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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Baby - large head?

20 replies

BornSicky · 05/11/2011 22:24

Hi,

I have a 9 month old DS and his head growth is much more than the rest of his development.

He was birth weight was on the 9th centile and moved up to the 25th and has stayed there.

His length has tracked the 75th centile all the way.

but, his head was on the 25th centile at birth and has been tracking between the 75th and 99th centile for a few months now.

HV advised a non-urgent GP review, which is coming up, but any ideas whilst i'm waiting?

google, as always, is not my friend and i'm getting a little concerned.

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gobblygook · 06/11/2011 06:11

Hi, yes, similiar situation here...my DS was born tiny (5lb 10) and was 0.4 for everything for a while...then went to 25th/50th for height and weight....and a whopping 75th for head by week 16. Strangely, no one else really noticed...not even the HV but I went to the doctor. He didn't really take me seriously, then measured it, then did! And then referred me to a paed consultant. When the head moves across two percentiles, I think they like to have a look. Anyway, we had a consult, she was pretty sure it was 'constitutional' - my DH had a big head at birth. The problem was DS was so small at birth (also like me and DH) and then got sick and lost more weight, so he had tons of catching up to do. She did order an ultrasound just to be sure there were no issues with pressure in the head. It was all fine.

DS is now 11 months. We've had three monthly check ups at the hospital and everything is fine. His head is now around the 99th. He just has a big head. But actually, you can't even tell to look at. It's weird. Developmentally, absolutely nothing wrong. He's gorgeous, alert, happy, and bang on with milestones, if a little advance (PFB alert)

Anyway - I know it's worrying when it's the head (I was freaked for a bit) but try not to. It's usually nothing. And honestly, if there were concerns, you'd probably have a raft of other symptoms.

mumofthreekids · 06/11/2011 07:47

Don't let google scare you. I know there can be issues with a big head but it's v unlikely - try not to worry. A small head is usually more worrying.

My DS1 was born with a big head (ouch!), but like gobblygook says, that's just how he is. Let's face it, we are all out of proportion in one way or another!

Original poster

BornSicky · 06/11/2011 10:17

thanks!

he has been hitting all his development milestones and has a good temperament - happy, inquisitive baby.

but, we did have a very difficult delivery - ventouse and forceps - still a smudge of scarring on his forehead from that.

also, you can't tell his head is disproportionate to his body.

you're right, probably nowt to worry about, but do you think i should push for a paediatrician's assessment, rather than GP?

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Scootergrrrl · 06/11/2011 10:23

I wouldn't worry - DS has an enormous head (like off the top of the centile scale enormous) and we had to go to see the GP who measured it, looked a bit bemused and said "I suppose it is rather big".
Apart from an inability to wear clothes without a stretchy neckline and the need for 4 to 6 hats (he's 19 months) we are ok.

BertieBotts · 06/11/2011 10:25

How weird. I don't think they ever measured DS' head. I wonder why they do it in some areas but in other's it's deemed unimportant?

Original poster

BornSicky · 06/11/2011 10:32

bertie it's one of the growth charts in the red book, but must admit that when i get DS weighed at clinic or HV meeting you usually have to ask for them to measure length or head. never sure why that is either.

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Goandplay · 06/11/2011 10:36

I had the same issue with my DS. His head is actually off the scale!
DS is 6 years old now and his hat is up to a 14 year old and its a bit of a squeeze!
Again it's not noticeable and when we saw the paediatric Dr he measured my head and DP's head and we were both off the scale!! It's obviously our legacy?

Goandplay · 06/11/2011 10:38

Also - my HV at the time said that you'd be able to tell if it was a medical problem just by looking at him.
The only issue we've had with his development is that he is clumsy and he is growing out of that.

BertieBotts · 06/11/2011 11:02

Yes I've seen the charts, they have just never measured it, so I always assumed it was left in there because they used to measure it but no longer did, or something.

I think DS' length was only measured once at the 6 week check. And then once he could stand up.

DaisySteiner · 06/11/2011 11:12

It is very difficult to measure a baby's head accurately and at this age very small differences in measurement can make a big difference to which centile they're on. It is quite possible that the initial measurement at birth was done differently/incorrectly making it appear that his head has grown much faster than the rest of him! I had something similar happen with my ds1 - the HV scared the life out of me. GP took one look at him and pronounced him healthy. He is indeed now a healthy 11 year old with a perfectly proportioned head

HTH

tabulahrasa · 06/11/2011 11:15

If it's worrying you definitely go talk to the GP about it

but some children definitely just have big heads, lol

catsareevil · 06/11/2011 11:19

If he is developmentally normal then he probably just has a big head.
Also it is difficult to measure head circumference accurately and a small measured difference can make a big centile difference.

Original poster

BornSicky · 06/11/2011 11:23

my poor little fat headed baby.

you are all putting my mind at rest, thank you!

they have double-checked the measurements each time, because of the points daisy and catsareevil raise.

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AfricanExport · 06/11/2011 11:28

Oh the joys of a large head. My ds has just turned 7 and has a head size of 58 - that's the average head size for an adult male!! He has to wear caps to school but don't know how we are going to find a size 58. They stop at 56 for the prep school hats - at the moment it just looks silly - sitting on top of his head like that. When we started school (at 3!) we went through the second-hand hats available and there was not 1 big enough for him - there were about 40 hats in the bag!

T-Shirts are a complete waste of time unless you can really stretch the neckline so anything reinforced is a no - so cheap is best. We often have shirts stuck on his head - just this morning we had to put a Ben 10 shirt into the pile as we could not get it off his head. We generally buy golf shirts and button ups but are now buying Age 10 clothes for him all round. Even his jeans have to be a size 10 though because his hips are huge. God and his hands - they are bloody enormous!!

I am sure your little one is fine - he probably just has lots and lots of brains. Well that's our story and we're sticking to it.... :-)

gobblygook · 06/11/2011 13:29

I don't think you should press for a paed consult unless you feel it's absolutely necessary. My GP sorted it because the growth was very rapid - within weeks - not because of the size of the head per se.

But symptoms come before a diagnosis, which is important to remember when you're concerned about this sort of stuff. So, unless he is exhibiting any unusual behaviour that concerns you, I genuinely think that babies grow at different rates, at different times.

mejon · 06/11/2011 13:56

DD2 has just turned 9 months too and is on or around the 25th centile for both height and weight but her head measurement was on the 98th having previously (at 4mths) been on the 50th centile. The HV didn't mention anything and her head doesn't look out of proportion to the rest of her - 0-6 hats fit perfectly adequately. I don't have any concerns about her development or behaviour so don't think there's anything to worry about.

When DD1 was a baby neither her head nor length/height were measured only her weight and I think she was 18 months old before the HV checked her height.

Chances are everything is fine with your DS but if it would help to reassure you do get him checked out by the GP.

Lollyheart · 06/11/2011 14:03

My ds has just had his 6 week check up, the doc said I had to keep an eye on his growth as his head is on the 50th and weight on the 9th which it as always been.
I guess it's more common than I though, that's reassuring to know.

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 06/11/2011 22:22

My DS1 grew such a whopping head that we had to make extra big slits in tops and put more poppers on them He was referred to the Paeds but as he as developing fine the paed was happy and said he just had a big head and he would grow into it:)

He had adult hats from toddlerhood!

However he is now 18 and his head probably hasn't grown much since he was about 3 :) He is perfectly normal looking..so he must have grown into it at some point!

tigerlillyd02 · 06/11/2011 22:32

My lo's head was huge! And I mean it looked abnormally huge between about 4-12 months! It was huge width ways and flat at the back. I'd never seen a head like it. However, he's now 2 and his body seems to have caught up with his head as it no longer looks out of place - which I'm extremely grateful for!

I never thought to take him to the doctor or anything to be honest as he met all his milestones just fine and seemed quite normal in himself so I never saw it as a problem unless there were other problems to go alongside it :)

Original poster

BornSicky · 07/11/2011 08:47

thanks everyone. certainly seems this is far more common than I'd thought.

i've only just noticed with hats and tops and buying large hats and stretching tops to fit. may yet need to add extra poppers!

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