Head circumfrance ?

GuitaristsGirl · July 2010

At DS's 4.5 month well appt today, his head circumference was in the 95 percentile. His pedi did not bat an eye; said it was genetics, some kids have big heads I've read on here that circumference itself doesn't matter so much as the progression of growth.

Well, I got home and looked up his records . . . 30%, then 50% at 2 months, and now 95%. . .

WDYT?

epphd · July 2010

Been there, done that! Do you or DH have larger than average heads? As my pedi said - it would be great if kids all grew in a linear trajectory, but they don't. I freaked out when Sam went from the 35th to the 50th to the 75th, but do you know the difference between the 50th and 80th percentiles at 6 months? 1 cm. ONE centimeter is all that stands between 50th (44 cm)and 80th (45 cm) percentile. Now think about your child wiggling and squirming while that measurement is made - and that it can vary based on the orientation of the ruler lasso thingy. It's a super error prone measurement. SO maybe the last measurement was wrong. Maybe this one was. Or maybe they both were wrong or both were right and he just is having a mini head growth spurt.

The ONLY time to worry is if it increases dramatically, quickly - that can be a sign of hydrocephalus. But if your doc isn't worried - you shouldn't be either.

GuitaristsGirl · July 2010

epphd:

Been there, done that! Do you or DH have larger than average heads? As my pedi said - it would be great if kids all grew in a linear trajectory, but they don't. I freaked out when Sam went from the 35th to the 50th to the 75th, but do you know the difference between the 50th and 80th percentiles at 6 months? 1 cm. ONE centimeter is all that stands between 50th (44 cm)and 80th (45 cm) percentile. Now think about your child wiggling and squirming while that measurement is made - and that it can vary based on the orientation of the ruler lasso thingy. It's a super error prone measurement. SO maybe the last measurement was wrong. Maybe this one was. Or maybe they both were wrong or both were right and he just is having a mini head growth spurt.

The ONLY time to worry is if it increases dramatically, quickly - that can be a sign of hydrocephalus. But if your doc isn't worried - you shouldn't be either.

Thanks girl! Based on your comment, I'm wondering if it was your situation I was thinking about. I remember someone having a jump in percentiles, googling (bad news!), then coming on here and asking. And - now that you've reminded me! - I remember the talk about how the measurement is prone to error and etc.

Our pedi is just soooo laid back (as in, too much so for my personality and I keep threatening to find a new one but have never gotten around to it) that it actually has opposite of the desired effect and makes me second-guess him. Not good!

PsychedForBaby · July 2010

Megan's went from 50% to 75% to 90-95% where she's now been since 6 months. She is such a peanut and because her head seemed to be growing faster than the rest of her, they sent us for an u/s to rule out hydrocephalus. It was just a simple u/s of her head. We did it at 6 months before her soft spot was gone. Made for a very simple test for them to run.

I guess I'd see where he's at when he has his 6mo appt and if it's steady, I probably wouldn't worry. If he has another jump, then I'd maybe ask about testing.

JamaicaMon! · July 2010

Mine has a giant head as well. But his has been giant since birth. 95% when he was born, stayed around 90% for a few months, and was off the charts by his 6 month checkup last week.

But because it's off the chart now, his pedi wants to monitor it and make sure the growth stays consistent. I swear, if it's not one thing to worry about, it's another.

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Head circumfrance ?

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