How can I not have a 10lb-er again?

[wildfarmsmama]

HI! I'm pg with bb #4. My weights were 8.7, 8.12 and the 10.8 (lbs & oz). Have you multiple mamas had a big baby then a little one? I want another 8lber but I'm afraid I'm all stretched out and big babies will be my nature now, anyone go big then small? I'm trying to eat alot of protien and veggies and less carbs in hopes of not going overboard...is this logical? Anyone have ideas/experience?
PS the 10 1/2 lb baby was all natural, born at home and with a hand first so a big baby isn't impossible for me to deliver I just like the reg size if I can...

[veganmamma]

Just curious why you're worried about keeping the size down.

[pamamidwife]

did the extra two pounds make it harder? I had a client who had her third with me, a boy, 8lbs 5oz. Then, she got preg when he was five months, ate really well (exact same diet as with her last) and had an 11lb 9oz baby!

(edited to add that she said that birthing the bigger baby SUCKED....the extra 45 minutes of pushing and little shoulder stickiness didn't help....)

I'm not sure I'd be focusing on eating less or whatever. I think that you'll grow a baby that is specific for that particular baby. Of course, good nutrition is important.

[watermamma]

Mine have gotten bigger (just the two!) 1st, 9lb2oz, 2nd was 10lb3oz and born with her fist at her head too! I ate much better my 2nd pregnancy, cut out most refined foods, white flour and such that I ate during my 1st. However, I still had a bit of an ice cream problem But I think it has so much to do with what you are meant to grow. My mom gained only 10-15lbs with me, and I was 10lbs. Grandma's babies were 10-12lbs and that was with her 2-pack a day habit.

You know you can do it, regardless of the size, but I totally hear you about a smaller baby being a little nicer to birth. I would love to avoid the old trip to the surgeon for suturing after birth!

[Kiki Runs]

Yeah, I'm wondering that as well. From what I've read, if a healthy babe's going to be ten lbs, he's going to be ten lbs, not much you can do (assuming you're not starving yourself).

As far as I'm concerned, I liked having a big baby. I didn't have to be as careful with him (not that I wasn't careful, I mean that he didn't seem as fragile as other newborns), he was so healthy-looking, all chubby and big.

I my big baby.

[Jane]

I don't know it's is women looking for the silver lining, but those big babies tend to settle into nice straightforward presentations. Maybe there's only one way out if you're that big?

I don't think there's anything wrong with wishing for a smaller baby. It's just that they don't always listen.

[hannahmom]

Hee hee - mine dd was 9 lbs 1 oz and of course I wish for healthy first, but 8 lbs would be a good size! I pushed for 4 hours and we had some shoulder stickies - although I only had minor lacerations that took about 3 sutures - I don't wish to repeat that 4 hour time frame. By the end I was a complete wild animal trying to get that babe out.

Not to mention, the last month, since there was SO much baby - her tushie was so high up I could not sit straight in a chair until she was born. My ribs + tush = PAIN!

I don't know if there is any way to guarantee the next or multiple after that will be smaller. I just have it in my head that my next WILL be smaller - no ifs, ands, or buts. That way I remain naive and I will birth that baby and be nice and surprised if he/she is bigger than Hannah was.

[cottonwood]

"I don't know it's is women looking for the silver lining, but those big babies tend to settle into nice straightforward presentations."

Good point!

Well, given that a healthy baby is the primary goal, the only thing you *should* do is eat healthy. At least that way you'll know that if your baby is big, that s/he's *supposed* to be big to be healthy. FWIW, my babies have gotten progressively smaller, so it *is* possible that you'll have a smaller one this time.

[jessemoon]

My DS was 10 1/2 lbs...and my MIL suggested I take up smoking Lucky Strikes during my next pregnancy

(for the record...she was joking)

[party_of_seven]

I don't know if I would wish for a smaller baby.

My first was 8lbs 14ozs

My second was 9lbs 2ozs

Then my third was only 7lbs 15ozs....and she was tricky! She had so much more room to move around and was constantly in a posterior position. Her labor lasted over 24 hours (2nd labor was 10 hours) simply because she just wouldn't get in the right position. Once she was born she came out with a hand up by her head. (she had tons of jet black hair, and the midwife always felt her hand up by her head when she was checking her position throughout the pregnancy....I think she had been playing with her hair all that time) She just had too much wiggle room.

Now if you are wondering what I did to get a smaller baby(and I wouldn't recommend this to ANYONE!) I had undiagnosed gallbladder problems for the whole first half of the pregnancy. I was in agony everytime I ate anything, and would have to throw up to relieve the pain. I was being tested for ulcers etc. I finally ended up with a gall stone stuck in my bile duct and had an attck that lasted for 48 hours. I had surgery when I was 22 weeks along to get the rotten thing out before it killed me. I did not gain an ounce of weight until I was about 25 weeks into that pregnancy. Actually I had lost about 15lbs....I was sicker than I had ever been in my whole life.

My 4th baby was 9lbs 2ozs....the exact same measurements as #2....and an easy birth like the others.

I think that the recommendations to eat good healthy whole foods, and just get a little excersise is probably the best way to go about things. If your baby is going to be big its going to be big. As long as you are healthy and the baby is too that's all that matters. (oh, and my 1st 9 pounder was rough, but the second was a breeze FWIW)

[3bees~1flower]

i don't know if it is possible to affect how big your baby will be. i have had both extremes in baby size...ds#1 was 7 wks premature and was 4.8 ....ds#2 was term and 10.7...ds#3 was term and 10.3...they were all c-section. i'm currrently 20.5 wks along with #4. i guess size doesn't really matter to me. i would much rather have a bigger baby than a smaller one. you know they will be vigorous eaters and not sleepy all the time (this is how my first was and it was very nerve-racking). anyway, having had both extremes, i would much rather have a big baby. good luck with your baby, i'm sure you'll do great with whatever size your little one is!

[wildfarmsmama]

Let me just say that I loved my big baby too! He was so healthy looking, chubby and big and so strong. He lifted his head within an hour of birth! I never worried if he was getting enough milk and he had a very strong suck. He was very confident and loved to bath and be unwrapped from the start. My only worry is that the next one is 11 1/2 lbs and I can't do a homebirth or we have problems. I have gained 5o-60 lbs per pregnancy and it's hard for me to lose all that weight all the time (I am feeling it's unhealthy on a 5'4" person, not really worried about looks). I usually eat well and we don't do alot of refined foods but it's more about portion size. I think that I eat too much easy to digest food and I'm ALWAYS hungry, this is why I'm trying to get more protien with nuts and protien bars to fill me up better. I've stopped cravings for sweets with herbal teas so I'm hoping that won't bother me as much (4:00 sugar needs). I guess my biggest worry is that I can't deliver a baby bigger than 10 1/2 lbs at home. Thanks for all of your posts, I feel like babies are going to be who they are too, I just want to be sure that I'm not making my baby big!

[watermamma]

wildfarmsmama: Remember too that babies' heads don't usually get much bigger. Mine were the same size head, even though the 2nd was a pound more. The "fat" on baby is nice and squishy

There's no reason you can't homebirth an 11 1/2lb+ baby and I think you know that you would be more likely to birth a big baby safely at home vs. a hospital. Don't let a care provider scare you with big baby concerns, if that happens, run and find someone else!

Good luck!

[georgia]

To me, anything under 9 lbs is tiny not "regular" ;)

I just wanted to agree with watermamma---my boys were two pounds different in weight, but had the same size head. My nine pounder's birth was SO much better (a million times) than the 7 lber. There are some fabulous older threads about big babies---if you do a search, I bet you'll find wonderful inspiration!

Listen to what your body is telling you. IMO, we're setting ourselves up to fail if we severely limit/restrict/and/or constantly think about what we can't eat. I try to keep healthy, easy things to snack on---and go by instinct. Well, that and some mint chocolate chip ice cream now and then....(Breyer's is Feingold approved!!!)

Happy Pregnancy!

[Lisashepp]

I read something a few years ago that if you lift heavy things frequently during the first trimester your baby will be bigger. I don't know why, but it does make sense that second babies are bigger then firsts because mom is probably lifting and carrying #1 around while pregnant with #2 (or 3, 4, 5, etc).

I also read that babies born in December, January and February are bigger then babies born the rest of the year because moms generally ate more fresh fruits and vegetables during the first trimester which is in March, April, May, June, July & August.


My dd was born in December, I lifted heavy things frequently during early pregnancy with her (it was part of my job), and she was 9 pounds 7oz. I think the next will be the same or bigger because the first trimester is similar with eating and lifting habits

[khrisday]

My first was 10lbs 9 oz and posterior, my second was 7 lbs 12 oz and a "normal" presentation. I didn't do anything in particular, it just happened.

[sagewinna]

Baby #1 was 9 lbs 9 oz, baby #2 was 9 lbs 14.5 oz. Both were nice, 8-10 hour labors.

#3 was only 8 lbs 7 oz. That labor was 32 hours long!

[anothermama]

I'd just like to add my love for big babies as well.........I actually WANTED my son to be bigger than his sister was...........he ended up being an ounce smaller! (9.5 and 9.4 respectively)

My midwives also mentioned how bigger babes tend to "get into position" sooner and be in BETTER position for birth, probably because they are just so big theres no room to be in an "off" position.

They also mentioned that women who have bigger babes tend to have more productive labors because each contraction has more surface space of baby to push against, meaning mama has to do less work. For me, with both mine, I never really had to do much pushing......my contractions did so much work that my babies crowned without any help from me and I got both of them out in about two pushes.

All that said........I bet there really isn't any healthy way to insure a smaller baby.

[KKmama]

I don't have "knowledge" like some of the posters (I mean the birth buffs/professionals), but I'll chip in my anecdotes.

Hey, mine were 9 lbs 5 oz and 9 lbs 4 oz, too. I found the weight lifting thing really interesting... Before I had kids, I was a gym rat and pretty buff. I still exercised when pg with ds1, but not as much. I did lift weights, but less, and very carefully, and breathing very carefully (and tapered off in the 3rd tri). Is that why he was big? And then when pg with #2, I was carrying ds1 a lot (and he's pushing 40 lbs), including doing big hikes with him in the backpack (stopped that when I was 18 wks, but continued doing pretty vigorous yard work...).

My VBAC baby was heavy and long, but he had only an "average" head circ (14 in). I feel kind of programmed to gain a certain amount of weight and have a large baby. Both times, the experience has been pretty similar (and I eat properly)....

[hazey]

Cut out the sugar, eat more protien and less bread and filler foods.

It does help.

But it's ok if your baby is big, bigger is sometimes better(to a point I guess)they sleep well , and eat well.

Good luck!