anyone else had problem with head size?

Sinead - posted on 08/09/2011

my actual health visitors basically laughed off the big head when i went up, was told there was nothing to worry about, they have always been amazed with ava's speech, she is 16month old. when i went last they asked if they could do speech test on her just to be curious and it came back as that of a 28month old. and has passed all her developmental tests with flying colours. they are keeping an eye on her soft spot but it is showing signs its slowly closing. she is on the very top line. i personally cannot see this huge head but think her hair must be covering it well. thanks for all the advice girls x

Jen - posted on 08/09/2011

My daughter is the 100% percentile for head size, so the pediatrician measured my head and my husband's head. It turns out mine was off the charts. The ped said if it runs in the family, there is nothing to worry about. The circumference of an adult head is normally equal to 1/3 of it's height...if anyone wants to see if they have a big head:)

Aleksandra - posted on 07/11/2011

I agree even when you believe your kid is fine and acting just normal do not ignore her advice just to be on the safe. doctors can be rude, i personally dont like mine here, but she is very useful

Kelly - posted on 07/10/2011

When my son was 9 months old the Dr told me he had a very large head it was over the 99% and had us get a CT scan done. I was upset that she would tell us he had a big head even after explaining large heads run in the family she still insisted that we had a CT scan done. Thank God we listened to her they found a large arachnoid cyst on my sons brain and were able to put a shunt in before any problems developed. So no matter how much we never want to hear that our child has a big head and what not I would highly suggest getting any test the Dr thinks she should have.

Aleksandra - posted on 07/10/2011

hey there! so my son is half american half bulgarian.he was born in new zealand.he was born with slightly bigger head for a start. then again on the weekly check ups at the beggining and then the monthly later on, his HC was never a concern as it was growing gradually. we were in Bulgaria when his 8 month check-up was due, so we did it here. when the doctor mesured his head she told me that he has probably had rachitis as his head was bigger, but he was still in the average norm, for what I knew from the baby books. she asked me if i had given him vit D. i have never heard of that before but apparently this is common here in Bulgaria for prevention of rachitis and also helping the fontanelle to close. but then again u need to give it just in the right dose so the fontanelle doesn`t close too soon. also the doctor decided to do an ultrasound of the head through that soft spot to see if his ventriculus was not dilated to exclude hydrocephalus, so he was fine, but she prescribed him vit D to make sure his fontanelle will close on time. and also because he was born when in new zealand was autumn then he spent the winter there and when we came here was autum going winter again the alternative of vit D is exposing baby for at least 10 min a day to sunlight. even just a small uncovered patch of his skin for just few min is enough to get the dose needed. I am wondering if u live at a place that doesnt get enough sunny days as this could be a possible reason for the soft spot to close slower. the lack of vit D causes rachittis and if left untreated baby could start slowing in his developpement. but it could be reversed. otherwise it does feel weird for me here in bulgaria most kids do have smaller heads than my boy but never noticed when i was in new Zealand where vit D is not prescribed to babies. plus we do have some big heads in the family on both sides...well he is now 15 and a 1/2 months and maybe was the vit D or the fact that I strated exposing him to more sun, but his fontanelle is just about closed. and of course I mean sunlight in the mornings and then after 4-5pm. all the best for you and your family

Elizabeth - posted on 07/06/2011

My 3 yr old still has a 'big head' and I love it! My dr's have never been 'worried' but he's always been in like the 99%!!! I think he's beautiful and smart, healthy!

Ashley - posted on 07/05/2011

the soft spot can be a very dangerous thing - either closing too early or later - even know a couple of kids who have had to have surgery -

Personally I would recommend trying not to get offended by the nurse/doctors lack of bedside manner and really look at the medical factors involved - you failed to mention your daughter's age - --- reality of being "advanced" (and most mothers do think this - just reality) --- is you have to take into account ALL motor skills and senses not just vocal - your child make excel at vocalizations but lack in another area - the entire picture will tell you if she is running behind or a bit ahead not just two words - my daughter has been saying LOTS of stuff for a long time now (she is 16 months) but she fails at coloring - no interest - a friends kid who is 6 weeks younger excels at coloring, but lacks vocals - some is personality and some is what the parents/sitter, etc focus on more

Andrea - posted on 07/04/2011

They might be concerned about hydrocephalus (soft spot would be bulging that's why it's a spot to watch) and it causes developmental delays. The brain should not grow out of the skull, if it grows faster than the bones they would open the bone, not close it, and place a draining tube in the ventricles. It is one thing for the health care professional to explain concerns objectively so you understand and you can make decisions based on facts, it is quite another to make rude comments like "every mom thinks so" and other things about your baby. That was uncalled for. If you can, ask for a different person, or report it to the manager. This was unprofessional and they should deal with it. I hope your baby is fine and you will get better treatment next time. Good luck.

Sinead - posted on 07/04/2011

aww thank you girls. well when ava was born her head was tiny but grew really quick frmo about her bein 4month old. i think the main concern at the min his her soft spot because they said if it doesnt close soon her brain could start to grow out of it and obviously that would be serious. thanks for everyones posts. she got an apointment thursday to redo her measurements. x

Desiree - posted on 06/30/2011

I do not wanna freak you out but my first son, who is almost 3 now, had a huge head and at one point started getting a little ridge in the front. We kept taking him to the doctor and he did 3 ct scans and kept saying that nothing was wrong. I finally got tired of hearing nothing was wrong so I took him to a specialist who told me it was craniosynostosis. Its rare but it causes very large heads and a ridge to form in diff places on a childs head. His was straight down the middle of his foredhead. I dont know if that would be what your lil one has since her soft spot hasn't closed since this causes the sutures to close prematurely. Just thought I would share for any moms out there with the same issue.

Jamie - posted on 06/30/2011

My sons head is in the 99th percentile and we knew it was hereditary. So they did blood work and it showed that he had a chromosome deletion. In which we had to make an appointment for him to have an mri to make sure blood was flowing to all the right places and in October he has to have genetic testing...

Angela - posted on 06/29/2011

My son's head is in the 88th percentile, and he is in the 70th percentile for height. The doctor told me at his 15 month visit last week that his big head corresponds with being tall for his age. Hope that helps!

Allie - posted on 06/28/2011

My daughter was born with a slightly larger head and has been slightly larger most of these past fifteen months but is slowing down like your little one. The doctors have never said it was a problem just how she was. every baby is different ive always thought it was cute. being different is a beautiful thing

Marissa - posted on 06/26/2011

My sons soft spot is completely closed but I have the opposite problem, his head is small. I never thought his head was small, perfectly proportionate in fact. I was really surprised that I was told his head was small. However, his pediatrician isn't concerned since he's pretty advanced for his age. I wish I could be more help about the soft spot but I'm not really sure, keep us posted though please.

Dana - posted on 06/25/2011

Since my son was born they have been keeping an eye on his head. His head measures at 19.5 inches and he is in the 97%. This time they told me they aren't really worried but are going to keep an eye on it. He just has a big head. My family has big heads and my step son has a huge head that he eventually grew into...LOL! Please do not worry about it! Another friend of mine had the same issue and even had to go to aspecialist and it ended up being nothing. 9 times out of 10 it's nothing!