A method is disclosed that includes sending (304) a first full header from a source compressor (106) to a destination decompressor (112) wherein the source compressor and the destination decompressor are a part of a symmetrical configuration. An IP packet including the full header is compressed into a first compressed header (310) based on the context established in the first full header. The first compressed header is sent (312) from the source compressor to the destination decompressor. The compressor receives (322) a second full header from the destination compressor wherein the second full header indicates that the destination decompressor did not receive the first full header. The second full header can include a modified field or has an incremented generation identification. The source compressor sends (336) another full header to the destination decompressor.