# Toddler's head not growing



## mingber (Nov 4, 2002)

My son is now 18 months old and *his head* has not grown in the past 6 months. The pediatrician is very worried and of course making me worried. He is in proportion if you look at him. He is small for his age, but developmentally is on a 2 year level. He is only 19.10 pounds and is 29 inches long. That puts him in the
-5% for weight, 10% for height and he is in the -5% for head circumfrance. He only gained 1 pound from his 15-18 month visit and grew one inch. He eats like a horse and eats healthy. He runs around and talks nonstop. He can speak and comprehend over 75 words. He feeds himself and uses a spoon with no problems so coordination is good.
The pediatrician called a pediatric neurologist who suggested to keep an eye on him for the next few months and bring him in for rechecks on his measurements. He said not to worry right now because developmentally he is fine, but if his head doesn't grow more, before he is 2 years old, then he will want to do excessive testing.
Has anyone had a similar problem?? or heard of something like this?? Please help me from not worrying too much.


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## mamacate (Mar 29, 2003)

I am running out the door but wanted to reply quickly. PM me if you want more details. We had a consult with a pediatric neurosurgeon because my kids' heads weren't growing at 9 months. Turned out to be nothing but the concern was craniosynostosis. Typically the head is pretty seriously misshapen, very long and thin, sometimes with a ridge along the forehead like a klingon. They ruled that out for my kids. The neuro said that if there was a little bit of positional plagiocephaly, where the head is flattened slightly, which is common with the back to sleep campaign, the head circumference measurements can measure larger than they are because the head is not round. Then when the plagio resolves the growth curve slows down. I think it's a good sign that your ds is small all around (so are my twins, though they bulked up around 6 months). Turns out mine are anemic so I don't know how much that might be contributing. Are you doing the small baby/"failure to thrive" testing? Mine are hitting milestones too and I'm not too worried, though I'm trying to figure out how to get them to take their iron supplements without using force.









Anyway, I hope this makes sense, since I'm typing in a rush. PM me if there's anything I can answer, and good luck!

Hugs,

Cate


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## darlindeliasmom (Nov 19, 2001)

mingber: did the ped say that they were concerned that the "sutures" in his skull have closed too soon? I don't know the time frame for this, but if it does happen, you could see a head circumference not growing. I think this is the craniosynosotosis (no way I got that spelling right) that mamacate mentioned.
It required surgery, but the only person I know who had it is now a 22 -y-old man, who was always a bright kid and a skateboarder, so I guess HE didn't worry too much about the cranial surgery... (I'm not sure how happy his mom was as he rocketed down the ramp...)
praying for your peace of mind and good news...


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## mingber (Nov 4, 2002)

I am going to reply here instead of PMing mamacate. I know nothing about any of this yet since we have not seen the neurologist yet. DS's son is not misshappen and he doesn't have any strange ridges or indents. He looks totally normal, just very small. The ped is being very nondescript in his discussions as not to freak me out. I have just started my research so I am not to knoweldgable on any thing yet. They did think maybe diabetes or a thyroid problem, but have not checked for that yet since he has no other symptoms.
He has never slept on his back/only on his side or stomach so I don't think it has anything to do with that possibility.
What is the failure to thrive test??? I know nothing about it and have never heard of it.

He has been tested for anemia and it came up negative. I do have a suggestion for the twins med though. If it's a liquid, try putting it in their milk or juice. That works for DS with his vitamins. He doesn't know the difference. If it doesn't work, try flavoring the milk with vanilla or buy vanilla flavored soy milk and put it in that. That's what I do.


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