4 Month Old : Craniosynostosis and Hiccups During Laughter...

About the hiccups. My 6 year old daughter has the same problem. She gets them now only when she gets into a hysterical laugh. She actually knows the kid of laugh that is going to cause them. She's fine otherwise, there is no underlying problem. I met a girl in her late teens that still had this problem. So, I'm still hopeful that my daughter may outgrow it, but then again, she may just have to live with it. It's not a common problem, but it's also not unheard of.

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Hi C.!
My son had hiccups every time he laughed for a good while. He's 14 now, so I can't remember exactly when it stopped, but I do recall he had this issue to a lesser degree even as a toddler and in the early elementary years. It certainly couldn't hurt to ask the Dr. about it, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Have a blessed day!
In God's Love,
T.

Take a look at this:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/craniosynostosis/crani...

I would go to a specialist immediately. That's what they're for. A friend of mine had a son born with a heart defect. The pediatrician told her it would be ok as he grew. She took him to a cardiologist for her own peace of mind. He needed open heart surgery to correct the defect, which would have killed him if untreated. She changed pediatricians.

Unfortunately, I do not have any answers.... just a thought that I had to post... :) Don't ever think you are stupid for asking something or worrying. I hate it when people make us feel bad for just plain doing our job as a mother. We are our children's #1 protector, supporter, guardian, etc. So if you don't worry about him who else will, right? The Dr.'s unfortunately have way too many kids they are looking after and sometimes they accidentally make mistakes. Humans are the only animal on the planet that sense fear and convince themselves it is fine... all other animals run in the other direction. So, way to go for being a great parent!! ;) Good luck listening to your heart.
Amanda

get the craniosynostosis checked out! It never hurts to have a specialist look at it! (my girl had mild plagiocephaly, and I was always so paranoid! Hugs!

Hi,
First of all, my 6 month old used to get the hiccups almost every time he laughed, too...it has gotten better so I wouldn't worry too much about that one.
As far as the craniosynostosis goes, I think you are absolutely doing the right thing by seeing a neurosurgeon. I would suggest finding one that specializes in this field, as many neurosurgeons I know do not perform these surgeries. Are you seeing someone at a Children's hospital? Some plastic surgeons are trained in craniosynostosis surgery, too.
It may correct itself since your son is only four months old, but I'd see an expert for sure.

My son developed a flat spot on the back of his head from lying on his back when he was a baby. My pediatrician recommended he were a cranial helmet to reshape his head and take out the flat spot. It worked. I went to Cranial Technologies in Charlotte, NC where they fitted him with a helmet and he had to go every two weeks to get it adjusted. He has no flat spot now. Cranial Technologies deals with a number of mishaped heads and have great success with them. it is better to get the child in as early as possible. they like to get them on around 6 months old. You said your doctor told you that it would straighten out itself. That is a bunch of lies. I have two friends whose children had flat spots and they go to a different pediatrician in a different group and they were told to just see how it goes. their children still have flat spots and misaligned ears and one cheek sticks out further and they are ages 2 and 4. You probably need to get a second opinion from a different pediatrician and mention the cranial helmets. Look up Cranial Technologies on line. It usually costs around $3,000 for the helment including visits and insurances do not cover it. But hey that is a small price to pay for your child's future and confidence. Any finance company or bank will loan out $3,000 for that reason. My friends that chose not to do the helmets instead now are driving new vehicles. I guess that was a self priority issue with them. But anyways I recommend those helmets even if it makes you feel self consciousness about your child having one. You just have to explain to people why he is wearing it. You would not believe the number of children who get them each year. Hope that helps.

K. O

I do not think the pediatrician should be dealing with the skull issue and you should have been referred out to someone more specialized by now. I would recommend seeing pediatric neurosurgeon asap to make sure there is nothing you can do and make sure you are doing everything you should to prevent additional problems.

Hi, I'm not sure about the problems with your sons skull but I definetly think its great that you're going to get a second opinion, please let us know how that goes.

For the hickups I have one who still hickups when she gets really histerical, its cute but poor thing is fed up. I'm not sure if there's anything to do about this or if it will fall into place by itself but my naturopath and pediatrician have both told me there's nothing to worry about....if you find out differently I'd love to know.

Bye for now

E.

I don't know about the head. The dr is right, it usually will straighten itself but then I don't know how bad it is.

The hiccups are a product of diaphramatic spasms. You have a very thin muscles that lies across your stomach seperating your gut from your lungs. Your diaphram is what pushes your lungs to breath. When he laughs he must be aggrevating that diaphram and causing spasms. I don't think that it could be wrong per say; it will just be more aggrevating than anything but will probably grow out of it. You don't have to feel crazy by calling the dr about it but next time you have him or the baby to the dr, just ask then.

Don't worry, the sutures will completely straighten out on their own. My baby's head became mishappen and his sutures were normal after birth. The doctor told me by his 4th month the same thing, by his 6 month checkup, he started to tell me that if his head did not get better, they would need to give him a helmet to help round it out more. I was not going to have that happen, so here is what I did. On the side that his head was flat, I would place him on the opposite side EVERY time I laid him down no matter what it was for. I used blankets and whatever else I could find to prop him up because he was a little wiggle worm and knew how to wiggle his way out of anything. The condition is called "plagiocephaly". It can be treated with home remedies if they are started right away. If not, they might need to put a helmet on him to form his head. Try this method first. I did this until he started sleeping on his belly on his own. That also helped. His head started forming out more and more, and by the time he was 1, his head was much better. He is now 2 1/2 and you can even tell his head was the slightest bit flat, and he never even needed a helmet. Look this up on webMD or even google it, and it will tell you more stuff on the condition.

First, I think it is a great idea to seek a second opinion (even a 3rd if necessary). My daughter's pediatrician was so reassuring that everything was "fine". She did NOT have your son's problem... but she wasn't "fine", either.

As for hiccups... I wish they would tell us more about them. My daughter had them a LOT before she was even born, and they persisted afterwards. They slowly tapered over the decades. She is now 20, and she still gets them perhaps a little more often than other people, but not too much. They were a nuisance because in her case, they kept waking her up as a baby, and she was already a very poor sleeper (or who knows-maybe she was a poor sleeper in part because of the frequent hiccups.

Anyway, the doctors say they are "benign". That may not be our point of view, but medically... that's what we are told.

I wonder though.... are they connected to some (benign) glitch in the nervous system that they may slowly grow out of as their nervous system matures?

Sorry I have no concrete answers... just sharing with you...

-J.

I was born with a cone head!!! Big time!!! My head is perfect now. You could see it in my baby pictures but by age one I had a perfect little head. Also my mom said she rubbed the heck out of my head every day.

C.,

You are doing the right thing by bypassing your doctor. My son had/has the same problem and our doctor responded immediately at 2 months, sending us to a neurologist, pediatric opthamologist(his caused optosis of the right eye) and plastic surgeon. Within a few weeks my son was fitted for a cranio helmet and within a month, we started the aggressive treatment. My son wore the helmet for 6 months and I can't thank the doctors enough for responding as quickly as they did. The suture on the top of my son's head fused prematurely but the others were fine. Unfortunately, as is common with helmet therapy, we didn't get 100% success rate, but it is enough that it has made a big difference.

You are the mom, your son depends on you to do the best for him...and you are! Best of luck to you. It is a hard journey but well worth it in the end!! :)

As far as the hiccups-it's pretty normal! :)

Hi C.. I have a 20 month old son who also hiccups when he laughs. It seems to have gotten less as he has gotten older. When he was about your sons age he would get the hiccups everytime he laughed, liked clock work. I wouldn't be concerned with the hiccups, like I said my son seems to be growing out of it. Not sure what causes it, but my son is perfectly healthy.

I would look for a craniosacral practitioner in my area. It's like chiropractic for the head. Very gentle! My son had a few treatments in 2003 (he has hydrocephalus.) Also just massaging his head gently, maybe while he's nursing, can help get things moving the right direction.

I would not see a neurosurgeon unless my GP or ped referred me. They are just what their name says they are- neuroSURGEONS. The only answer to a problem is to cut! They are very good at it, but if it's not necessary... And the diagnostic tools they use- MRI, CT scans- are also not necessary for your babe's condition.