parents/mothers...

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we just went to the dr (a new one) for my 21month olds 18 month check up/shots (yes...we are behind). my son is in the less then 3rd percentile for height, between 25-30%for weight. he's tiny.

his head is misshappen and has been since he was 6ish months old. his old dr insisted i was "worrying too much" and that it would fix itself. he told me "if its not fixed by 12 months, well look into it more because after 18 months old they (specialists) cant/wont do anything to fix it". 12 months came around and he denied ever saying that, and then said "many babies/children have misshappen heads until close to 2-3 years old." i believed him. i went along with it. my daughter never had problems with her head like this.

anyways- this new dr was floored that nothing was done! i told her how the first doctor insisted *I* must let him sleep on his back, in one position too much and it created a flat spot (my son NEVER slept on his back after 2-3 months old when he could roll himself over). she said the way its misshappen- its not just a "one position too much" thing. he needed and should have had one of those correction helmets a long time ago!
So shes referring us out to a specialist now. were not sure if they will even do anything but this dr said its better to get an experts opinion to make sure.

has anyone gone through this/something similar?

also shes referring us to a speech therapist. my son is just now starting to babble/jabber a lot other then the normal dada, baba, mama. he wont actually TALK. he tries? i guess. sometimes. but the most we get out of him is "do" (dog) or ca (cat), basically the papa, dada, mama, baba, caca, type sounds.

dr says more then likely this is just a case of "big sister talks for me so i dont have to and i dont want to" type of thing, even though we discourage our daughter from talking for him, and we spend a lot of time talking to Rylan, my son, one on one trying to encourage him to talk and communicate.

but its stressing me out! mainly the head thing. i feel so stupid that i didnt insist on seeing a specialist/getting a second opinion sooner! but also the talking thing! my older/daughter was talking up a storm from a very young age. shes "above average" in everything (weight, height, development, etc) and my son....is the complete opposite!

anyways. rambling over....i was just wondering if there are any other parents out there that deal/delt with any of these issues/problems with their kids, and if so, how did it turn out?

Replies

  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    My three year old wasnt talking still a few months before his third birthday. He is in speech therapy now and catching up very well. Best of luck!
  • natersmama
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    i have never been through this. but i wanted to say i will be praying for you and your family. but save yourself the stress of comparing babies. girls almost always talk sooner than boys. my son is 6 days younger than my niece and she says a lot. he doesnt. he's my little caveman. he'll talk when he's ready. good luck!
  • amyhoss
    amyhoss Posts: 414 Member
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    Don't be too hard on yourself. We trust our doctors. I probably would have done the same thing if my doctor told me that it was of no concern.

    BTW - have you ever use one of those Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleepers? I've heard that they can cause flat head.
  • KrisPage
    KrisPage Posts: 539 Member
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    We adopted our kids biological sibling girl is 13 months older we got them at 2 and 3 yrs old and our son barely talked then I was worried and discussed with speech therapist your same concerns because she did reply for all his needs and translate his babels for us. He was tested and very knowledgeable and could identify many objects in a picture book with out fail and they did not start any therapy. And after about 6 months in our home he began to talk more and now after nearly 2 years in our home talks much more when he can get a word in between his sister. Follow your gut though get him tested and checked it can either give your relief that he is developing normally or you can start a treatment plan to improve things sooner rather than later.
  • mrshewitt1975
    mrshewitt1975 Posts: 8 Member
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    I had a similar situation when my 12 year old was born. She was my 3rd child and I immediately knew something was wrong. At her 2 week and 2 month checkups, the Dr said it was probably from the birth canal. Finally, at 4 months and after a HUGE amount of pestering from me, he sent me to a neurologist. She was diagnosed with Coronal Synostosis (the plates in her head had fused too early, so she had no softspot...something the Dr. should have seen as a red flag). She underwent surgery back in 1999. She's now 12 years old, and we have no follow-up care to worry about. There are a couple of repercussions from the surgery, aka, her hair does not grow at a normal rate (she's only had 1 haircut in the past 3 years) and she has a MILD deformity (it's not bad, I think only I notice it). She's a typical tween, though.

    Don't worry too much. We've all had this treatment from Drs. I'm sure son will be just fine :)
  • twinsanity
    twinsanity Posts: 1,847 Member
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    First of all, you beating yourself up over not insiting more about a specialist for the misshapen head, only makes you a great mom! But, it does not, however, make it your fault! As parents, we worry about our kids and want to make things better when something is wrong. You're getting to a specialist now, and that's what matters. You're doing great! It's really easy to read way too much into the speech issue, when your doc could be right. If he's got an older sister, he may not have a need to talk. My twins were horrible about that! I think it's great that a speech therapist is getting involved, because not only can they make great strides in getting him to talk, they'll help him form words properly, too! A million things could be wrong, or nothing could be wrong. For now, it is what it is, and just try and take it one step at a time. You're doing a great job!!!
  • Don't be too hard on yourself. We trust our doctors. I probably would have done the same thing if my doctor told me that it was of no concern.

    BTW - have you ever use one of those Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleepers? I've heard that they can cause flat head.
    no. he slept in a pack-n-play/bassinet thing for a few months, then into a normal crib, and that is it.
  • deeharley
    deeharley Posts: 1,208 Member
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    My eleven-year-old had the "older siblings talk for me" syndrom. He didn't start really talking until well after two years old. Now, we can't shut him up. No experience with the head thing - good luck with that.
  • krik84
    krik84 Posts: 47
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    Is his neck okay? No head tilt? My son has torticollis which led to his flat spot
  • His neck seems to be fine. I havent noticed anything "off" with it
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    My son is hearing-impaired...he will turn 7 in November & we didn't discover it until he was 5 & 1/2. I, too, felt like the worst parent on the planet. I had an inkling something wasn't right; but I let everyone, docs included, convince me that he was just a late bloomer. When we finally had him tested, it turned out that he has about a 30-40% hearing loss. We were able to get him hearing aids & now he is in speech therapy, resource classes & therapy with a teacher for the deaf. It's like he did a complete 180. Also, during the time before we got him to see the specialists, his older sister "translated" for him all the time. I think that's just S.O.P. for siblings. So like others have said, don't beat yourself up. We've all been down that road with docs before. I'm sure I'm not the only parent here who wanted to punch their child's doc in the face when the phrase "you just have to let it run its course" was uttered for the billionth time. The important things is that you're getting in to see a specialist now. I'm sure everything will work out for your son...hugs to you all! :flowerforyou: