Yikes! Big Baby!

[baileyandmikey]

I just got back from my 37 week apt and dr believes that the baby is at least 8 to 9 pds!!!!! i had my first at 38 weeks to the day, and she only weighed 6 lbs 14 oz, and was down to less than 5 lbs a week later. I am in shock, the dr said that if IF i carry to 40 wks he could be over 10 pds. I plan on doing a natrural birth, but ugh i hope i go into labor soon, that way he is no bigger. anyone else carrying a large baby????????

[wasabi]

Hi
I'm popping in from the April group because I saw this title and my life is all about "big baby." :LOL I do have bigger than average babies but with my last pg they started freaking out that she was really BIG. By palpating my belly one midwife swore the baby was probably close to 7 or 8 lbs around 36-37 week. I foolishly agreed to an u/s to estimate the baby's weight when I was 38 weeks. That said the baby was 9-9.5lbs at that time. They all swore that while yes u/s were not always accurate that in this case they really thought it was a pretty good estimate. Based on that u/s she was estimated to be 11-11.5lbs at 40 weeks. I faced some pretty stiff pressure to get induced or go ahead and schedule a c-section. I had until just four days after my EDD to go into labor or get transferred to OBs and like you I wanted a natural birth. Fortunately for me I delivered my 9lbs 13oz DD the day following her EDD. Now don't get me wrong a 10lbs baby is big but it's not setting any sort of records and can certainly be delivered via a totally natural vaginal delivery. My real point is that I was told my baby was 11.5lbs and she was under 10lbs not even my largest baby. Please don't let this worry you too much. I've known far too many women who spent the last weeks of their pg worried they were carrying some behemouth toddler sized child only to pop out a perfectly normal 7-8lbs baby. I mean I know people who were told the baby was 9lbs at 38 weeks who delivered an 8lb baby at 41 weeks. Ooops! Estimates are just not at all accurate and there have been studies showing how inaccurate they are. Please try to relax and enjoy the rest of your pg and not worry too much about the baby's size. Even if he is a 10lber you should have no problem delivering him.

Good luck!
robyn

PS If you want them I can post all kinds of links about the inaccuracy of estimates.

[crayon]

I wouldnt even worry- first off your body can birth a 10+ baby and really it will feel all the same :LOL And when I was 40 weeks my OB told me my baby was well over 8lbs and she was born 2 weeks later at 7lbs 4oz so that is really just a crock that they can guess the weight!

[sm3247]

Remember that the estimates are not even close to accurate. I asked the Dr. a week before my due date how big DS #1 was and she guessed 7-7.5 lbs (which is about average). He was born a day after my due date and weighed 10.5 lbs. They just don't know.

Don't let yourself get talked into a c-sec or inducing for that reason. Induced labor is horribly painful and c-sections are risky for both this pregnancy and any future pregnancies. Also, don't let anyone tell you that you can't birth a 10 lb baby. Lots of women have done it and it drives me crazy when I hear the "he just wouldn't fit" reason for c-sections. There's a thread over in "Birth and Beyond" about bigger babies that may make you feel better.

[candiland]

Yeah, I'm a doula and weight prediction is the biggest scam they have going nowadays :LOL

I've never had a mom birth a baby as huge as their ob. "warned" them it would be. They often start talking about that crap when they want to schedule an induction or cesarean.

Don't worry... it's extremely rare for a woman's body to grow a baby she can't birth. Looking at our planet's present population, I don't think it was EVER much of a problem!

[CityGirl]

God, this is such a huge pet peeve of mine. What purpose do these weight estimates serve?? To totally undermine the mother's confidence and make her think exactly what you're thinking: "ugh, can I do this?"

I wouldn't trust that estimate for a second. If the dr measured it on ultrasound, it can be off as much as 2/3 lbs either direction. It is very unlikely your body is growing a baby too big for you to birth.

[crayon]

My MWs assitant was told (she is 26 weeks) by an OB that when she was 15 weeks they wanted to do an u/s to find out if her pelvis is big enough She has already birth a baby and she is tall and not thin.... So what the heck are they talking about?? She was like, listen, I have the hips, babies come out, I am not having a u/s....

And she was like 15weeks and they were trying to scare her with the size aleady!

[fiddledebi]

Three days before my dd was born, I was sent in for an ultrasound to check fluid levels, since I was threatening preeclampsia. During that ultrasound, they estimated the baby to be 7-7.5 lbs, which was in their minds a healthy weight should we decide to induce (I was just under 39 weeks). I held off on induction and went into labor on my own 2 days later, but it was going very slowly, so we "augmented" with pitocin.

17 hours after the pitocin started, I pushed out a daughter that weighed in at FIVE POUNDS SEVEN OUNCES. I wish I would have waited and not pushed my body faster. That's a tiny baby, given that she was full term. Maybe I had another week or so in me; who knows?

[wasabi]

Originally Posted by crayon

My MWs assitant was told (she is 26 weeks) by an OB that when she was 15 weeks they wanted to do an u/s to find out if her pelvis is big enough She has already birth a baby and she is tall and not thin.... So what the heck are they talking about?? She was like, listen, I have the hips, babies come out, I am not having a u/s....

And she was like 15weeks and they were trying to scare her with the size aleady!

Wow! Did she change providers?!

[cholderby]

Originally Posted by wasabi

I've known far too many women who spent the last weeks of their pg worried they were carrying some behemouth toddler sized child only to pop out a perfectly normal 7-8lbs baby.

:LOL
It's like you can read my mind!!!

[welldone]

I wouldnt even worry- first off your body can birth a 10+ baby and really it will feel all the same

Absolutely. Birth is an incredible event, and those who birth smaller babies resent the idea that they didn't have to work as hard to push them out! For example, my five week early 5 lb. 10 oz. daughter had a full-term head circumference...and she didn't just "fall right out," as some of the nurses joked! (I really wanted to punch them.)

Your body can push out the baby that it produces. Babies are grown mom-sized, in almost every circumstance (barring childhood nutritional deficiencies that cause deformed pelvises), and you can push out your baby naturally!

[TiredX2]

The last I heard, which is NOT ever mentioned is that u/s weight predictions are correct a majority of the time... WITHIN +/- 20 PERCENT!!! That is a huge difference and remember, that means that around 40% of women could fall out of that range (so, a 10lb baby could be under 8lbs quite often).

My sil was told her baby was going to be 8 lbs. 3 days later was born at 6 lbs 12 ounces

[Paxetbonum]

Rrrr, this is a pet peeve of mine too. Especially right now because I have a friend due the same week as me with her THRID c-sec, second scheduled cesarean . . . all because her babies are just "too big" to fit. She is scheduled for March 1. She is one of those thin tall women who Ina May always says deliver babies so easily.

I don't even try to convince her to change doctors orfind a midwife because she "trusts them implicitly."

[AnneCordelia]

Oh wow.

This is exactly the reason why I refuse u/s. I know I'll have big babies...and I'm okay with that. I pushed out my son, who was 9lbs 13oz, just fine and I'm sure I'll do the same with this baby.

Emily

[baileyandmikey]

I don't plan on having a c section regardless of size, i know my body can handle it, and no i do not want nor plan on being induced. i hope that he comes soon tthough, i am so tired and warn out! thanks for everyones input

[luvmy3boyz]

3 weeks ago I was told my baby was measuring 8lbs 8 ounces. My dr was pushing for induction, I politely declined each time . I had her on Monday morning weighing 8lbs 8 ounces.