I am Scared Is This Normal

[Aquafina]

I did my workout and then looked at my belly in the mirror I am scared out of my wits about giving birth .....I cant wait to see him and it would be nice to get it over with but my tummy looks like theres a 10lb baby in there...I got big with my first from eating like crap and he was only 7lb 14oz so not bad.But I have ate healthy and working out and all belly so I am scared. I honestly want to cry I dont think I can do this....I sure hope babys dont get bigger the second time around...hope someone can tell me that the belly can be big and baby a normal size but whats normal.....Oh :

[BelgianSheepDog]

Bigger doesn't necessarily mean harder to get out. You'll do just fine.

[Spark]

Fat is squishy!

My biggest baby was my easiest. There's just less room to get in a bad position.

[Phoebe]

Originally Posted by Spark

My biggest baby was my easiest. There's just less room to get in a bad position.

I had this very discussion with my midwife at our last visit. She said the EXACT same thing. Most of her mothers with big babies say they were easier than their small ones.

Ds was 9.15 and I'm a petite person. He came out through my abdomen so I'm not used to giving birth to big babies either. They will be what they'll be and it'll be just fine. My belly freaked me out today as well. It is hard to look at it and think that what ever is in there is gonna make it out...of there!!
But apparently, it works pretty well!

I wish us both luck! I'm sure it's quite normal to have those fears from time to time.

[courtenay_e]

Remember, too, that with your second (and subsequent) pregnancies, your abdominal muscles aren't as tight/taught. Soooo, even the same size baby will make the belly look bigger, as it's going to be OUT a little bit more. Make sense? And, yes...bigger isn't harder to get out. Bigger is typically more fat. Fat squishes. You can do it. Your body will grow a baby that it can birth. It's wise that way. You're taking care of yourself and your baby with proper diet and exercise. This will make your labor more efficient, your recovery easier, and your baby healthier with most likely better apgars and bounce after birth. Your baby will have better muscle tone, too, and will be more able to use the oxygen it takes in more efficiently, so will be more aware at birth. See? You're doing the perfect things for a healthy labor, birth, and baby. YOu'll both do great!

[Red Sonja]

Yep, fat squishes!

My DD was an easier birth than my DS. 2 hours of labor (vs. 9 hours) and only 7 minutes of pushing vs. 45 min with DS.

[Shawna N]

When ever I get scared I keep repeating. My body can do this! I am told that the more relaxed you can be the easier the birth is. It might be worth looking into hypnobirthing to learn how to relax ahead of time.

[lizabird]

Great replies thus far. I had 2 babies that were just over 7 lbs each and one was pretty darn easy, the other was a lot harder, but they were 2 fairly different labors as well.

[velcromom]

I have to share this amazing site with you. It's a website belonging to a woman who births unassisted. Although I may never do the same, the birth stories and photos there went a long way toward soothing my fears. She just had a new baby and the new photos are up, too!!

[JanetF]

I had a bigger belly but a smaller baby with #2. Babies come out

[umami_mommy]

i can't imagine not being scared. rescue remedy helps and so does deep breathing and reaching out to baby for conversations about how well everything is going to go.

[Aquafina]

Oh I feel better to know that it can be easier with a bigger baby...I will talk to baby so he feels confendent about birth also I have probbly scared him with my fears whats rescue remedy?velcromom thank You for that site the pictures were beautiful she sure is a brave woman,keep her on my favorites,what a beautiful family.....Thank You all

[umami_mommy]

what is rescue remedy?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_remedy

[34me]

Each of my 3 babes was 1 pound bigger than the last and they started at 8 pounds. You can do it!

[onlyboys]

My biggest belly was my smallest baby. My smallest belly was my biggest baby. And, they all came out.

You can do it!

[babycatcher01]

I work with alot of woman that are of a religion were they produce on average 6 to 10 children. I have never seen a family with less then 6. A lady on number 11 shared with us that she is scared the whole pregnancy about if she can handle it(labor) and dealing with the other children. After she says, I dont know why I always do that, meaning doubting herself, and she always comes away with a good birth and is happy with the way things go.

I think, just my two cents, that this is what keeps our minds keen on our job at hand. Being scared makes us look for options about not being scared and reassuring ourselves that we really can give birth. So we look for woman with wisdom and we gather our strength from thoses who have made the birth journey already, and in turn we feel better and are able to gather what ever it is we need to birth our babies.

Being scared makes us look for the good in the situation and not focus on what could go wrong. Just like we are in an accident and are scared we know just what to do, ei, if somones hurt and bleeding putting pressure on a bad cut to stop the bleeding, you just do it. I feel birth is the same way, we can just do it if we surrender our minds over and not really think just go with our bodies, we will just know that everything will work just fine.

[Sillygoose]

Babies are squeezy. Like toothpaste. And don't forget to try squatting, that position gives you another 1-3 cm of diameter in the pelvic opening.