Rapid Growth Of LO's Head.*opinions please*

[HML3boys]

It all started Saturday morning whe LO had a "febrile seizure". We battled the awful fever for 3 days and it finally broke on Sunday.

They diagnised him with an ear infection at the ER. On Monday we followed up at a pediatric practice and the doctor checked him over and said he had ZERO signs if an ear infection..

He then went on to ask me "Have you ever seen Joseph's growth chart?" & I told him "No." So he pulled it up and showed me how his weight,height gradually went up and it was normal. He's in the 90th percentile for height & weight.. Then he proceeded to show me his head circumference growth... & 3 months ago his head was in the 50th percentile and didnt gradually go up .. It shot up to 97th percentile..

after showing me that he asked me if Joseph was talking.. & I said "not really..he only says a few words.." & he said well he should be saying 20 words by now at 15 1/2 months old.

He said that he'd wait 3 months before looking further into it.. & see if he starts saying 20 words by then.. He said it would be serious.. & if they found something it would link back to the seizure..

I am not going to wait three months if it might be a serious thing!! That's just ridiculous... so im going for 2nd and 3rd opinions..

what do you all think? BTW I'm new here!

[carmen358]

Just a comment on the 15 1/2 month old saying 20 words...DD is 14 1/2 months old and is nowhere near 20 words....!

I think it's a good idea to get it checked out asap as that does seem to be a big jump in growth.

But fwiw we had 3 people (a med. assistant, our GP and a Ped) measure DD's head at one point and they all got different measurements (they weren't checking her head for anything specific, she just had 2 appointments within a week for something else and everyone just happened to measure her head).

[HML3boys]

thanks for replying.

LO does have a huge head and my one hand won't cover the back of it... =/ it's very large at the back.

& let me add he says "dadda,momma,bye bye & night night. he never really waved but 3 times 4 months ago..

[sapphire_chan]

When dd was little, the pediatrician mentioned that rapid head growth is good up to 12 months, and worrisome after that.

I'm sorry, but I think looking into more testing is going to be worth it.

Note: saying only a few words at 15 months is fine.  It's just that seizures combined with sudden head growth indicates an underlying condition that would be good to figure out and address--before it causes any problems.

[pbjmama]

I think there are alot of questions to be answered here...why the diagnosis of a febrile seizure? Generally febrile seizures are sudden onset fevers with high temperatures. When was he diagnosed with an ear infection and did he receive treatment, if so what was the treatment?

Is the head growth consistent or is it just in the past 3 months. Did the doctor or nurse re-measure his head to make sure the measurement recorded was accurate? Are you waiting for further testing on the seizure? Is there anything else going on with your ds that concerns you?

As far as words, there are many children who are saying 20+ words at 15 months and many who are not saying any words at 15 months. Yes, it could be a factor in a larger problem but in itself I don't see it as an issue. Does he understand what you say? Has his hearing been tested? My ds had 5 words at 22 months and that was only considered a 5% delay by early intervention.

I understand why you are freaking out and I would be too. I'm just not convinced there is some huge issue based on what you have said here. Your feelings and concerns are valid. I would ask alot of questions and get as much information as possible while you figure out how to proceed.

[HML3boys]

He had a high fever for 3 days and the fever happened on the 2nd day.

His head shot up in the last 3 months and didnt gradually get there. In December it was 50th percentile. Now in MArch it's 97th percentile.

I don't think he really understands that much and he's sleepy 24/7.. & irritable also.

& yeah ladies I'm definitley looking into it even if its nothing.

[boomer78]

I don't have any words of wisdom as far as the sudden growth, sorry.  But if I were you, I wouldn't wait either.  I'd want other opinions.  A mother can't just sit and wait when told something is possibly going wrong with her child.  I'm trying to count the words dd can say (she is just over 15 months) and I don't think she can say 20.  And she is more verbal than other children around of her age.  Good luck!

[Llyra]

My DD2 experienced very rapid head growth, at about that same age-- up from about 40th to about 80th, in just a few months. (FWIW, she's the only one of my kids who had that many words at that age. DD1 didn't talk AT ALL until she was 19 months, and she's fine.) Anyway, we were concerned, especially since she also had some other concerning symptoms-- early morning vomiting, and what seemed like headache. We had it checked out-- she saw a neurologist for a complete workup, and had an MRI. Anyway, the head is fine-- she's just got a big head. In the process, we found out that I, too, have a huge head, and we dragged out my old pediatric records which showed that I also had rapid head growth early in the second year. The vomiting and headaches turned out to be a pediatric migraine disorder, totally unrelated to the size of her head.

Anyway, she's four years old now, and still has an unusually big head, but she's totally fine other than a few migraine episodes a year.

Lots of kids have febrile seizures, too.

But I think in your position, I'd want to have her head growth monitored-- we were sent back every month, for four months, to watch it carefully. And I would want further testing, just to be sure everything is fine. Which it probably is, just like it was for us. . But I know as a mother I'd want to know. So I'm glad you say you'll be pursuing this.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by HML3boys 

He had a high fever for 3 days and the fever happened on the 2nd day.

His head shot up in the last 3 months and didnt gradually get there. In December it was 50th percentile. Now in MArch it's 97th percentile.

I don't think he really understands that much and he's sleepy 24/7.. & irritable also.

& yeah ladies I'm definitley looking into it even if its nothing.

Being "nothing" could leave you hanging, so I'm hoping instead that it turns out to be something easy and simple to fix. Something where there's a toddler-friendly treatment and you get to see results immediately.

[brennan]

Dd has a disproportionately large head, and they had us come back 3 months after it was discovered to see if something was going on (I should say, she was below the growth charts in both weight and height but her head was in the 95th!).  She was around 13 months when this was discovered and when we went back at 16 months because her head had not grown at all and she was developmentally on track (I don't think she was saying that many words, we talked about words/signs combined I think she had 20, but certainly not just in words, as well as physical development) we let it go, she just has a big head.  It is now starting to even out, she is now in the 15% for weight and height and her head is still large but the disparity between the percentages are not there.  Her head growth was also rapid, between 10 months and 13 months.  But like someone says, it might be different after 1 year, I don't know.  

Dd did not have seizures though, and that is something that is definately concerning to me.  We had a family history of large heads in toddlers so I knew that it could just be her family history.  What the drs were most concerned about with us was that the tube draining the fluid around the brain was plugged and so fluid was going to her skull but not draining (sorry I don't remember the technical terms) and because toddler's skulls are so pliable it causes the head to grow (whereas in adults it would cause pressure).  Like I said the seizures would concern me, and I would for sure see if you could get his growth checked more frequently at least.