Baby with large head and low weight - so worried!

[Twozealotmorethan1]

My son is just 5mths old. The GP is referring us to a neonatologist as there's concern about his head size and growth. He was born with his weight on the 9th centile and is now between the 2nd and 9th. Birth length was also 9th centile and this seems to have stayed constant. His head circumference was 50th centile at birth and between the 75th and 91st by the 8 week check. A couple of weeks ago it was remeasured and is still just below the 91st centile.
GP and HV want him checked over due to both the increase since birth and the discrepancy with his height and weight.
I'm so worried. They said big heads can just run in families and my 4 year old has quite a large head (judging by how hats fit him) and is fine. But his head size wasn't regularly checked as a baby for some reason so I have no similar measurements from when he was this age.
Google agrees big head can just be hereditary but also a sign of autism, developmental delay, brain tumours and worse!
My baby seems fine and appears to be hitting milestones normally. Plays with his feet, babbles, laughs, almost rolls over, knows his name, good head control etc. I can't help worry though...

[BagelDog]

He is doing all the important things, hitting milestones etc, and isn't ringing any alarm bells with his development? And he seems to be sticking to his centile lines not whizzing up or down? Both these are massive positives.
Used to work in the endocrine clinic at Great Ormond Street and used to get a lot of referrals for very tall or small children, or those with big or small heads. Can construct their own growth charts based on family data, at which point the vast majority turn out to be familial tendencies. This is far and away the most likely thing.

Hope the appointment is soon, and try not to fret in the meantime x

[KanyesVest]

At one stage ds's head was 99th centile and weight 4th. He simply has a ginormous head. He's 4 and a perfectly lunatic normal preschooler who wears age 9-11 hats. It's good to be referred and checked but fingers crossed if all milestone are being met, all will be fine.

[PenguinVox]

Both my babies had enormous heads. My first baby was 9th centile for weight and 91st for head circumference. No one mentioned it but she was like that from birth so maybe the issue for your DS is how his head circumference has jumped up the centiles. But it's very possible that it was measured wrong at birth and that its always been between the 75th and 91st. At birth the difference in cm between a 50th centile and 75th centile head circumference is very small so it could easily have been measured incorrectly.

[Twozealotmorethan1]

Thanks for the reassurance. I hope the referral doesn't take too long. Spoke to GP yesterday who said that if she was very concerned at this stage she would have DS admitted to hospital so try not to worry but she realises that referral itself will generate concern.
I've also read a link between benign hydrocephalus and silent reflux. DS started ranitidine a couple of weeks ago as he's had a cough for about 6 weeks now which is worse at night and GP thought it might be caused by silent reflux.

[QuackDuckQuack]

Measure your head and your DH's heads. I can't find the source, but once read that the majority of concerns over large heads in babies could be avoided if parental head size was taken into account.

My head is about 3cm off the top of the only adult head centile measures I could find here. I come from a very large headed family on both sides, no other medical issues.

[NickyEds]

I had something very similar with ds, he was born a 6lb 5oz, 6lb of which was head! I think he was on the 9th centile for weight and the 90th for head circumference. By the time he was 5 months his had head jumped two centile lines to the 98th centile so he had to have an ultrasound through his soft spot. The first thing the paediatrician did was look at mine and dp's heads (which are unremarkable). Ds is now 2.9 and his height has caught up to his head, his head hasn't grown as quickly and his weight has gone up too (although not as much so he's tall and thin)so whilst he still has quite a big head he's in proportion. He has some speech delay but we have been reassured (today!)that it is unlikely to be because of an underlying problem, just a delay. Either way it has nothing to do with his head size! The only issue we had was that his head went really flat at the back, which the consultant said is more common with children with large heads which also grow fast. It's still a bit flat but has rounded out a lot over time.

[Twozealotmorethan1]

My son was born at 6lb 5oz too....!
He was full term.

His other symptoms of concern are very visible veins in his head. He's pale skinned and has very little hair. The veins themselves aren't especially big but are very obvious. Along with a big head, Dr Google says they could indicate hydrocephalus...!
He also has a cough which has been ongoing for 6-8 weeks now and which is worse at night. No sign of common cold or chest infection so GP thinks it could be silent reflux related and has prescribed Zantac. Again,Dr Google links hydrocephalus and reflux...
I'm still so worried and envisage a bit of a wait for a referral.

[Notthisnotthat]

My DD has a large head so big it was off the chart and her weight is on the 9th centile. She had a CT scan which showed she has external hydrocephalus. She is monitored by a neurologist but her development is fine. Such a worry for you, I hope the appointment comes through quickly.

[Twozealotmorethan1]

Thanks Not. Is her head veiny too? Does she have any other symptoms? Is she just being monitored or is any treatment planned? What age was she when diagnosed? Do they know what has caused the hydrocephalus? Sorry for more questions!