My Baby Is Small and I'm Paranoid

[jeannie81]

I'm 28wks. Up until my last visit, I was measuring normally. At my last visit, I was measuring small and the doctor was concerned so he ordered an "emergency" ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed that the baby is small, but still withen the range of what they consider "normal". So they told me not to worry. But I'm worrying. Since then I have noticed that my belly doesn't seem to be growing any more at all. In comparison with my previous pregnancies, it's so much smaller. What could cause a baby to be small? I don't mean things a mother does such as smoking or poor nutrition, I mean can it be caused by genetic defects or something like that?? I'm really getting paranoid that something is wrong with my baby.

[dachshundqueen]

If you are this concerned perhaps you could make a telephone appt with your doctor or care provider, and discuss the U/s and the results and the potential reasons for the lack of growth. Most providers will do this.

Elizabeth

[hollydlr]

My good friend was told her baby was going to be small - they even diagnosed her with IUGR and made her have ultrasounds every week for the last couple months. They threatened induction, C/S, the works. They finally induced at 41 wks telling her the baby would be only 5lbs, but she weighed 7lbs12oz!!! They were wrong the whole time and put her through the ringer for nothing! So long as you keep gaining weight and the heart tones and fetal movement are good, I wouldn't stress too much. :hug

[smudge]

If you are really worried, call and make an appt to discuss this with your doc. However, u/s can be really crappy when it comes to guessing how big a baby is. And also, maybe your baby is just gearing up for another growth spurt and the u/s was done jsut before this.
My sis always measured right on the money her first pg so they thought everything was fine. She ended up with a 10lb DD. SHe was tall and I guess could hide the baby well.
I hope you get some answers soon!

[onlyboys]

I did this EXACT thing, minus the OB, with my last baby. I looked smaller, felt smaller, knew I was having a tiny baby, MW estimated about 6lbs. And he was 9lbs even. :)

If you are truly worried, have it checked out, but really, US measurements are not necessarily true. :hug

[Free Thinker]

I was smaller w/ my last one. She ended up 6lb 15.5oz (or almost 7lbs!) but my belly was very small. When I was measuring a full 4 weeks smaller than my EDD they did a US to check for IUGR, but they found that all of her measurements were even (as in the head was not bigger than the body, ect. all the measurements showed the baby was proportioned correctly) and said that I would just probably have a smaller baby (first one 8lb 4oz). They had me do NST the last month to make sure she was okay, but otherwise I had the best labor and delivery! And my DD is very petite, that's just the way her body is. SHe has been consistently smaller at every age than my other DD. Try not to worry! If the US showed that the baby was developing correctly, than it probably is :hug: You should see the pics of my PG belly the last week or so of my last PG, I look about 7 months along instead of 9!

[aylaanne]

perhaps you're not getting any bigger because you're losing fat at the same time you're gaining belly? Are you measuring yourself? Because your perception might be colored by your fear.

I don't think you have anything to worry about, myself, but if you're continuing to be worried then you should call and discuss it with your provider. A little peace of mind never hurts.

[trmpetplaya]

I measured at least a couple cm small every single appointment with dd and she was 7lbs. 12 oz. Not exactly tiny... I was even measuring 2 cm small at my 40 week appointment and dd was born two days later.

This time I have measured right on at two of my appointments, but have consistently been measuring small again at most of my appointments. It doesn't mean you'll have a tiny baby - it has more to do with how you're carrying your babe than how big he/she is. My midwife told me that she doubted dd would be anywhere close to 8 lbs. She was guessing around 6.5 lbs based on my size. She ended up being almost 8 lbs anyhow :shrug

There's really no reliable way to tell how big a baby is until he/she is born. U/s are notoriously bad at predicting baby size. Check out some of the threads about mamas worrying about induction because their OB says their baby is too big... I remember that some of the mamas who responded to those threads were induced because their baby was "too big" and they ended up with average or even small babies... it can definitely go the other way too!

:hug

love and peace. :love

[intorainbowz]

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[turnipmama]

Don't worry! From 31 wks on my DD measured small although still in the "normal" range (barely), most likely due to a grade 3 (mature) placenta. She fell below the 10th percentile at 38 weeks and they decided to induce me. She was born at 5.5 lbs and is perfectly healthy, strong and growing fast! They did do fetal monitoring twice a week to make sure everything was OK and she was perfect. You most likely just have a small baby. Do you know how big you were when you were born? I was also a 5 pounder so my Ob/gyn speculated it may be inherited.....

[jeannie81]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm going to talk to my OB about it at my next appointment.

Intorainbowz, I sent you a pm.

[Yuba_River]

Just wanted to add that a good friend had this situation recently. The baby was on the small size, so they did a repeat ultrasound a week or so later. At that point the baby was measuring perfectly normal. The tech told her that babies grow in spurts in the womb just as they do on the outside, so they can look behind one week and ahead the next. Also, when I went in for a scan recently, the doctor reminded me that the later in pregnancy you are, the less accurate they are for predicting size.