toddler's head circumference

[JenJen811]

yesterday at my premie son's 18 month check up his height was in the 24th percentile, is weight in the 10th and his head circumference in the 55th or 58th (i cant remember exactly).  but anyways the doctor said he had a really large head and i was wondering if that is anything to be concerned about.  

thanks

[anxiousmomtobe?]

Not at all.  I have two kids, one with a very small head (she;s 15 and a 3 year old son with a BIG noggin.  IN fact he wears that same hat size as his sister.  Both are bright, happy, normal kids.

My doctor always says my son just has lots of brains in there.

[JenJen811]

thanks

i am one of those who look everything up on the internet and i found some articles linking large head size to autism but it didnt say how large.

[anxiousmomtobe?]

My son's head is always over the 100 percentile and at three he knows his numbers, can count to 30, shapes, colours and interacts extremely well, no autism concerns at all.

I've never heard that about big heads before.  I know several autistic kids and adults and I've never noticed.

My son was bald until he was 2.  He had a perfectly round head and was very long and skinny.  He looked like a lollipop when he was naked. He was absolutely adorable but I sure was glad when he got some hair!!!

I would be more concerned if your son regresses, avoids eye contact, does obsessive behaviors or is easily overstimulated.

Take care, I'm sure your baby is perfect.

[tomel]

The only time you need to be concerned is when there is all of a sudden a very rapid head growth. Like if he was to go from the 50 percentile to 100 percentile in a period of a yr.
We went thru this with my son. Check with your ped. keep an eye on it. Some kids have water on the brain and some kids just have big heads that more than likely alot of times run in the family. They have linked rapid head growth sometimes or large heads sometimes to kids with autism, but that does not mean at all that that is always the case.
Again make sure that when you go for your check ups that they measure his head and YOU keep an eye on it. My doctor wasnt always measuring and he wasnt keeping any eye on it. They are more concerned about those damn immunizations, than the very important stuff like head growth and development milestones.

[tomel]

Is your son hitting his milestones?

[JenJen811]

HE IS EITHER HITTING HIS MILESTONES ON TIME OR SLIGHTLY BEHIND BECASUE HE WAS 6 WEEKS EARLY.  ( I HAD PUPPS AND THEY PUT ME ON PREDNISONE AROUND 27 WEEKS AND I THINK THAT IS WHY HE WAS EARLY).  EVERYTHING ELSE IS NORMAL EXCEPT THE BIG HEAD.  I HAVE RESEARCHED THE EARLY DETECTION SIGNS FOR AUTISM AND HE ISNT SHOWING SIGNS OF ANY OF THOSE.  MAYBE HE'S JUST GOING TO BE REALLY SMART!  :)

THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYONES INPUT.

[tomel]

Yes, as long as he is hitting milestones, no need to worry.
Coming from my own experience keep track of his head measurements, write it down somewhere. If you see a big jump  or if there was a big jump in the past let your doc know.

[mum2beagain]

My son has hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and had a very large head as an infant not only was his head large, it rapidly increased in size and crossed 2 centiles in two months. It may be worth asking for a scan of your sons head to make sure that his ventricles are not enlarged (indicative of hydrocephalus). If your son has always had a large head and it continues to grow at the correct rate and on the same centile it is most probable that there is nothing wrong with him, he is just destined to have a larger than average head, just as some people are tall, short etc,etc. However I would ask for the scan just to rule out hydrocephalus, if this was the case left untreated it can cause problems. Best wishes.

[mami05]

Hello,

I have a son that was born with a large head also. Actually it was found during my pregnancy. I had a fetal MRI and then he had one at 9 months. He's had ultra sounds also and seen a couple of genetics who have taken blood tests but nothing so far. They measure myself and my husband but we don't have very large heads. His maybe a little but not extreme. My son has always been in the 100%.

He is 18 months now and doesn't walk on his own yet or talk much. He's been seen by ECI and I am taking him to a baby gym. He's trying to walk and the doctors tell me that it is alot harder for him since he has a large head. He moves around alot... all over the furinture and climbs on everything. I feel like the walking is coming along. He's speech is limited. Dada for sure and maybe mama but not alot else. The ECI people and ped. said that kids that are learning two languages take a little longer to talk. Plus they says that kids tend to be focused on one thing and then move on to the other.

My son is very active and happy. He communicate with me by shaking his head "No, no" and he eats very WELL. So the comments you made about your child looking like a lollipop seemed familar.

I know you mentioned your child is doing very well now, but was he hitting his milestones on target or did the hard head delay some of them?

any advise is welcomed

[dheman]

Hi my name is Hadio your son seems he is fine becouse he is traying his best to walk or to walk  some childern my have a big head and later on age will inprove
I my self  was worried my son who was 1 year after i discovered that his head was too big for his age and my family were very concerned more than i did i took him to the doctors he had xry doc said his head was normal he pased all requared test. Thanks god now he is 2 years very smart talking as 3 yeras old very tall and handsome.

jast keep eye on him if you think some thing is wrong see a doctor. best wishes.