Madison Baker, from Nashville, Tennessee, US, was four months pregnant in October 2024 when she found out her unborn son had hydrocephalus, a severe and potentially deadly build-up of fluid in the brain. Noah was born in March 2025 and, two weeks later, underwent surgery to have fluid-draining tubes implanted into his brain.
Because of the excess fluid, Noah's skull grew to 26 inches in circumference — the size of a football. The average head circumference for a newborn boy is 13.5 inches, making Noah's head nearly twice the typical size.
Six brain surgeries
"It was a shock when we were given Noah's diagnosis because we'd had two other pregnancies and never had any issues, so it was definitely unexpected," Madison said. "We had a very traumatic birth. They took him immediately so I never got to hold him when he was first born, they took him straight to NICU."
"He had his first brain surgery at two weeks old and they put tubing in to help drain the fluid. Since then, he's had five more brain surgeries all related to his hydrocephalus."
Cranial reduction
Noah's most recent surgery, on May 1, 2026, was a cranial reduction to remove 60% of his skull and bring it down to a more appropriate size. The operation was carried out for developmental rather than aesthetic reasons, with the hope of giving Noah a better chance to lift his head independently and eat solid foods.
Madison, a stay-at-home mum of three, says her one-year-old's head was previously so large that he was unable to lift his own head or sit up on his own.
Missing his big noggin
While Madison says the life-changing operation was the "best thing for Noah", she admits she misses what she affectionately dubbed his "big noggin".
"They removed almost 60% of his skull to bring it down to a more appropriate size. I miss his big noggin - we just got used to it because when he was first born his head was already so large," she said.
"It was always very large in circumference so we just got kind of used to it. It's definitely been different but you can tell that he feels lighter, you can tell that he feels a lot better having so much of his skull reduced."
"He looks really great, we miss it but we're glad that we did it still because it definitely needed to be done. It will give him the best opportunity to be the best version of himself and give him all the chances that we can."
"It [the surgery] was for his development - we liked how we looked before."
