Paediatrician says my baby has a big head maybe fluid...very scarred advise please

[mummyfirsttime]

Just back from reflux referral and paediatrician advised DS has large head. Neither my partner or I have extremely large heads. DS is on the 98th percentile for his head circumference but only between the 25th and 50th for length and just on the line of the 9th and 25th percentile. The picture I am painting would suggest his head looks huge compared to his body but if fact you can only really see that his head is slightly bigger. However he has jumped 2 percentiles in 2 months with his head circumference. The Paed wants him back in 3 months to measure his head again and has said that this will rule out fluid on the brain etc as he has no other symptoms as his reflux/sickness has got better.
Im really worried and wondered if anyone has experienced this. 3 months is a long time to wait!

Thanks

[Nicknamefail]

My dd had a 98th centilitre head and 25th for wt. she went up centimes at first and then settled on this centile.
If they were very worried they would be doing a scan now, waiting for 3 months sounds like it is a low risk rule out option.

[EyeoftheStorm]

Agree with Nicknamefall - if the paed was really worried he would do a scan now as it would show the fluid on the brain.

DS2 has what you're afraid of - it was caused by prematurity. Even if your DS does have it, it can be fixed. DS2 is 3.9 and has no problems with it now.

But the docs would be doing more than checking after 3 months if they thought he had it. These threads always catch my eye, but I've never known any of them turn out to be anything more than just a bit of a big head. Easy to say, but please down't worry.

[PJM18]

Hi. I have 3 boys and they all have big heads that have been on a larger percentile than their weight and height. I would imaging in most cases it's just one of those things, the way they are. I wouldn't imagine it will end up being anything serious and hopefully the doctor would have done more tests now if very concerned.

[cestlavielife]

probably nothing.. some people have big heads.
how old is your baby and are there any other concerns besides the reflux?
eg development concerns ?
two percentile jump - if you mean was 96 now is 98 then really it could be just due to poor meaasuring or not using the same tape measure or same person. if has gone say from 10 per cent or fifty per cent to 95 per cent then yes huge leap. if has gone from 96 to 98 then that could be simply down to who measured it each time !

[monikar]

DD had a large head as a baby - she went from being between the 50th and the 75th percentile at 6 weeks to being on the 99.6th percentile at 8 months. She is a teenager now and still has a large head - hats and hairbands never fit. I agree with other posters - more tests would be done immediately if there was any serious concern.

[LatinForTelly]

Agree with other posters that if they were really worried, they would scan immediately, and not wait 3 months. I hope that may be a bit reassuring although the situation must be very worrying for you.

My DS1 had 75th centile head, 2nd centile height, below chart weight and was scanned at 5 months for hydrocephalus. He was clear, but turns out this clinical presentation is textbook for the condition he was eventually diagnosed with (which involves being born IUGR - small for gestational age).

Three months is a long time to wait worrying about this. Could you try and push for an earlier scan? For us it was just an ultrasound, so not at all upsetting for a baby.