember his pediatrician telling me that his head was in the 95% and my jaw was to the floor. To this day my sons head is still HUGE and the good part about it is that whenever he falls and hits his head he hardly ever gets hurt because his head is as hard as a rock. Your sons head looks normal to me.. keep us updated!

MomtoBabyDale

Ian is absolutely adorable! Thanks for sharing the pictures with us!

My son also has a large head. The pediatrician was worried that he might have hydrocephalus, but we had a head ultrasound done and everything turned out okay. Now, I just think it is because he is a preemie. We went to see another pediatrician (who has never seen him before) and she asked, why is his head so big??? Like I have any answers for that - she's the doctor, not me. :) I am sure that he will grow into his head eventually - it's just a matter of time!

Has anyone experienced any delays in crawling or walking due to the size of your baby's head? I am just curious because we will be reaching that time soon, and I don't know what to expect.

Mama_Cyndi

I think Ian is a beautiful boy and his head looks fine to me, but I'm not hanging any shingles outside my door either. (I hope I'm not so old that the shingle reference sounds insane to everyone else..lol).. I hope you get good answers when you see the neuro. ::fingers crossed::

M-and-D-Mommy

Hi there,

He is precious!!!!

My twins both have large heads. One has a little larger than the other. They stay in the 95-97% range. At one point we had to take one of them to have a ultrasound done of her head (in the soft spot area). It worried us sick and then it turned out fine. Her head stays in the larger percentages, but it turned out she just has a big head:) So, I say see the neurologist and see what he/she says, but don't over-stress before you get the facts. It could be just a larger head:) Oh and the one that had to have the testing is 3-5% for weight and between 10-25% for height. My poor baby girl must have a neck ache at night...LOL! Believe it or not - she doesn't actually look (to other people) as if she really has a huge head. Sounds crazy, but it just sort of fits on her little body pretty well. It is a little big, but so is mine;) LOL!!

Let us know what you find out. Good luck!!!

IansMommy

It's glad to know my son is normal, well a normal preemie.


I never thought about it, I thought he was just Mr Preemie Big head..lol

I don't think I'll worry anymore. He's so advanced for his birth age, I don't think he has any bleeding or fluid on the brain.

Our Ped is GREAT! but I don't think he has much preemie experience. He always sends us to specialists, lol! I need to let him know I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my son. So he won't scare me again.

M-and-D-Mommy

Can he send you to the hospital or someplace to have a ultrasound of his head? Is his soft spot still open? Maybe before you go to the neuro dr - try that instead. That is where we had the test done and it was reasonably quick - just needed some help with the "entertainment" for her to sit fairly still:) You can have a pretty easy test done and be sure there is no problem (for sure) and move on with raising that cutie (with no worries in the back of your mind). I know I felt better afterwards!! Keep us updated on what you decide!!! Good luck!!!

scottj

My son, Mason, who is full term had done the same thing. His head is off the charts apparently. If you look at him he doesn't look like his head is too big but at his 8 mo check-up the ped brought it up. However, he measured my head and my husband's are large. Mine is in the 95% for an adult woman and my husband's is off the chart (I never thought his head looked big?) for an adult male. Anyway, he's not concerned b/c he's hitting milestones and has no symptoms of anthing going on. I realize it's different with a preemie (my son Nate is a 25 weeker who is now almost 4) so I'd talk to the neurologist and all that but it might just be genetics. God bless.

danisue76

My boys were 29 weekers , now 4 and half months old. One of my sons did have hydrocephalus and his head was large for his age when he was really tiny. Now both he and his brother have 40 cm circum. and they are only 12 pounds and 21.5 inches. Your son looks perfect to me.

lola_west

Hi,
i also have a Mr.Big Head...lol. He is 22 mo.old now (19 1/2 adj.) and according his medical records his head started to be on 75% (weight/length - 30%) when he was 2 mo.old actual... it lasts til now... but with time it became less noticeable. I asked million times his pedi, developmental doctor, high risk doctor about size of his head. Nobody saw anything wrong...lol. So i guess that's kind of "preemie thing"...
kathy

emnarbee

My 6 y.o. 27 weeker has always been about 20% on height and weight, but his head is over the 95%. He's totally fine, just big headed :)

IanMommy

Its the name lol, Ian was also said to have a big head we had to go get a scan and it was just what I said he just had a big head

katek

I wouldn't say that having a big head is completely a preemie thing b/c there is a lot of worry about preemie heads growing too slow and being too small as well. The trajectories on preemies tend be flatter than the growth trajectories of FT babies on average. But then there's also worry on the too fast, too big side too. Preemies, I guess, tend to gravitate toward the extremes of the spectrum.

Is it that your child is in the 95 percentile that your doctor thought was a problem, or is it that his growth in the head accelerated during a short period of time?

I know that it is stressful being told by a doctor that something could be wrong, but it is great that you have a proactive pediatrician who is willing to address potential problems early if any small signs arise. We've had the opposite problem with pediatricians and ER doctors. They aren't well-read in the preemie literature and often take the "wait and see" approach when they are ignorant about something. Most pediatricians and ER docs aren't well-read in preemie issues. I frankly prefer the former type of doctor that you have; one who wants to address things right away with a specialist who might know whether or not it is really an issue. A lot of times, things may not be a problem, but better safe than sorry. Anyway, I think that's fantastic that you have a doctor who tends to take the conservative approach!

BTW, Ian is very cute.

BrandonsMummy

We are in the same boat, but were told its normal. My 16 month old former 32 weeker is 0% for weight and height and like 35% for head.

Seth_n_Sanne

Our twins were 31 weekers. Our little man has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus (triventricular) although little lady is fine. He is currently looked after by Oxford's J.R. Hospital. Their age now is 14 months, his weight is below the 0.4 line, but his head exceeds the 95th. His weight is 17.8 lbs, head circumference 51cm.
His developement has been slightly slower than his sister, but this could be a normal boy thing.

My wife nicknames him lollipop!

Seth had a brain scan, then an MRI to confirm what kind of hydrocephalus he has. So far we have been lucky that his condition has not affected him greatly (apart from being top heavy). His hydrocephalus was a direct result of Strep-B Meningitis when aged 4 weeks old.

Hope all goes well at the docs for you.

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