Terrified here

[littlemama06]

I am very afraid, I am not even sure why. I am 37weeks and 3 days.I have been in prodromal hell land for almost two weeks.Tuesday i begged my MF to check me, i was 2 cm, 60 effaced, -2 station and my cervix is soft and squishy.she said the baby is BIG (close to 7 lbs already)and if i go full term she will be 9 lbs or so.I am tall,5'8" and my dh is 6'3".she said iam made to have big babies, she actaully said, You have enough room to part a greyhound bus in there( thanks)
It seems to me the the big babes who are born with little problems are born at home, not in a freaking hospital.It looks like many homebirth moms have 8,9,10 lb babies.Now I wish I was having a home birth or even birthing at THE FARM( I would love Ina May to help me birth Violet)i live about 2-3 hours from The Farm and my midwfie was born there and delivered by Ina May Gaskin.
Iam just so afraid that Violet will be HUGE , i will labor for hours and i will give in , get an epi and end up with her stuck in my birth canal, have a CS or even somethign worse: .If I am at home or was lucky enough that Nashville still had a free standing birthing center, i could nt get an epi if I wanted one.
I keep telling her(Violet) that if she is ready to be born ,I am SO very ready to meet her.
I am worring so much I cant sleep,
Kaitlin

[MamaTaraX]

I know plenty of big babies born in hospitals naturally Chin up and stick to your guns mama. {{{peaceful birth}}} to you!

Namaste, Tara

[willow659]

It's so hard to feel like that Have faith in yourself and your baby. You can do it.

[Satori]

Your baby is NOT big and at most they gain 1/2 lb a week at this point. I'm due the day after you and last week the OB told me the baby looks to be 6.5 to 7lbs at 36 weeks, at no time did he say anything like "big" or "large" baby. If I make it to 40 weeks I expect baby will weigh about 8lbs which is NORMAL. Relax, from what I hear from women in Europe bigger babies are EASIER to birth and they feel sorry for women who have to birth small babies because its more painful. You will be fine, i'm actually a little worried at the thought of birthing a tiny baby after hearing all those birth stories of hard births and little babies.

[erin_brycesmom]

Honestly that doesn't sound that big to me. Plus the estimate could be way off. I have had two 9 and a half lbers in the hospital without problem. The first one was induced and not a fun labor but the 2nd one was all natural and drug free and not even a tear. YOu can do this mama!!!! If you are fearing the size, this could cause you to tense up during labor and not allow your body to do it's thang. I know it is hard but please try to relax and let go of your fears about the size. It is extremely rare for a woman to grow a baby too large to birth vaginally. FWIW, I found pushing on my hands and knees (with my arms leaning over the bed for support) to be the best position to get out my 2nd who had a large head.

~Erin

[littlemama06]

Thanks everyone, i am just so hormonal..i KNOW i can do this, not sure why I was so freaked out but i do feel better now!
Kaitlin

[solomom]

So many friends have been told that their babe was gonna be such and such size, and when born was actually at least 2 lbs away from the estimated size. I have heard several people say the baby puts on a pound a week in the last few weeks in utero--not true.
It is actually quite rare for the baby to simply be too big for yo to give birth to. You will stretch and accomodate your baby mama!!
You are statistically MUCH more likely to have big problems (forceps, suction, caesarean etc), if you start down the intervention path at the hospital, which starts with pain medication. They (nurses, doctors etc) might ask you many times "Are you sure you dont want an epidural?" or other pain meds, but if you have decided you dont, say no one time, and stick to it, dont let them pressure or bully. You are more likely to need pitocin, and other forms of intervention after an epidural. I presume thats part of what you are afraid of?
Both my babes were 9lbs, I am 5'10 and dh is 6'2, I know everyone is different, but for me it was hard work but not impossible! . Read some good books, talk with some positive mamas, and have a wonderful birth!!

[chevy974]

I had 2 over 10 lb babies in the hospital with out so mu ch as an asprin. My births and labors werent bad at all. I realize everyone has there own thresh hold for what they can endure hang int here mama you can do it.

Amy

[Miss Juice]

Please try not to worry!

I've had a 7lb 12 oz baby and a 9lb 2 oz baby, both completely natural in the hospital. My labors were 12 hours and 3.5 hours respectively - and I didn't even tear with the bigger baby. Your body knows just what it is doing.

I have also heard (and it matches my experience) that bigger babies are not harder to birth. They're mostly just fatter, and fat is soft and squishy and easy to push out

[velveeta]

My mother had FIVE babies in the hospital, naturally, and three of them were over 10 pounds!

You can do it!

[Hayes]

My William was 9pounds 2ounces, born in a hospital, drug free. He was actually really easy to birth. I never pushed him, just waited for the doctor to show up and catch him. My husband was all ready to catch, just in case!

[littlemama06]

Thank you , after a good nights sleep i feel much we sure of my self and my body to birth this baby.

Kaitlin

[Breathless Wonder]

Kait-
Do you think it would help to go and read some of the birth stories here?

There are SO many stories of women pushing out 10, 11, and 12 pound babies with no problem, and also plenty of stories of women getting sectioned for "HUGE" babies that turned out to be 6 or 7 pounds. Our society tends to obsess over how BIG the baby will be, when there are many factors that contribute to difficulty pushing out a baby, many of them brought on by medical interventions, some out of our control, and some easily remedied by simple changes of position, etc.

Honestly? My longest pushing was due to my baby being malpositioned- posterior, and brow presentation. Once I changed position to hands and knees, he was born in 3 pushes (he was my second smallest).

The most frustrating pushing? My baby who ended up being the smallest weight wise. When I stopped pushing, her head, which was half way out, went back in! I was so frustrated!

My easiest by far, was my largest baby.

Also, have you had a chance to read "Birthing From Within"? you might find the exercises in it very helpful for overcoming your fear.

[savithny]

You can do it!

My babies were 9 and 10 pounds respectively, both born in hospital with CNM attendants and no meds. I pushed about 40 minutes with #1, while #2 came out with one push. I tore a small amount with #1 and not at all with #2.

I'm tall and broad hipped -- the midwife, after #1 was born at 8#14oz, said, "yeah, you could handle a 10 or 11 pounder pretty well." I didn't mean to prove her right with #2, though.

You can do it!

[AugustineM]

This might just be me but I find it odd that your midwife called the baby "BIG" when you are almost 38 weeks and she said only 7 lbs! I also find it odd your midwife felt the need to emphasize how large she thought he was. It doesn't seem very "responsible" for her to say that, when she should know how paranoid women often get about the fact that they might have a large baby. At most, your baby could be 8 lbs when she is born, as they gain about 1/2 pound a week at the end. When I had an ultrasound at 37 weeks with DS 1 they said he was already 8 lbs. He was 8 lbs 13 oz at birth.

Oh, and your body is made to birth your baby, even if she is a bigger one. You will be great. Envision yourself stretchy and strong!

[ladybugchild77]

Not too much time to post - toddler helping me type. Kiera was 9lb 4oz. I had her naturally in a hospital - I am also 5'9". My grandma had 5 kids naturally and all were over 9lbs! You can do it!!!

[newmainer]

I hate the way people and the medical profession (including some midwives) freak out over the size of babies and make qualifying statements over what is a "big" baby. Can we talk about healthy babies, regardless of their size?? anyway...

my son, who is nearly 2 weeks , was just about 9 1/2 lbs. For awhile there, leading up to his birth, i was nervous about his size too. my daughter was "only" 7.6 and so i was scared about having a baby much bigger. You know what? never did i think while i was laboring or pushing him out (which was *much* easier than with my daughter- faster, more controlled and the same minimal tearing as with her) that it was harder because he was bigger. Labor is work and painful, regardless of how big or small the baby is. You won't know the difference.

you know what else is cool? my midwife told me this: penises and vaginas originate from the same cells before the differentiate. No one blinks an eye at the fact that penises often double their size and are meant to get larger and shrink back to normal size- * so are vaginas!! * so, in the words of Ina May ( i believe) - you will get bigger than your baby!

[valeria_vi]

I didn't read all the replies, so exuse me if I repeat someone.
it sounds like your mw is very supportive and trusts in birth. she didn't panic at the prospect of a "large" baby. she actually said that you are made to have this baby and that you will. isn't that encouraging? plus, the estimates can be way off as well.
talk to your mw about how important it is for you to birth this baby naturally and since she seems very supportive, I hope she will help you achieve your goal.

[littlemama06]

I know you all are right,I was just freaking a little. Thanks so much
Kaitlin

[natashaccat]

It is wonderful that you MW has confidence in your ability to birth a lagre baby, quite frankly I'm not sure why she bothered to make this prediction though, because it sounds like she has unnessesarily worried you.

I don't think size of baby has anything to do with how long or painful your labor will be. I had a much longer labor with my smaller baby and labor was equally painful in both cases.

Pushing now, that's another story, my larger baby was actually easier to push because:

1) it wasn't an induction, I went into labor with a very soft cervix.
2) I was able to position myself in a way that was comfortable for me and my MW had me reach down feel my baby's head and deliver her myself. This gave me sooo much more control over how the pushing stage felt so it wasn't like this scary unknown thing happing happening below my waist.
3) my MW provided perinial support during the pushing stage, this was a huge help because it gave me something to push against so I was able to let go of my fear of tearing.


I think it might be good to talk to your MW about her positioning philosophy. Will she deliver babies on the floor? Does she use a birthing stool? If the mom is required to be in bed for some silly hospital reason how does she accomodate this to get mom's in an appropriate birthing position? Does she do perinial support during position? Will she be comfortable with you catching your own baby?

Also do you have a doula? Having someone other than you DH to support your labor can make a huge difference in helping you feel strong and supported so that you won't panic and ask for drugs when you hit transition. (Panic is a very commom symptom of transition and probably when you are most likely to ask for drugs.)