Baby with a large head and sacral dimple?

[AnnE-girl]

I really hope that I'm worrying for nothing, but I'm taking three-month-old Baby Boy to have his head measured tomorrow because it suddenly seems bigger. He had a big jump in head circumference percentile at his one month appointment, but the doctor wasn't concerned and it leveled out a bit at his two month checkup. Last night DH and I were looking at him and it just looked bigger again. We measured and it was 86th percentile according to the WHO growth chart online. His height and weight are at the 5-10 percentiles. I'm trying not to freak out about possible hydrocephalus, but reading online, it can be caused by spina bifida and he also has a sacral dimple. The doctor wasn't worried about that either, but I worry that the rapidly increasing head and dimple could be related.

 

Has anyone gone through the testing for hydrocephalus? How worried should I be at this point? And prayers and good thoughts for Baby Boy's appointment tomorrow would be greatly appreciated.

 

Edited because somehow my phone submitted before I finished typing.

Edited February 23, 2016 by AnnE-girl

[Lucy the Valiant]

I am going to PM you.

[Melissa in Australia]

:grouphug:

hope it  is all OK

[Mergath]

Those are both potential symptoms of 16p11.2 Deletion Syndrome, which my daughter has. If your ds has any developmental delays later on, you might want to consider genetic testing.

[MercyA]

I have prayed. Please keep us updated!  :grouphug:

[Mom2Five]

I know that 4..or maybe 3 of my children have a sacral dimple. It has never been any cause of concern. I have never had any mention of the other part though. I just thought Id comment on what I could. I hope you are worried for no reason.

[momto10blessings]

Stop googling! You'll get answers at the doctor but googling isn't going to get you anywhere but freaked out. Prayers for your boy!

[jewellsmommy]

I hope it is nothing. I will tell you that at one point in dd's first year, she was in the 5th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height but her head circumference was 95th! She was perfectly fine though. I pray that you get the same confirmation.

[jewellsmommy]

Update us when you get the good news that all is well.  :001_smile:

[EmseB]

All my kids have big heads and a couple have sacral dimples.  One even had a hemangioma (sp?) on his back over his spine (upper back, not lower).  All of them are completely healthy.

[mamiof5]

All of ours have big heads. No idea what a sacral dimple is. Will pray for your baby boy!

[TravelingChris]

Praying for a good result and calmness for you.

[Entropymama]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:

[freesia]

Yes, no googling. Dds doctor told us that when she had med problems as a newborn. They ruled out the worst case issues without me having undue stress--and trust me some could have been dire.

 

No matter what the diagnosis you will be able to handle it step by step.

 

In the mean time--I will pray that all is fine with your little one and that you are at peace.

[plansrme]

Even if he has spina bifida, which he probably doesn't, keep in mind that SB can range from extremely severe to nearly symptomless.  If it were severe, you would know it by now.  Severe cases of SB are apparent at birth or even before birth.  I don't blame you for googling; I would, too, and I would definitely not rely solely on my doctor--it's not his kid, after all.  But, for what it's worth, I have a relative with severe SB, and they knew the minute he was born.  If his mom had had any prenatal testing, they would have known before he was born.  I also have a friend with mild SB, and you would never know it if she didn't tell you; I only know because she mentioned once that her feet are different sizes because of it.  

 

I'm glad your dr. is seeing you and hope he takes your concerns seriously.

[redsquirrel]

Yes, please stop googling.

 

And I've know people who've had to go in for 'head checks' b/c of a baby with a large head and it never came to anything. 

 

I am surprised I didn't have to take my kids in for head checks. My kids had huge heads, like the 90% but were in the 2% for weight and height. My kids were like lollipops! My dh has a big head so I assume the dr just looked at him and figured everything was fine.  I did have to take them in for weight checks though. 

 

 

I hope everything is fine and the Dr appt goes well.

[catz]

My son had a big baby head and it was all fine and dandy.  No problem.  (ETA - I was going to add boy has kind of weird cleft in his butt too and ran on the small end of growth curve for height/weight.  He's also Highly to profoundly gifted as an aside) 

 

He still looks weird in hats though.  My dad had a giant head and small body too.  He looked even funnier in hats.

Edited February 23, 2016 by WoolySocks

[wapiti]

I have a few kids with sacral dimples, one of whom turned out to have a tethered spinal cord due to a filum lipoma.  He had surgery to release the tether when he was 5.

 

It is rare but we wouldn't know about it, and he'd have had more permanent damage, if I hadn't googled.  *I* am the one who caught this when I was googling sacral dimple info about my newborn baby and came across symptom lists connecting voiding dysfunction and constipation (generally, potty issues) with tethered cord.  The ped happened to call me about something else the next day, I mentioned this, and she had me bring him in to look because she didn't know about his butt crack issue (his case includes a teeny, tiny tag hiding in the top of the crack).  She then ordered the MRI.  He had surgery a few months later.

 

I'd simply be aware of other symptoms of spinal cord issues and be on the lookout for those symptoms as the child grows.  Also look for any other skin oddities in that region.  No need to freak out.  But, I can't say not to google.  (I don't know anything about large heads.)

[MistyMountain]

My kids all had big heads near the top of the charts. Two of them were also low on the weight and height charts.

[mominco]

(((hugs)))

[AnnE-girl]

Thanks for all the hugs, prayers, information, and reassurances! The appointment isn't until 3:40, and I have to take the two big kids to the dentist at 2:00, so we have a full afternoon. I'll update when I have a chance tonight.

[ktgrok]

So...I'm not sure I knew what a sacral dimple is so I googled. Um, I have one. In fact, I thought everyone did. Guess not. 

 

Learn something new every day. 

[AnnE-girl]

We saw our regular doctor today, and he was all set to order an ultrasound until he plugged the newest head measurement into Baby Boy's chart, and he's on pretty much the same curve he's been on since his one month appointment. His head is big in proportion to his body (86th percentile compared to 10th), but it's not increasing so dramatically that he thinks it warrants immediate testing. His soft spot isn't bulging at all and he has great muscle tone, and is otherwise doing really well. For now, we'll do monthly measurements, and if he jumps percentiles we'll start additional testing. The doctor is a bit conservative about starting testing because it tends to snowball quickly into getting an MRI under sedation if the ultrasound isn't perfect and he doesn't want to put the baby through that unless really necessary.

 

The doctor also brought up DD's chart for family comparison, and her head was at the 100th percentile at 18 months. I knew she had a big head, but I didn't remember it being that big. I really hope the poor guy just inherited the big family head without the proportional body.

[Lucy the Valiant]

I have a few kids with sacral dimples, one of whom turned out to have a tethered spinal cord due to a filum lipoma.  He had surgery to release the tether when he was 5.

 

It is rare but we wouldn't know about it, and he'd have had more permanent damage, if I hadn't googled.  *I* am the one who caught this when I was googling sacral dimple info about my newborn baby and came across symptom lists connecting voiding dysfunction and constipation (generally, potty issues) with tethered cord.  The ped happened to call me about something else the next day, I mentioned this, and she had me bring him in to look because she didn't know about his butt crack issue (his case includes a teeny, tiny tag hiding in the top of the crack).  She then ordered the MRI.  He had surgery a few months later.

 

I'd simply be aware of other symptoms of spinal cord issues and be on the lookout for those symptoms as the child grows.  Also look for any other skin oddities in that region.  No need to freak out.  But, I can't say not to google.  (I don't know anything about large heads.)

 

Yes to this (in case anyone else is reading); we are another tethered cord family, and it's not nothing.

 

Ann-E, I'm so glad your appointment went well, and that he's tracking in the same percentile. Sounds like he's keeping an eye on things, and I'm glad for both of you.

[J-rap]

It sounds like the doctor appointment went well, so that's reassuring!  I was just going to say that my daughter has a Pilonidal sinus at the base of her spine, and I'm wondering if they're the same thing.  They think possibly it could have been the beginnings of spina bifida, but then never amounted to anything at all.  We were told that her biggest challenge will be to keep it clean, although it's never been a problem.

 

[Scarlett]

So...I'm not sure I knew what a sacral dimple is so I googled. Um, I have one. In fact, I thought everyone did. Guess not.

 

Learn something new every day.

How do you know you have one? I am going to,ask Dh to check when he gets home. And I can't remember if Ds has one, I might check him when he gets home. LOL.....

 

OP....I am not making light of your concerns, sounds like your doctor is on top of things.

[ktgrok]

How do you know you have one? I am going to,ask Dh to check when he gets home. And I can't remember if Ds has one, I might check him when he gets home. LOL.....

 

OP....I am not making light of your concerns, sounds like your doctor is on top of things.

 

I can just feel that there is a dimple or something there....I knew about how you can get a cyst there, I had one once but it went away on it's own, I think a hair had just gotten caught there and started it.