Development milestones

It is fairly well established that a direct correlation between brain size and intelligence exists. It is commonly held as fact that brain size is directly proportional to skull size. This is apparently why skull measurements are one of three that Kayla gets at each of her checkups (weight, height, and skull size).

Weight: Over the course of her life, Kayla started out on the small side at 6 lbs, putting her in the 10th percentile. Since then she made it over the 50th percentile once, but has since slipped back down to the 25th. In simple terms, she does not weigh much (22lbs). This is not the least bit concerning when we consider that for his entire childhood, her daddy was a wee little runt.

Height: She started in the 25th percentile for height. At four months she was in the 50th percentile and by the eight month, in the 75th. She is holding steady, just above the 75th percentile, a trait that is likely attributable Jen’s side of the family. Height is a rare gene in my family.

Head Circumference: This is where things get interesting. As her mother will attest, the cute little thing had one mighty big head upon arrival. That, in and of itself, is not unusual. Since then, her head size has steadily been outpacing her peers. At four months she was in the 80th percentile and at 6 months she was in the 90s. At nine months her doc read her chart and said, “Well, she’s definitely college material.” This last week he read her charts again and this time he upgraded her, “She is scholarship material!”

After looking carefully at the chart, I saw the basis for his comment. Her head size is literally off the chart, and not just a little bit either. The NCHS charts cover from the 3rd to 97th percentiles and she is far enough past 97 that if there were a 100% line, she’d be dancing on top of it. That means that her head is as big as you are going to find on any child her age.

This has very practical implications on a day to day basis. For example, just try getting a t-shirt for an 18-month over her 15 month old head. It takes a good bit of stretching. When we go up a size, we can get the shirt on but it is far too big for her little body. There will be other concerns that we are already starting to see. She is surprisingly smart. Unfortunately, Amazon does not have a How to Raise a Child That Is Smarter Than You Are book. We can already see that it will become quite the challenge to stay a step ahead of this pint sized dynamo.