Head Circumference Question

Updated on July 17, 2014
M.L. asks from Oldsmar, FL
18 answers

If my baby is tall (88% for height, which is the lowest that he's measured) is it ok for his head circumference to lmeasure in the 99%? He's always measured with a big melon, this isn't a sudden increase or anything. Just wondering if anybody else has a baby with a big head : )

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So What Happened?

Thank you ladies! My nickname was tweety bird as an infant...he probably gets it from me :D

Featured Answers

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J.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter has a big head. Hers has always been in the 90th percentile since birth. She's almost 2. I wouldn't worry unless there was a sudden increase.

3 moms found this helpful
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B..

answers from Dallas on

95 the percentile here and no where near 88th percentile for height!
Perfectly fine 19 yr old now!

2 moms found this helpful

More Answers

C.V.

answers from Columbia on

If his melon has always measured big, there are no significant jumps on the melon measurement chart, and the doc says he's fine, then don't worry about it.

My oldest has a big melon. Made childbirth LOADS of fun. :-\

8 moms found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Someone has to be in the 99%. If your pediatrician isn't worried, than I wouldn't be either. Enjoy your baby!

5 moms found this helpful
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L.H.

answers from Abilene on

My son wore a size 2t hat at 6 mos. His head is large. He looked very awkward as a baby, really until the last 3 years (he turns 11 soon). He has grown into his head now and I know he's going to be a big guy. His sweet uncle (husband's side) also had the large head and was 6'6" and would have looked ridiculous with a small head. My son has always been in the 99 percentile.

Enjoy your son and know he's going to grow into his noggin. I always told my son he had a lot of brain space so I was sure he was going to do something awesome with it. That was usually after he played with friends who were a lot smaller. He is an entire head taller than his cousin who is only 3 months younger.

Blessings!
L.

4 moms found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

HA, I can beat that by a long shot! At age 1, my first was 99+% in head circumference and 20% in height and weight. We joked that he was our bobblehead kid. Good news - now at age 8, he's perfectly proportioned. And very smart (I guess he needed that big head to hold his big brain lol) :)

4 moms found this helpful

C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My youngest daughter was born with the biggest head. She weighed 8 pounds and was 19" long, but her head was really big. So big, in fact, that when we took her to the pedi for our 1-week visit, the nurse's assistant measured her head, and wrote down the measurement. Then the nurse came in, looked at the measurement, measured the baby's head and said, "Huh." She left the room, and then the pedi came in, looked at the measurement, measured the baby's head, and said, "Wow, okay. I guess they DID measure correctly!" My baby just had a big 'ol head! (To be fair, both my dad and my husband have big heads, too, so this didn't just come out of nowhere.)

Anyway, this child is now 9 years old and is absolutely tiny for her age (around the 15% in height). Her head is still big, though! She says, "I need a big head to hold in my big brain!" She IS a smart kid, so maybe there's something to that!

4 moms found this helpful
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P.R.

answers from Cleveland on

We're a big headed family :) One of mine has an even bigger head than the other and the nurse would always measure and it would seem to be "too big". Then the doctor would come and remeasure and get it inline with "acceptable". So no testing had to be done and everything has been totally fine. My nephew was tested and he's fine too. So I wouldn't worry unless the growth accelerates...

3 moms found this helpful
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W..

answers from Chicago on

If your Dr isn't worried (which would have gotten you a visit to a neurologist) then you shouldn't worry.

Big head alone isn't a huge deal (no pun intended). It's when the fontenelle has a 'bulge', the head growth is uneven (one side larger than the other) or all of a sudden, for no apparent reason there is a jump in size that is inconsistent with his overall progress for head circumference.

2 moms found this helpful
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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

Yes - but daddy has a big head too. My pedi was worried until he saw a picture of me and my hubby together, then he just chuckled and said "as long as he's meeting his milestones!"

LOL

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Some kids just have big heads. We used to call my roommate's brother tweety bird when he was a baby because his head was so big, but he grew into it.

2 moms found this helpful
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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My daughter couldn't get tops over her head that didn't open all the way down. Well, if it had a zipper down at least half way it would work.

She couldn't wear Izod or Polo style tops. Even tee shirts could be too small to go over her head.

She grew into her head eventually. There was an odd time where her bones were starting to go to their adult size and she looked really weird for a while.

Her head, ears, hands, feet, nose, jaw, and more were unusually large. Then the rest of her caught up.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

oh my both of my children had big heads...we used to joke and say that they had too many brains

1 mom found this helpful
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E.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Yup, my boys both had heads in the 90-95%. No issues with either.
It's totally OK :)

1 mom found this helpful
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K.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

My 2 yr old has a big-o-head. She is off the charts for size like at 105% my Dr did have a ultra sound done more to stop any worries I had. Everything was fine and she is still off the charts.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

They say that most celebrities have extra large heads - it looks good on film and in photos. He can be a model!!

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G.A.

answers from Alexandria on

my son was in that range as well and he was 7 pds 7 ozs and was 21 1/2 inches long

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Both my kiddos have big heads. The ob even remarked about 2nd dd's head size when she delivered (c-section). Doesn't really mean much.

---ETA
And as Gamma G said, it can make some tops difficult to put on.

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