Head circumference

tinklinz

Just to start: Google is NOT your friend.

When DS was born he was in the 3rd percentile for everything, height, weight and head circumference.

As he's grown his head has stayed within the 3rd percentile, but weight and length have gotten closer to average.

Dr doesn't seem real concerned since it's still growing and he's meeting all his milestones. I have Graves disease but my levels were normal during pregnancy, though I read it can cause small head circumference. And I have a bit of a small head.

I am just worrying about this constantly. Is anyone else experiencing this? 

adoubleu12

I don't have any answers for you, but one of my girls heads is only in the 1st percentile. Her pedi was not concerned at all about it.  It could be because she is a preemie though..

tinklinz

He was born right at 37 weeks to the day, if he was born just a few hours earlier he would have been considered a preemie. I've really felt that even though 37 weeks is technically full term, they still do a lot of maturing in that last 3 weeks and he would benefit from being measured on an adjusted growth chart. 

myst33

If the dr isn't worried, then I'd try not tobe worried, either, esp since it's stayed the same percentage-wise and he is reaching his developmental milestones.  Also, if your head is on the smaller side then maybe he will take after you.  My ds has been in the 3rd percentile for height at his 1 and 2 month appt and his dr. isnt worried.

tinklinz

myst33:

If the dr isn't worried, then I'd try not tobe worried, either, esp since it's stayed the same percentage-wise and he is reaching his developmental milestones.  Also, if your head is on the smaller side then maybe he will take after you.  My ds has been in the 3rd percentile for height at his 1 and 2 month appt and his dr. isnt worried.

Do you get the 'he's so small!!' comments? DS is in the 30th percentile for height and weight but every time someone asks how old he is and I tell them, they either respond by saying thought he was a month old or won't stop commenting how small he is. It is so irritating!

pregaftertubal

"yup, she's a peanut" is what i say when someone says that to me about sadie.  she is, it's ok:) 

she was by far our smallest baby and she's trending that way.  her head has been right around the low 20's percentile since she was born and i too, asked the pedi about this and she said it was normal.  her height and weight percentages have slightly gone up but her head has stayed the same. 

March2011Mama

I am experiencing the exact same thing. My little girl was born at 37 weeks as well and she was 5 lb, 6 oz and 31 cm for head circumference. She was put in the NICU for two days because the pedi wanted to keep an eye on her and was concerned about her head size. He still is and it is still something we're dealing with. In June she had a head ultrasound to check for brain development (which came back great!) and she also had blood drawn. The blood came back high in calcium which could indicate a thyroid problem, so the pedi sent her back for more blood to be drawn to explore further. That was last week and we're still waiting to hear about the second bloodwork.

Personally, I'm not that concerned. She is meeting all milestones and exceeding some. She's growing at a healthy rate and while her head is still in the bottom 5 percentile, it's growing every month. My son was a peanut as well, but now at three years old he is in the 97% percentile. So I honestly feel I just make small babies. Who knows.

As a pp said, if the doctor is not concerned about it, I wouldn't be! I don't think percentiles and numbers mean all that much anyway. If your LO is growing and thriving, that's what counts

SecondTimeinMSU

Maybe the head takes more time to catch up? DS was also in maybe the 5th percentile for everything since he born about 3.5-4 weeks early (depending on if you look at the due date or the ultrasound estimate). At his 2 month appointment he'd picked up some ground in the weight and length but I don't think the head had increased quite as rapidly (I know I should remember the percentages but I was distracted by all the needles they were pulling out). I am more the opposite concerned if it were gaining too much since we had to do a bunch of ultrasounds since DS fluid levels in his brain were on the high end of normal so I am always worried he could still develop hydrocelpheus eventhough the doctors aren't concerned anymore. If your doctor isn't worried try not to worry though I know that is easier said than done. 

Twinkz

DS just hit 10% for head circumference. He's 90% length and 30% weight. He's always had a tiny head. Our pedi said he doesn't look at where you fall in the percentiles unless there is a real growth problem. DH is fairly tall and has super tall family members (6'4" is average but he has uncles above 6'7") and I have a tiny head, I can easily wear children's size hats and have a hard time finding glasses that fit. If your pedi isn't worried, I'd try not to as well