What the heck is wrong with having a big head ?

[catherine]

Hi ladies, here's the thing. I took Lucy for her 2-year-old checkup today. Yes, meanie mommie, shots as a birthday gift.. only one a flu shot. [As an aside here and in my capacity as a microbiologist... everyone should be getting one, your whole family (excluding pets!). Grandparents (if they are getting on in years should be getting the pneumococcal vaccine too)]. Anyway, it would appear that her head is 75%, whilst the rest of her husky little 28 lb body is 50%. The pediatrician wants her to come back to be measured again in a few months to see if it stays disproportionate. She said she didn't like to see her crossing percentiles. So, what's wrong with a big head?? She said she was just fine otherwise, fine motor skills are great.

This is typically where the guilt bites. Considering her rough start, she has cruised ever since but in the back of my mind I'm always waiting for evidence of something......




Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (almost 2)
Chloe (7/2/03)

[kim]

Catherine,

Ainsley has a big head, too!! Her height is 50%, weight 75% and head 90%!!! Our pediatrician has never seemed concerned. My dh has a big head and so does his mom (literally and figuratively) [}:)].. Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing.

I had a geneticist once tell me that Ainsley's head was too big, and proceeded to tell me that I had a big head, too. What a b&*(*.

Kim
Ainsley Kathryn 11/26/02-36 Weeks Preeclampsia
http://home.austin.rr.com/schwintz

[catherine]

Thanks for that Kim, jeez it sure doesn't take much to undermine a mommie's confidence!! Actually, it may be that her head is actually getting bigger, when she was younger, everything was in proportiona and tracked somewhere between 25th and 50th percentile. DH thinks she's just so darned smart her head had to get bigger to hold her brains. Can anyone spell besotted?!! LMAO, especially as she has now hit the 'terrible twos' with a vengance. Can I paint a picture?... who remembers Flashdance? The scene where she's dancing from foot to foot with one hand out.. Maniac.. Maniac etc. playing in the background. Now transpose that onto a 38 inch, 28 lb snot-faced munchkin with the worst sticking out, scrawny pigtails you've ever seen. This is MY CHILD.....DIVA BABY!!!!!

Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (almost 2)
Chloe (7/2/03)

[taras mom]

I like the big-brain explanation! Seriously, everyone is proportioned differently, so it's reasonable to expect that they would cross percentiles now and then. I can understand your concern, but I bet your little maniac will be just right next time they measure her.

Tara Mairichi
12/7-12/9, 2002
My little angel

[mada]

Pediatrtions tend to make people "freak out" over nothing. It happend to me too. My doc told me that Ben had grew so much in a 4 month period that she wanted to check his thyroid and he might have hypothyroidism!! I was like What!!!!! Aren't tots from 1-3 suppose to grow like weeds?? He is fine happy to say..so don't stress it I am sure Lucy is fine[:)]

Mada Harpster

Sam 6-29-00 36weeks P.E.
Ben 11-03-01 No P.E.

[season]

It's a pediatrician's job to lok for possible problems; that's why we take our childrne in for well baby/child checks. A big head, in general, is not a concern. But, head growth that increases drastically, out of porportion to the amount the body has grown is worth watching as it can mean nothing or it can mean a problem such a hydrocephalus (sp?.)

When ds was a few months old his pediatrician had us do a cranial U/S (can be done as long as there's still a soft spot) because his head was growing so much more than his body. Fortunately everything was fine, ds just has a dispraportionately largee head (5th percentile for height and weight, 75th for head.)

SueAnn
dh Kwame
ds Ezekiel 1/2/02 (34wks due to pre-e)

[mada]

Oh Absolutley it's their job to make sure everything is okay and right!! I just meant that a lot of times, we get so worried about the worst possible senario and everything turns out to be okay[:D] It's great to have a doc on the look out!!

Mada Harpster

Sam 6-29-00 36weeks P.E.
Ben 11-03-01 No P.E.

[kathyc]

Hey Catherine-

I've read that most big-time movie stars and politicians and othe celebrity-types have larger-than-average heads...supposedly makes them appear more charasmatic (and intelligent). Maybe your little "maniac" will be President someday...or the next Julia Roberts![8D]

Kathy (35)
DH Gavin
DD Abigail 8-10-01
Baby Audrey, Born 7-25-03 at 33 weeks 6 days~Placental Abruption

Audrey's homepage
https://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=1U2G3M0C8P
Password: Coldwell

[tgenco]

Catherine,
My daughter also had a big head and stayed larger, still is. The reason for consern is that it could be a sign of cancer, or tumors. That is what the pediatrician told me. They wanted to do a mri and since she was an infant she would have to be put to sleep to stay still.
The good news is it was nothing and ALOT of babies born of csections have larger than normal heads for their size, because they dont get the advantage of being squeezed through the birth cannal!
Tonia

[catherine]

Chloe this time!!!! Went for her four month check up and was offically pronounced "BORINGLY HEALTHY". Got to love that!!!! 50%, and a huge 13 lb 4 oz for a baby that started life at 5 lb 5 oz. I'm feeling like a jersey cow right now....full fat!

BTW, don't know if everyone knows but there are vaccine formulations out there that combine DPT, Hib and Polio in one. Yup just three shots instead of five. Got to love that! The clinic told me that the state was providing so it wasn't being charged to insurance. Surprisingly evolved for my "banana republic" state.

Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (2)
Chloe (7/2/03)