Did you vaginally birth a "large" baby?

[Momalea]

I'd love to hear some happy antedotes from those who have vaginally birthed a 9+ pound baby. I started labor with my dd on her due date (but she was born 2 days later-that's another story) and she was 8 lb 14 oz. I am currently (32 weeks) pregnant with my ds and all along I've been thinking he'll probably be 9-10 pounds. I was feeling fairly flippant about that then all of a sudden it occurred to me-10 pounds!?!?! That's a lot of baby to push out!

So, any reassuring stories from those of you who have been there, done that?

[CaliMommie]

Hi mama! All 3 of my babies were over 9 lbs. DS1: 9 lbs, 5 oz; DS2 9 lbs, 15 oz; DD, 9 lbs, 7 oz. I had all 3 naturally & no tearing or stitches with any of them! I had a lot of bleeding after DS2 but that was b/c of Cytotec. Fat is squishy! My biggest baby was actually my easiest birth! You can do it!

[Artisan]

This is my favorite topic. I had a ten pound baby with only a small superficial tear.

Fat is squishy. Babies can be average sized and have a giant head, or they can be ten pounds and have an average head. Ten pound babies are not heavy because they have enormous skeletons, they weigh more because they have more body fat. And fat is squishy. You won't have any more trouble with a ten pound baby than with an 8lb 14oz baby!

My sister just had her third. Her first was 8lbs 2oz. Her second was 9lbs 4oz, and with this baby she was huge, HUGELY pregnant. She really felt that this baby was going to be bigger than her others -- in the upper nine pound range. She just felt more weight and pressure, etc. The baby came four days late (her other two had been a week early or on their due date) and weighed 8lbs 3oz.

So, bottom line:
1. Thinking the baby might be big doesn't mean it's true. (BTW, my second weighed 8lbs 9oz. I was certain I was having another 10lb baby!)
2. Fat is squishy. Your birth will not be harder because the baby has body fat.
3. Worrying about the size of the baby will only make you worried.
4. A bigger baby can be easier to birth because they don't have room to wiggle around and pick a bad position. They have to choose the path of least resistance.

HTH!

[7kiddosmom]

My last baby was 10 lbs 2 ozs born at home w/ a midwife, I had no tears. My 6th child was a 13 lb unassisted birth over an intact perinium. I have also had a 2 lbs 7 oz premie, she was harder than the big ones because she was in a very weird position. Don't let the size worry you.

[True Blue]

My cousin had a 12-3 baby at home, no tears! A scary moment or two with shoulder dystocia, but everyone was fine. My other friend had a 10-8 baby vaginally in the hosptial, minor tearing, but all natural and no problems.

Mine were 8-2 and 8-8, so not huge but no tears and both born vaginally.

[mammafish78]

my sister had a 9lb 13oz baby (her first dd)

right after i delivered my 7lb 8oz ds2 i could hear "gogogogogoggo pushpushpushpush" across the hall. it went on forever and i told dh if she is pushing like that she will never give birth. the poor girl must have had 20 people in her birthing room! it was so loud....about 5 minutes after i made the comment about never being able to have the baby pushing like she was...i hear "10lb8oz!!!!!!"

whew! no wonder why she pushed forever!!

it turned out to be my brothers friends, he brought a picture over for me to see and MAN was that a big baby!

i was thankful for my 7 pounder!

[zoe398]

9 lb 8 oz here...my first. I did have a tearr, but so worth it!

[Sharlla]

DS2 was 9 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches long (no tearing) with 11 mins of pushing. DS1 was only 7lbs 10 oz and 19 inches (slight tearing) and 30ish mins of pushing but he was only carried to 36 weeks so I'm sure he would have been much larger had he been full term. I'm not sure, but I think generally second births are probably much easier even if the second baby is larger.

[USAmma]

My friend had 9-15 baby, posterior, with hand by the face. I'm SO impressed by what she did!

[anonymommy]

My son was 22", 14" head, 15" chest, 11 pounds at 6 hours old so perhaps a bit heavier at birth but who knows. My body -- not me -- pushed five or six times and he was out. 30 minutes later I looked at my perineum and rectum and I wasn't even swollen. I attribute this to never bearing down.

[Super Pickle]

My second was 9 lb 14 oz, and I got a tiny tear but I opted not to get stitches, since I had had no meds and felt i had had enough pain for the day.
His shoulders did get a little stuck but the midwife did some maneuver where she pushed on my abdomen and turned the baby at the same time, and he came right out.

[krae]

My first was 9lbs even, and my second 9lbs 15 oz. W/ my 1st I had a large episiotomy (old school OB and some complications during delivery unrelated to DD's size (both our heartrates skyrocketed during the pushing phase)) but w/ my second, larger child I had only a tiny tear in the area of my prior scar. Pushed for about 30 minutes the first time, and only 10 the second.

[thismama]

A friend birthed a 10lb10ozer vaginally, and another friend had an 11lb4ozer at home!

[Past_VNE]

My great grandmother was 13 lbs some odd ounces, birthed at home.

My husband and his brother were both 10+ babes, birthed vaginally with no meds.

I gave birth at home to a 9 lber who skull was unable to squish up properly due to a fused joint. That joint problem caused slight tearing and some swelling, but it was VERY minor. Had he not had this problem (craniosynostosis) we would have a super-easy birth with NO hitches.

[Treasuremapper]

My husband's grandmother homebirthed all of her babies. She claims that one of the babies was twelve pounds. I say "claims" because after my 12 pound, 8 ounce daughter was born her big baby's size suddenly increased to thirteen pounds...

But either way, we know that she homebirthed a really big baby.

[maybebaby]

Yup!

My first was only 8lbs15 1/2 ounces but I'm sure he'd have been 9 if he'd been weighed before he took a good pee on the nurse

Second was 9lbs10oz, hospital birth but vaginal.

Third was 11lb8oz, born at home, and the least painful of my births. The pushing was interesting, but mainly because he was posterior. Just an hour of pushing, but longer than I was used to

I think your body doesn't grow them too big to birth in almost every case. I do believe CPD exists, but rarely is it true CPD.

Have faith, you'll do fine!!

[G&B'sMama]

I birthed a 9 lb. 13.3 oz. (21.5 inches) baby vaginally and she was born with her hand over her head. It was a long labor and a lot of pushing- but that had to do with position, I think, more than size. I was in the hospital and ended up with an episiotomy- but that is a long story- and I don’t think it was necessary. I also birthed a 10 lb. 8.5 oz. (22 inches) baby vaginally in a labor that lasted less than 2 hours from start to finish and had just one tiny tear. His birth was completely unmedicated and took place at the side of the road trying to get to the midwife's house- which is another long story. My DH describes the baby as just “sliding out”. While I have a somewhat different memory- I do admit that I never “pushed” and except for (what I now know was) the 20-30 minute transition where the contractions were really strong- the birth was almost pain free.

[Jenivere]

9 Lb 6oz baby girl at home... http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=110314

[sun-shine01]

My dd was 9 pounds even. I had a small tear requiring 3 stitches.

[Undercover Hippie]

My first baby was 7 lbs, 9 oz. I pushed for 20 minutes and had lots of stitches afterwards. I knew my second baby would be a bit bigger but I wasn't sure how much. I pushed for 8 minutes, had only a tiny tear, and didn't need any stitches. I was amazed when we weighed her an hour later and she weighed 9 lbs 1 oz! I was proud of myself. She was 1.5 pounds heavier and 1.5 inches longer, but her head circumference was the same and her positioning was better--and those things are really all that matters IMO. You can do it, mama!