Ques for those who are on 2nd or more pregnancies..

[mighty-mama]

Are any of you carrying differently than your last pregnancy..

My last pregnancy resulted in my son, and I carried, the typical "basketball". This pregnancy I do think I'm having a girl, but I'm concerned I'm smaller than I should be..

It seems that the baby is being carried, everywhere but my uterus.. And when I feel the top of my uterus, it seems to be about 3 inches lower than my naval. (I"m almost 17wks). Will I grow to my naval in 3 wks. Is that normal?

Should I be bigger?

My pregnancy w/ my son resulted in nice size boy (9.6) and I think I was bigger at this stage than last time... Isn't there a belief that you should be bigger w/ each subsequent pregnancy?

Is there really such a thing as carrying differently for different sexes?

[jmhammond]

I am carrying differently too, I think. I feel more like the watermelon right now, big and wide accross my whole front, rather than a sticky out pooch in the front. I think there are a lot of factors that can determine how you carry, maybe gender is one?

[lactivist]

I have had three and carried them all very differently. I have a girl and two boys. Even the boys pregnancies were carried differently. I am almost 17 weeks and my uterus is a couple inches below my navel. Under 20 weeks the fundal measurement is not at all accurate. I personally wouldn't worry too much. It is more about the growth curve then where your uterus is at any one point.
Wendi

[teniprice]

It's been so long since I've been pg that I don't even remember how I carried them at this stage. My uterus is still low and I'm not showing a ton. I have also gained a lot less this time then the last two times. Yay! I know I was bigger with my ds (2nd pg) but he was almost 3 pounds bigger at birth than my dd although I gained the same with both of them.

[mighty-mama]

thanks mama's...

Yes, I've noticed I've gained less weight w/ this one, as compared to my last..

Thanks again for calming my fears...

[KarenMT]

So far I can't tell if I'm carrying that differently. I do feel like I have a bit more flab on my sides but then I started out with a bit more flab. With DD I was the total "basketball" as well.

My uterus is also about 3 fingers down from my navel. I don't know when my midwife starts to measure though. I think I've gained about the same amount of weight so far. I'll know next week when I have my appt.

The only odd thing I noticed is that I feel like my uterus is crooked- like it totally veers off to my right side. I don't remember this with DD.

[mommajb]

I'll go with each one being different and more based on me than the baby. By this I mean starting point, diet, exercise and stress levels. I did gain the most the first time around and so far that is my only boy - hardly scientific, is it?

[KittyMommy]

I have notice more differences between this pg and my two others, than between DD and DS. I am almost 17 weeks and still not really showing (unless you count my butt and thighs and I'm pretty sure that's not actual baby ), but I started this pg about 30 lbs lighter than either of my previous pg. In fact, I am still fitting in my regular jeans, though they feel pretty snug by the end of the day.

[sanguine_speed]

Mine have been mostly the same, but bigger each time. But, dd1 was 3 pounds smaller at full term than dd2 (born at 40 weeks, versus dd 1 at 38 weeks). This one was above my navel at 16 week midwife visit, and keeps on growing. We found out with our u/s that the baby is big, but we are sure of dates, and had an u/s at 5w and 7w that were bang on (and earlier is more accurate).

[mighty-mama]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

Mine have been mostly the same, but bigger each time. But, dd1 was 3 pounds smaller at full term than dd2 (born at 40 weeks, versus dd 1 at 38 weeks). This one was above my navel at 16 week midwife visit, and keeps on growing. We found out with our u/s that the baby is big, but we are sure of dates, and had an u/s at 5w and 7w that were bang on (and earlier is more accurate).

I wonder if I'll have a smaller baby... My son was big 9.6, born 39.5. I do wonder, since I think it might be a girl, all the girls in both my side and dh's side have not been bigger than 7lbs.

Can they really determine, if you'll have a bigger baby at this stage? I'm having an u/s at 19wks, on 4/23. I'm interested to know...

[Ruthe]

I'm having my sixth baby and I never get very large at all. Some bellies of mine may have been bigger than others but there was no pattern to it. I was smaller with my second, I believe, than I was with my first. The fourth belly might have been the biggest but he was also the longest baby (22 1/2 inches long at birth.)

[skydancer]

Just throwing in my 2 cents...

I'm on my third now, and have a boy and a girl. With my son (1st), I carried high and round. He was average sized at 7lbs., 6oz and 21 in. but almost three weeks early. As a result, I never felt really huge. It seemed like I gained ONLY in the belly. Throughout that pregnancy, I gained pretty consistantly for a total of 30 lbs.

My 2nd pg. (a girl), was a bit different. I carried much lower and more in an oval shape. Although my belly was definately growing, I didn't gain much at all in the first trimester and then gained a large chunk in about one month of my second. I continued to gain on and off for a total (again) of about 30 lbs. Toward the end, I felt HUGE and it seemed that I had gained some extra weight in my thighs and butt. My daughter was born "on time" and was a larger baby (9lbs, 5oz. and 22in.).

I don't know if any of the differences were due to different genders or just due to the fact that they were different pregnancies. For what it's worth, this pg. is more similar to my 2nd as far as the way I'm carrying and weight gain, but my intuition tells me it's a boy. I guess we'll see...

BTW, I too thought that consecutive pg. usually resulted in babies of increasing size, but my ob says that is not really something to expect...they could very well be smaller.
Good luck!

[maylea_moon]

This is my second pregnancy (ok technically 3rd, but miscarried one at 5 weeks). Anyway, I'm carrying lower and larger.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by mighty-mama

I wonder if I'll have a smaller baby... My son was big 9.6, born 39.5. I do wonder, since I think it might be a girl, all the girls in both my side and dh's side have not been bigger than 7lbs.

Can they really determine, if you'll have a bigger baby at this stage? I'm having an u/s at 19wks, on 4/23. I'm interested to know...

I guess they can't say for certain, but they can definitely tell you if your baby is large at this point. Which isn't to say it'll stay that way.
But at 18 weeks, many of the measurements, such as the femur, were almost 2 weeks bigger than expected. But not all babies can be the same size.

[stefka]

I've definitely felt bigger from the start with this one, but I've actually gained less weight so far. Last time I was ALL belly, and I'd just as soon repeat that, although it was pretty uncomfortable at the end. I also carried really low last time, so low that I couldn't wear any of the below the belly pants. So far that seems to be repeating itself. Sigh...

I do know my sister carried completely differently for each of her 3, and they were all girls, all within a few ounces of the same weight at birth.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I never really knew what I was carrying like last time (high or low), but ppl always told me their opinions. This time though, I know for sure that I am carrying LOW! When I see myself in a full mirror I'm like "OH, so that's what carrying low looks like!" So yeah, it's def. different this time. Seem to be the same weight game on the same time frame though.

[mighty-mama]

So I went to the doc today... I actually have to see a perinatologist...

Anyway I'm measuring about 17wks, which is dead on... She told me not to worry...

I think because I was so huge w/ my son, it just seems so weird... I remember from about 20ish wks on, he measured 6wks bigger...

I was 6.3 at birth, so maybe I'll have a nice 7lbs one, instead of a 9+

[Blucactus]

This is my second pregnancy. With my son I thought I carried huge & round, but this one is bigger & rounder so far, by comparing pics. I don't know if the belly really is, or if it just looks that way bc I haven't gained weight in the rest of me like I did like mad with my son.

[Aliviasmom]

Not in your ddc, but I wanted to let you know that with my son, I gained 50 lbs, and carried really wide. You could tell from behind that I was pregnant. With Alivia, I gained a total of 20 pounds, and I ONLY had a belly. You couldn't tell from behind AT ALL, I still had curves....but the instant I turned....WHAM there was belly!