HELP- Anyone and Everyone!

My son's measurements- including his head circumference-- have been all over the place. He is currently in the 8th percentile for weight and the 60th for height. Am I worried? NO! He is very healthy and developmentally on track. Are you breastfeeding? Your daughter will not "fit" the charts they have at the ped's office, then, because they are made by FORMULA companies and apply to formula fed babies. There is a new chart, out from the WHO, that is more accurate for BF babies, but hardly any doctors use it.

Our family doctor does not even ever LOOK at the growth charts. What is normal for your baby is normal for HER. I really would not be concerned. She is growing fine otherwise, right? Gaining weight consistently? I would not be concerned at all. My son's head was small until he was about 6 months and then it grew all of a sudden. Nothing to be concerned about.

Just wondering--- is your hat size small? Your husband's? My husband has a smaller hat size, so a smaller head. Everyone's different, and I think my son just takes after his dad. Look at the adults around you. Nobody's head is the same size. :) Don't worry about it, mom.

It looks like she's right at or a smidge below the 5th percentile (for anyone who's interested, the charts are all available to print at the CDC website. But I had my own copies handy since it was once a concern of mine, too.)

My son also had a small head measurement from birth (and his parents have larger than average skulls) and when he dropped below the bottom line on the growth chart (much older - around 15 months or so) he had a CT scan to make sure the plates in his skull hadn't fused. (they hadn't. His head is still on the small side, but he's 6 now and is of normal/above average intelligence.)

One thing I'd do is start doing your own measurements and keep a record, just because it is hard to know if the earlier measurements were accurate. Also, is there any positional head deformity involved? My son's head tended to measure smaller I think because his head shape pushed his skull up at one point (it did mostly even out over time.)

Is your pediatrician recommending anything else? I can't really tell without printing and plotting it, but is it that the curve has dropped off for her? I think they will probably just tell you to wait and measure again in a month. I know it's hard not to worry, but try not to because there's so much to scare you out there on the Web and hopefully she's just going to have a little bit smaller hat size than usual.

Best wishes for bigger measurements next month, and for calm thoughts for mom - I know how stressful it is to think something might be wrong.

Talk more to your doctor to ease your concerns. If you still are concerned go see another doctor. When my daughter was 5 there was a slim chance she had a brain tumor. Everything turned out fine, but I was glad the doctor took the time to rule out everything. What if she did have a brain tumor and it had gone unnoticed??

Cheryl

It seems to me that your daughter is following "her curve" of growth so I am not sure where the concern is. Is the concern that her head is too small/too big? Does your immediate family have small/large heads? I think that also comes into play too really. I would be concerned if she doesn't follow her curve. Why don't you give the doctor a call back and ask for more information and more exact reasons why she believes what she does. Did the ped say to wait until next appointment or ? If you can't wait, you could maybe make an appt with a different pediatrician and see what he/she says but then again, the new ped won't have the growth charts for the past three months. Or ask your ped what the next step would be (seeing a cranial specialist I would assume) and just go ahead and set up an appointment?

My oldest has a small head too, but so do I. She has always been in the 5 - 10 percentile for head circumference. She has never had any problems. I was too afraid to ask her doctor what the problem might be. She never had any blood test b/c her head was growing at a steady rate, it was just small. My daughter is now almost four and just fine. I hope it all works out well.

Bah! Don't worry - those measurements are imprecise anyway. My son has a small head (10th percentile - I think his measurements were similar to your girl's) and he's just fine. they've shown that brain size has nothing to do with intelligence anyway. (Plus, when they learn to walk they bonk their heads enough to even it all out anyway :) )

I agree with the previous poster that wrote these measurements are not always accurate. When they would measure my squirming child- they would make the marks on the paper underneith him- I was always like "you're measuring too small or too big". What if someone measured one area of her head the first time and another the second. It isn't that different in one month- 1/8 of an inch. That can just be the difference of positioning on the head.

N.:

what were here weights? heights?

caloric intake can not go into weight/length and head circumference at the same time.

also these measurements are not as exact as one might like.

how is your baby acting?

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com