Anxiety about small baby

[klink2]

Hey mamas. Penelope (Poppy) was born on the 19th. Things are going fine--she is nursing and sleeping like a typical newborn. I am still going through some emotional and physical ups and downs, which I think it normal too. I am, however, very focused on how small my baby is. She was 6 lb 3 oz at birth, and was 5 lb 11oz a couple of days ago at our first follow-up. She is so little! She seems...unfinished, I guess. I'm really having a hard time getting past it.

I know that she is within the range of normal, but dd was 8 lb 6 oz, and dh and I are pretty big people. He is 6'3" and I'm 5'7" with plenty of meat on my bones and I gained 39 lbs during pregnancy! I just keep wondering if something went wrong, or if I did something wrong, or if I didn't do something that I should have...I know it seems strange to blame myself, but it is nagging me. Anyone btdt? Any advice to help me let it go and just enjoy my baby?

[BirthFree]

toh
My not tiny best friend and her not tiny DH have never had a baby over 7+ lbs. 7.12 (2w 'late'), 6.5 (38.5w), 5.4 (40w) - but they ALL grew to be big, chunky, healthy kids! They are all bigger than mine (except my youngest is close in chunk) and mine were all significantly larger at birth and for the first maybe 6m. I don't know why... but the odds evened out in the end.

Don't blame yourself! If you ate well and didn't smoke or drink excessively, she just needed to grow THAT size... it's perfect for *her*.

[francesca]

Exactly - she's the perfect size. I exercised regularly though this pregnancy and ate fairly well. I gained 50 pounds and DD was 5-12. Go figure. Try not to stress about it - you did great and she is as she should be.

[MamaHen2J&J]

Hugs mama!

[Twwly]

I'm kinda there with DS. He's 20mos and in the bottom 5-10 percentile for weight and also very low for height still. DH is +6' and a big guy. I think it's a bit of a thing for him feeling like he has a small son. He'll grow.

Just as your little one will. Nothing went wrong.

[BodhiMom]

My first was 7.5, my second just short of 7 lbs. They are both considered small for their age. Each child is different and can't be lumped into the "average" size of babies/children. Your baby is perfect, and will grow at her own rate.

[berkeleyp]

I've been feeling this way too. My first was 7-13, my 2nd 8-4 so I figured this one would be in the 8s or maybe even 9 but she was only 7-3! I was suprised and now I'm starting to feel guilty like I must have eaten better for the first two or something. I feel like I gave her a worse start in life. Of course I know that she is average size and yours is also in the normal range so we shouldn't be worried but we are anyway. They do grow though. I can't believe how big my 3yo seems now.