Update - .dr. said babys head is too big....

[bunny213]

Thank you everyone for your wisdom, your friendship, your prayers and for reaching out to us.....Peyton had his evaluation with the specialist today....no MRI was needed....they were so kind and took so much time with his parents. Peyton will need to be fitted for a helmet...because his head isn't shaping like it should ... they said he will need to wear it 23 hours a day and it will only weight 6 oz. - he will be fitted next week. They said it may take as long as three months or could possibly be only three weeks. He will need to be seen every week to have it adjusted. God does so many wonderful things...this procedure I know is one of them. I am thankful for the doctor's knowledge...and their kindness. You have all helped us through a very scary time...and I cannot thank you enough. I wish you all a very blessed holiday...I hope I can be a help to someone someday...as you have been to us. Thank you again - all of you!!!!! love, Barb in Texas


please can someone please help here....my daughter just called hysterical...she took her son for his 4 month check up and the substitute doctor said that his head is too big....he was very unprofessional about telling her and she is just beside herself. He more or less just handed her a phone number and told her to see a specialist...then joked that she could "decorate his helmet with soccer emblems or something"!! Please can someone help..I'm shaking so bad right now I can't even write. As a grandmother (who keeps him everyday in the mornings) I can say that he is developing quite normally, he's happy, noticing things and holding his head up, starting to roll over - etc...etc. The dr. also told her that their health insurance would not cover it....can someone please tell me something?? I don't even know where to look....her own doctor is on vacation and will not be back for a week....thank you all my friends out there.. ..for any help or advice you can share. Barb in Texas

 

[tbelfonti]

Barb,

My older daughter Maddie has a large head ... she's finally growing into it at age 5. Her head has always been off the charts vs height and weight where she's in the 25th - 50th percentile.

We went through what your daughter is going through - they sent us to get a cat scan to make sure she didn't have "water on the brain". After all the stress, she was diagnosed with a "large head".

Our family friend's son has the same thing and is the same age as my Maddie. We joke around all the time that if they were to get married and have children, Maddie will need a c-section because of their children's large heads

I'll be keeping your grandson in my prayers ... please keep us posted, ok? Feel free to PM me if you want to talk...

 

[magicmommy]

Don't worry! My nephew who is now 6 had a helmet when he was a baby. We were all very upset but it worked out just fine. Can't remember how long he had to wear it but it was actually kind of cute and he did not mind it at all. If my memory serves me correctly, they made a mold of his head and it had to be adjusted a few times to account for growth, etc. Can't remember about insurance. Can't get a hold of my sister right now about particulars but I have to tell you that he is absolutely the most beautiful little boy! Tell your daughter not to worry and if she wants to talk to my sister just PM me with her telephone number. I wish you and your family much pixie dust!

 

[Jessd]

I wouldn't even listen to what that quack said! I would be furious. I can't imagine a doctor being so unprofessional, and then to joke about it. I would be fuming. I would be complaining to someone. Was he going for a regular checkup?

I would make an appointment for when his regular doctor comes back. Most babies have what appears to be a large head compared to the rest of their body. My son had what I considered to be a huge head, my doctor said not to worry about it, as he grows he will start to proportion out. If his head was so abnormally large he woudln't be able to pick his head up. And as he grew and his body started to lengthen out, his head didn't appear to be large.

I would just try to calm down, call to make an appointment with his regular doctor who knows his history.

Big to you. How awful and right before Christmas! I hope you all enjoy Baby's First Christmas. There will never be another like it.

Jess

 

[luvindisneyworld]

I would not worry about it to much.We just went through some crap with one of DNephews Drs.She said that his head was very flat in the back and that his arms were very weak and she thought that he need therapy now and not to wait,so we were freaking out and called and set up an appopintment with a physical therapist and when they came in and spent time with him,they could not believe that they even suggested anything like that.They said that his head was more than fine and that he was alot stronger than most babies 2 months older than him.They were amazed on how well he was doing.

So I would make an appointment with his real Dr, and see what they say before you do anything.Because more than likely the regular Dr will say the baby is fine.Some Drs makwe me so mad .Every time you see one they all tell you something diffrent.

to you and your family,but I truly think things are just fine.


BTW, does this look like a baby that is having problems to you.That is DN in my signature.
Also I think most babies look like their head is to big for their bodies

 

[ohiominnie]

Yes...I can help. First, what do you mean by "substitute" doctor? What her regular doctor not working today? If that is the case, she should go back when her regular doctor is there, explain what doc #1 said and have him/her evaluate the baby. Also, I'd be likely to mention the very unprofessional tone and comments that doc #1 had. Telling the regular doctor may make him/her rethink using that doctor as a sub.

Secondly...I'd have questions for your dd. Did they measure the head more than once? Sometimes (OFTENTIMES) it is an error in measurement....4 month olds are squiggly little creatures. Multiple measurements, especially if one is grossly different than the norm, are required. Then....the question to ask is how did his head measure at the 2 mo check up? Was it borderline large? Some kids just have bigger heads. I know I have a large head for my size (not noticibly, mind you) When I was 12 and my sister was 22, I could NOT wear her new cowboy hat. Now I cannot wear my dh's sized baseball caps...they are too small. So, just because it's large doesn't mean it's TOO large....you have to look at the whole picture.

GREAT job to evaluate the baby's development. I'm betting that this is a combination of a couple fo things....incorrect measurements and uncaring, cruddy bedside manner doctor.

FWIW, MOST doctors cannot rattle off what insurance companies WILL and WILL NOT cover. There are so many variations. Chances are the doc didn't even know what insurance your dd has, so making a blanket statement like "the insurance would not cover it" was more than likely inaccurate.

If the baby is developing ok, and acting just fine (alert when awake, appropriate for age) I say wait a week, then take the baby into the regular doctor. But she should not hesitate to explain the horrible way in which she was treated. Doc #1 should know that this sub is treating her patients that way.

 

[flea1267]

my husband's cousin had the same thing w/ her daughter at about the same age, they did the scan and figured out Holly just had a big head, you can't really tell it, I mean it's not abnormal looking or anything at all, just bigger than most....and my 7 year old's hat size is just 1/4 size smaller than my 42 year old husband and my hat size is 1/4 size larger than my husband! I'm sure he's fine just got a big head like me and mine

 

[Southern4sure]

Barbara..take a deep breath...

Now my story...my youngest (soon to be 10) had a large head. DH jokingly made comments all the time thinking DS didn't hear him. I would get so mad at DH and called him on it all the time. Well by the time DS was 4 yrs old he was outside in the far backyard playing and he must have bumped his head..he came running through the back door crying, "I hurt my big head, I hurt my big head!" Dh got an earful that evening of course. We laugh at it now and think how cute it was but it wasn't funny at the time.

My suggestion would be to first enjoy the holidays and second when the dr is back in the office make an appt and go from there. Just keep in mind there are children with larger than average heads and it is not unusual.

I wish you and your family well and have a Merry Christmas!

 

[mom2febgirls]

My now 4 year old has always had a very large head. Every single Dr. appt it is measured twice because the nurses always think it's wrong.

We did go to a specialist and had an MRI done and there is nothing wrong with her, and our insurance did cover it, btw.

I am a believer in better safe than sorry, so I'd advise your daughter to call her insurance and ask. If she has a script from her pediatrician it should definetly be covered.

 

[ohiominnie]

I also must add....because of the fear of lawsuits sometimes doctors will do MORE than they normally would do just to cover their own butts. My dh is a pediatrician and he HATES it...but if there is ANY question that there could be a problem, he will send kids for testing.

SO, while your grandson may still need to follow up with a specialist and have some scan done, that doesn't mean there IS something wrong with him. More times than not the tests will come back negative but the doctor's don't want to miss that one rare case where something was wrong....that can be a multimillion decision and years worth of headaches.

Sad, sad, sad, but true. I feel so bad for my husband having to make these decisions. It's called CYA....."cover your butt."

 

[Pamlur]

My son has always had a big head. And big bones. And, at 36, he's almost 6'3" tall; still has a big head.

My 12-year-old granddaughter is a slender, dainty-looking young lady. With a head that is a little bit larger in proportion to the rest of her, but that's just her.

I can't imagine a doctor joking about a helmet when the child isn't his regular patient. If I were her, I'd be giving my regular doctor an earful when he gets back from vacation.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

The substitute for your doctor has seen him once, how many times has the regular doctor and his staff seen him? I'll beat a lot more times and they never felt the need to alarm your DD in the way the fill-in did. Definitely follow through...but don't get too alarmed at this point. Good luck!!!

 

[KristiA]

I agree that the doc sounded very unprofessional. But, all three of my kids have big heads. Like- it is hard to get t-shirts over their heads at times. Anyway, with my littlest, they were so concerned that they did CT looking for water on the brain and it turned out normal. Turns out, my kids just have big heads. They always measured off the charts as well. Totally normal for us.

 

[bunny213]

Thank you to all of you and know that you are all in my Christmas prayers...I was on this site when my daughter called...and didn't know where to turn...so I wrote...and I am so glad that I did.
All the advice you gave is so helpful...and just knowing that other people care enough to write and offer encouragement, their experiences, and their concern is such a comfort. I thank you all again and will let you know just what happens....
My daughter and her husband thank you too.....you made them feel not "so alone, Peyton is their first child. He is so sweet and they love him so much..Barb in Texas

 

[sk!mom]

Is there anyway that she can contact her regular doctor. This same exact thing happened to me when my DS20 was around 6 months old. We had to see a substitute Pediatrician and he immediatly asked if my DR had ever mentioned DS's "overly large" head. He got me all upset and when we got in touch with our regular doctor he pulled out DS's growth chart and said yes he has a large head (so do I, btw) but he is growing and developing normally. He still has a large head but he is perfectly fine. I'm sending good, calming thought your way.

 

[ohiominnie]

Is there anyway that she can contact her regular doctor.

Please not while she's on vacation! Docs work very hard, especially this time of year when viruses are running rampant. They need a break! This is not a life threatening emergency. It can wait a week. Dd should follow up, as has been said, but not panic.

We were at Disney once and one of dh's patients was also at Disney. They tracked dh down and left a lengthy message on our room's voice mail explaining that the dd was sick and could dh come to their room and check her!! Dh called back (they were not in the room) and left a message simply, and kindly, saying he was on vacation with his family and that if they are concerned about their dd he recommended the urgent care that (if I remember correctly) is somewhere near downtown Disney.

Shortly after we returned home, dh got a "request for chart transfer" from this family. They stated "too busy of a waiting room" as their reason for leaving the practice, but dh feels in his heart that it was because he didn't see the family while on vacation (this is a family he had a close relationship with b/c he had diagnosed their daughter with SMA, got her all the testing, followed through with them constantly, set up hospice care, and counselled them endlessly---so it wasn't like they didn't know the kind of stress and workload he normally was under and that he DESERVED a break now and then)

 

[CinRell]

First of all I'd report that doctor his behavior was totally unacceptable.

My cousin's baby's head was in the 100 percentile. They could almost not get him out when he was born and when he was an infant the only size winter hats he could wear were children to adult.. never fit baby hats. He has bright red hair so it looked even bigger but he was adorable and didn't look abnormal

He's almost 7 now and a wiz in math, a prodigy in sports, he's dead on developmentally if not ahead (bigger brains, I say!)... his head is perfectly normal size now and he's cute as a button.

Your daughter has nothing to worry about and that doctor should be shot!

 

[CinRell]

Oh and just so you know how big my perfectly perfect cousin's head was? He was inthe 99%tile (however you spell that) not 100... as I said above. oopsie

 

[lbgraves]

I was also very worried when our regular doctor told me that DD needed to have a CT to check her out because her head was measuring too big. He had ALOT more tact that the quack that your DD had to see though. Everything turned out fine. There are studies out there that show people who have bigger heads have bigger brains & in most cases have a higher IQ...so having a big head can be a good thing. Many celebs have big heads too. We honestly didn't notice it much until the first time we went to WDW & bought the kids ears. DS5 could wear the child sized but DD3 had to have the adult size for it to fit on her head.

 

[TnTWalter]

I tell my daughter #2 that all the time. She has a big head and her daddy 'jokes' around about it but it has given her a little complex. [Men don't think sometimes!]

Just wanted to add my [[[[[[[[[hugs]]]]]]]] to you and your daughter.

Merry Christmas.

Trish