# has your toddlers soft spot closed??



## Mariposa (Nov 12, 2002)

hi! abby is 19 months old and the fontanel on the top of her head still hasn't closed. i read that it has to by 2 years or they will think something is wrong, but that MOST close by 18 months.

the reason i worry is that i read somewhere that not closing could be a sign that they aren't thriving and i have a skinny toddler. (18.5 lbs at 19 months).

so could you guys check your toddlers soft spots for me when you have a chance and let me know if it has closed up and how old they are??

i know it is weird, but i am stressing out over it.


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## village idiot (Feb 19, 2003)

dd is 15 months and hers is almost closed but not quite. HTH.


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## LiamnEmma (Nov 20, 2001)

My dd's soft spot definitely didn't completely close until well after two years. I just check it last week and realized it has indeed finally closed--she's two years ten months, almost eleven months. My pediatrician has never shown any anxiety about it at all. She's tiny too. 25 pounds with all her clothes on.


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## DalaiMama (Oct 12, 2002)

My ds's soft spot is still about the size of a quarter. At your daughter's age it was still pretty big. My dr also wasn't worried as he said it was "toguh," and it was.... not as much like a newborn's mushy soft spot. Anyways, he said he wouldn't worry unless it was still big when he turned two or if ds was having developmental delays. So, i'd try not to worry too much.


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## Mariposa (Nov 12, 2002)

thanks everyone! i should have done a search, but i thought i was the only one who would ask about it!! glad i am not. i will stop feeling her head for awhile!!

thanks!


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## shelbean91 (May 11, 2002)

My ds turns 2 next month, and his closed by 6 mos. Ped was all worried, could be cause for concern, sent us to a neurosurgeon, he said it was early, but still in the range of normal. We met with him 2 or 3 times total over a year or so, and it was all still good.

I totally understand your concern and stressing, I was just on the other end of the spectrum.


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## hvl25 (Jan 28, 2003)

Bellas is closed, she is 25.5 months


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

i was wondering about this myself-my dd is 19 months, and hers is still open, about a fingertip wide and maybe 2 inches across. She's fine though, she weighs 26 lbs, her head and her body are well proportioned. it's good to know that we're still in the normal range!


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

my little guy is 16 months and his soft spot is still there. he is a tiny guy, 18 lbs-maybe. my sil told me at christmas that there was something wrong with him because it wasnt closed yet so i got all worried, but i looked it up and they say 2 years is normal and later too. im not worried about my kiddo because even though he is small he is happy and healthy. im sure your little one is fine and healthy too,


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## mom2threenurslings (Jul 16, 2002)

My 21.5 month old's soft spot is about the size of a quarter. She also has a bump in the middle of her forehead that extends as a rounded ridge to her soft spot. She's had the bump since birth, it's changed size several times....her pediatrician says it has to do with how the plates in her skull are moving. She originally said it should close by 18 months, then at 18 months said 2 years. Her son had the same thing, so she's not stressed about it yet, but we'll see what she says at her 2 yr. checkup, if we remember to go.
Haley was almost 25 lbs at 18 months, so she's not small!!! (Short, maybe, but she's got quite a belly!)


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## ChristyH (Dec 10, 2003)

Sara is 17 months old and her soft spot is about the size of a quarter. My ped said that most are closed by 24 months but that is not always the rule, some can close later than others.


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## RachelGS (Sep 29, 2002)

My babe is 22 months, and hers is smaller but definitely hasn't closed. I've heard that it can also be related to teeth, which makes total sense to me. She's a veeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrry slow teether, and if that part of her development is slower, it seems reasonable to me that her fontanel would close more slowly, too.


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## majazama (Aug 2, 2003)

I have this exellent book called Healing with whole foods, and in there I read...
"The chinese regard such developmental problems as failure to grow or incomplete closure of the skull bones as an indication of jing insufficiency...."
I guess if you don't know much about chinese medicine, it's hard to understand what that means. Jing is like the life essence of a person. To get the jing up to more healthy levels, for a baby, this book recommends giving your baby occational meat, or meat broth. Also, clarified butter can be good (ghee), and giving the baby omega 3's.

I don't actually know at what point this book is taking about. Maybe they are taking about when the child is 6 years old and the bones have still not closed. You probably shouldn't be worried about it, if your doc thinks it's still O.K.

I only want to help, so sorry if I offended anyone. I don't like to see sick, tiny babies, if that can be helped.


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## stellasmum (Oct 17, 2002)

I have a tiny daughter, too, with an open fontanel. She has allergy to dairy and nuts, so I do believe I could keep up on her nutrition more...though she drinks mondo amounts of breastmilk, and eats lots of flax laden breads. She is almost 20 mo and probably about 20 lbs. I really am intrigued by the teething-fontanel connection...both the bones, right? Has anyone ever read about a connection with slow teething, slow fontanel closing and low calcium? I am constantly worried about calcium since Stella doesn't get cow milk.

However, I should say, for the moms out there worried about tiny babies being frail....she is small but mighty!! One of her favorite words right now is "RUN" and she does...almost nonstop!! Everything else about her is on target developmentally and some things a few jumps ahead, so maybe moms with "small guys" just have small guys- period.

By the way- not to go too far off subject, but does it bother anyone else when the public always comment "SO TINY!" I have to think that our huge bodied culture is just not used to seeing petite. I have begun to say, "no, actually she is just right!" to try to offset any programming of her brain that she is abnormal or needs to compare her body to ANYTHING.

anyway, just thoughts....


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## bec (Dec 13, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by stellasmum_
*I am constantly worried about calcium since Stella doesn't get cow milk.
*
If she's still nursing a bunch, you don't need to worry about calcium. And if you still want her to get other calcium sources, look to other foods that are rich in it. They also make OJ with calcium.

Bec


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## mommyofsweetones (Mar 11, 2004)

Gina,
I hear the "so tiny" comments all the time and my MIL is so concerned that I'm not feeding her well (we are vegans). She just had her 18 mo. checkup and weighed in at 17 1/2 lbs, so she is "off the charts" (BTW, who creates those charts anyway!), but her head circumference and length continue to increase in a normal pattern - about the 25 percentile for her age. Her soft spot is just now closing up, but she is very developmentally on target and has more energy than I could dream of.....so I'm not worried at all! Just happy for her that she will most likely grow up to be a beautifully tall, thin woman!


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## stellasmum (Oct 17, 2002)

Thanks Bec and Twila for the support! (what happens if we take this thread in a different direction?







)
I have tried goat's milk for Stella out of guilt that she isn't getting enough fat or calcium. She eats just about everything I put in front of her if it is fresh...she has not eaten any meat yet...don't know if she will... but as she is doing great and is very happy and secure, I guess the charts and books and critics can get bent!

With obesity a major problem in our country-especially for children- it is amazing that people can breathe down your neck when your child doesn't have rolls.

Well, I won't get any more stressed about her well-being...and I will try to avoid the "when this happens, when that happens" lists. It'll all happen in good time, right?


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## Mariposa (Nov 12, 2002)

hey all. just wanted to say that her soft spot still hasn't closed. she is 21 months now. still under 19 lbs, but happy, healthy and otherwise developing normally or above normally.







the teething thing is interesting as she didn't get her first teeth til she was 10 months old.

i still worry, but am trying not to. i get the she is so petite, so tiny comments all the time. kind of bugs me now. she looks just fine to me.

hopefully it will close soon, so i can stop worrying!


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