What is a "big" baby??

[roseq]

What exactly is considered big? What is a "normal" head size? Weight?

[Pandora114]

A big baby occurs when the medical practitioner has a pressing engagement elsewhere.

[kathan12904]

"big baby"=def. a healthy baby whose mother has been doing an excellent job of getting proper nutrition and who is very unlikely to score low on the Apgar at birth

Normal for you is abnormal for everyone else, so there aren't, or shouldn't be standards of what a normal sized baby is. Rest assured, if your body can grow it, your vag can birth it. Even surrogates who are implanted with a different person's egg+sperm will not grow their babies any larger than those they have concieved themselves.

[Hayes]

My smallest babe was 8pounds 8 ounces. Her head circ was 13.75 inches.
My biggest babe was 10pounds 2ounces. His head circ was 15 inches.

Depends on the mama, and her body, and how she grows babies. I gained the same amount of wieght with both babies, and they were very different. But I birthed them both, and a couple more that were sized somewhere in the middle.

Plenty of women here have birthed 12 and 13 pound babies. Some makes smaller 6 or 7 pound babies.

[mama in the forest]

A big baby occurs when the medical practitioner has a pressing engagement elsewhere.

Hysterical!

Mine was big. My latest was 13 pounds even & I birthed her at home unassisted. She's a keeper!

[boscopup]

I don't think there's a real definition for "big". Much of society seems to think that 8 lbs is big, but I personally wouldn't call that big. Now if you normally have 6 lb babies and then you have an 8 lb baby, that would be a "big" baby for you probably. I know one person locally who had a 12 lb baby (at home, in the water, no tears ), and we all said she gave birth to a 3 month old. I would call him big, but he was also just the right size for that mama, as she obviously didn't have any trouble getting him out! Don't know what his head circumference was.

[BelgianSheepDog]

The definition of fetal macrosomia is above either 4000 grams (8 lbs 13 oz) or 4500 grams (9 lbs 15 oz), depending on who you ask. In my reading, the lower number is the more commonly referenced one.

What it means and what you should do about it, if anything, is also a matter of debate. But there is a definition, it's not purely subjective.

The reliability of diagnosis before birth is clearly dubious. The significance of the diagnosis is also clearly of limited value.

My 9 lb 4 oz baby was referred to as "average weight for gestational age" upon admission to the NICU, although they clearly could have chosen to diagnose macrosomia if they had wished.

[~Megan~]

Originally Posted by Pandora114

A big baby occurs when the medical practitioner has a pressing engagement elsewhere.

and

[Pandora114]

Originally Posted by mamao'two

and

I know...the truth is depressing

[CEG]

My sister had a big baby. It's easy for them to tell on ultrasound. They can tell before you ever go into labor whether you will be able to push that baby out, too. That way they can save you from having a baby stuck in your pelvis for the rest of your life. The miracle of modern science.

By the way, weighed 6 lb, 4 oz, so that must define big

[Pandora114]

Originally Posted by CEG

By the way, weighed 6 lb, 4 oz, so that must define big

OMG That's just HUGE!!! How did she survive it??? how did I survive, since DD was 6lbs 8oz..

Wow...

that's one HUGE honkin baby!



Sarcasm over

[CEG]

I was hoping the sarcasm would come across okay She was induced 2 weeks early to get that monstrocity out before her belly just exploded. Lucky for her she did not end up with a c-section. Doc actually gave her the choice of scheduling c-section or early induction. Idiot.

[Herausgeber]

My siblings and I ranged in weight from 9 lbs even to 10 pounds, one ounce. My mom had us all naturally, without a hitch. Her shortest labor, at 6 hours, was that 10 pound baby I now refer to as my "little" brother. We have "big" babies in my family, and have no trouble birthing them. I will be shocked if my peanut comes in under 9 pounds.

[Ammaarah]

Originally Posted by CEG

I was hoping the sarcasm would come across okay She was induced 2 weeks early to get that monstrocity out before her belly just exploded. Lucky for her she did not end up with a c-section. Doc actually gave her the choice of scheduling c-section or early induction. Idiot.

I was all ready to roll my eyes and fire off a "what the heck" post at your earlier post and then, WHEW, I got it!

[DoomaYula]

On the flip side, my sil's had PROM at 36w4d and the baby was 6lbs. All the nurses and docs probably thought it was the best baby they'd ever seen, since anything over 7lbs/40w seems to be considered big.

[roseq]

Originally Posted by Pandora114

A big baby occurs when the medical practitioner has a pressing engagement elsewhere.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! That is too funny

[DoomaYula]

Originally Posted by CEG

That way they can save you from having a baby stuck in your pelvis for the rest of your life. The miracle of modern science.

:

[roseq]

Originally Posted by BelgianSheepDog

The definition of fetal macrosomia is above either 4000 grams (8 lbs 13 oz) or 4500 grams (9 lbs 15 oz), depending on who you ask. In my reading, the lower number is the more commonly referenced one.

Thank you, yes that's what I was looking for, if there actually was a definition somewhere.

[Lovinmy2babies+1]

I had a big baby. I know people say your body won't grow a baby you can't birth. I did. I really did. I went into labor on my own a few days past my due date. I did go into a hospital, and when I got there, I was dilated to 7. Just a few hours later, I was dilated to a 10. I pushed in every position I could get my unbalanced body into and she never descended past a certain point. Hours passed by and she hadn't budged. So as much as everyone likes to "poke fun" at the big baby thing, I believe it really can happen... (BTW, she was 10 lb. 3 oz. I can't remember the exact size of her head, but there were quite a few comments about how big of a head she had.)

I should add, she was also in the perfect position for birth.

[Kidzaplenty]

Big babies are so "relative" to who YOU are.

My normal sized babies are usually about 7lb4oz.

I know this because of my experience:

#1~ 7.4
#2~ 7.7
#3~ 8.4 * but he was 2 wks "late"
#4~ 7.4
#5~ 7.2
#6~ 7.8
#7~ 9.8 * not THIS was a "big" baby ~ for ME