Update: Bear's MRI Results

I've been somewhat MIA because we spent last week in southern Indiana with M's family (more on that later) and things have been a bit crazy since we've been back. Bear did have his Quick Brain MRI done yesterday, which he was NOT happy about. His tiny baby earplugs fell out while he was in there and those machines are pretty loud, so I think it scared him. He also isn't a big fan of having his entire body and head strapped down to a board by strangers, but I can't say that I blame him. Luckily the whole procedure was over in about 4 minutes and he was no worse for the wear.

The doctor called later yesterday evening to tell us that Bear does NOT have hydrocephalus, which is when the ventricles in the brain are enlarged and filled with fluid. He does however have a small amount of fluid around the perimeter of his brain. This is common in babies with very large heads and will most likely never require surgery (yay!). He does have to go back monthly to measure head circumference and make sure he is on track developmentally (which he definitely is so far), but aside from that we just hope that the fluid disappears once his brain catches up to his big noggin:)

 My little trooper post-MRI. I had to cut the bottom of his onesie off because no metal is allowed in the room during the MRI.

Appointment with the Pediatric Neurologist

Bear's noggin has always been a little (okay, a lot) on the large side. It was in the 80th percentile at birth and has been in the 99th percentile since his 2 month appointment. It is most likely because M also has a giant head (and his dad and his dad's dad) but our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric neurologist just to be safe. He had his appointment yesterday and the neurologist does think that Bear might have a little bit of benign fluid in there because of the jump it made from birth to 2 months and because his fontanelle puffs out a bit. The good news is that developmentally he is right on track and reaching his milestones, so there is nothing else indicating that there is an issue. They asked us if we wanted to do a "quick brain MRI" where they don't sedate and it only takes a few minutes. I wanted to but M said we would wait and talk about it. My sister is a neurologist so I called her to see what she thought and she said she would go ahead and get the MRI for peace of mind if nothing else. We have a follow-up appointment in a month to remeasure head circumference and see where he is at but I knew I couldn't wait that long for the scan because I would drive myself crazy with worry by then. I just called to reschedule for an earlier date and they said they would call me back as soon as they put the order in for the quick brain MRI. I'm such a mix of emotions right now, I just feel like crying. Part of me thinks everything will be fine but the other part of me (the mom part?) can't help but worry.