Soft Spot Closing Prematurely

Do not get medical info on line - always a problem. If you can't wait until next week then please call your doctor and talk to a nurse and try to reschedule the appointment.

Now I do say it is not advisable to look up medical stuff on line - but I always catch myself doing it - then I always find that the final outcome is not as bad as the one I read about. If you need to put your mind to rest a call to the doctors office on the weekend would be fine. I think doctors are rather amused by phone calls from parents.

This is not something to self-diagnosis. Talk with your doctor and he/she will refer you to a neurosurgeon, if needed. The complications that arise with the plates fusing early are serious and you want to make sure that this is what's happening, in short, don't borrow trouble if you don't have to. Get the diagnosis first, then go from there with your research. And remember that there is a big picture that needs to remain in focus as you delve into the details. I wish your daughter well, and you too Mom. Take a deep breath, breathe.

M.,
So sorry to hear that her soft spot is closing. My son had craniosynostosis, which is a condition that often causes the soft spot to close because the sutures of the skull have prematurely closed. My son actually still had a soft spot so I never did more research on that. My advice is that I would HIGHLY recommend a CATscan. From everything I read (and I spent every second on the internet for weeks and yes it is scary and overwhelming) a CATscan is really the only way to see both the brain and the skull to see what is truly happening and why. And a neurosurgeon is the best specialist to look for right now. If your daughter does have craniosynostosis then a craniofacial surgeon is the best person to talk with as well as a neurosergeon. I created a website for my son when he went through his surgery and on the link I created a resources section that shows tons of other websites you can check out - www.caringbridge.org/visit/andrewmthomas.
PLEASE let me know how I can help. The not knowing what was wrong was the scariest time outside of the surgery. Hopefully your daughter just has a small soft spot. If not, know that it is fixable and she will be just fine.

Definitely do what you need to do to feel comfortable. Just a word of encouragement, my now 18 month old daughter had a very small soft spot, as a matter of fact, her head was nearly perfectly round and in place when she was born. She has always had a large(er) head....14.5 inches at birth and clothes that are of an appropriate size for her body have a hard time fitting over her head if they aren't stretchy. I should say it isn't something you would notice, her head looks totally normal, and I would never have noticed it except that clothes need to have give to get over it and when measured at the Dr.'s office her head was in the 95th percentile as opposed to 65th percentile for her body. At any rate, she barely had any soft spot at all and it went away relatively quickly and there is nothing wrong with her. She has grown normally and is smart as a whip. I do agree that perhaps looking online isn't the best thing to do as you could really freak yourself out. A simple doctor's appointment should settle the issue fairly quickly. Good luck M..

That sounds totally normal. Unless the doctor has said something is wrong, I think you should try to relax! Soft spots can be a varying range of sizes. The important thing is that they have one.

Hello M.,

What a confusing situation! I agree, avoid looking at stuff on the WEB or trying to diagnose...sometimes, more information is less helpful. Your doctor will have better info.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned (and maybe I'm completely off base about this) is checking in with a well-reputed pediatric cranio-sacral therapist. If you are in the Portland area, I highly recommend Dr Elise Hewitt at Portland Chiropractic group. She is a founding member of the American group that works in Pediatric Chiropractics. If it were me, I would call and ask to talk with her over the phone about your situation before scheduling an appt. I am not sure that craniosacral therapy would work for your daughter, but it may be an alternative to surgery that is worth checking in on.

This may sound a little "woo woo", but I've been taking my son to her since he was 2 weeks old (he's two now) and trust her completely. He's rarely sick and it's wonderful to know that as he grows and takes those hard tumbles that misalign all sorts of bones (esp. the ones in his head) that they can be put back into proper place. Please Google her name online, for more information. She's wonderful, and won't make false promises or lead you down a path that is going to cause more confusion. (There's not a lot of ego with this lady!)

Take care and my very best to your family.

I agree that you should try not to worry yourself crazy over this! I would, however, contact her pediatrician to talk to them and make an appointment. While it may be nothing, the flip side is that it IS possible her soft spot is hardening too early. While my daughter did not experience this, my husband did years and years ago. He did have surgery as a small baby, but is now 34 years old and healthy as an ox. =) I wish you the best!!

My son had craniosynostosis, and did have the surgery at 9 months of age as it was not diagnosed in time. He is now a gorgeous almost three year old now. Feel free to contact me if you do indeed need to go this route. It is not an easy process, but they heal so quickly it is unreal. Keep me posted...

www.emedicine.com is my *** absolute favorite ***, but it is both extremely detailed & technical. It's also free to sign up, but you do have to register.

http://www.webmd.com/ is more in straight English, but it's nowhere near as good.