Dr say's he is a big boy

[Anonymous]

I am 34 weeks now and had my routine appt this week. Up until now I was pretty small and had only gained 7 pounds. In the last month since the previous appointment, I have gained 7 additional pounds and now my uterus is measuring big for 34 weeks. My husband was 11 pounds at birth so I suspected this may happen but now I'm terrified of having a huge baby. I even had a dream last night that our son was born and he looked like a 3 year old.

I am still gaining rapidly and have gained yet another pound since my appointment two days ago. I'm not eating that much and I screened negative for gestational diabetes. Did anyone have similar experiences? My other concern is the potential now for a c-section. I need someone to ease my fears of this giant baby....

[Anonymous]

OP, the fact that your doctor thinks this is a big baby means not much at all. Even the fact that you are measuring big, or big on ultrasound. It's all just guesswork. For every mom who had a 9 lber on ultrasound or because their doc thought they were big, there is a 5 lber in their tummy. Meet my 5 lb, 14 oz daughter, who was "big" on ultrasound.

[Anonymous]

Also, the baby can be a "big" baby (long, heavier bones, fatter), but if the kid has a normal size head, it might not make a difference.

[Anonymous]

THe docs and US techs told me that my son was "big", and they measured him at around 8lbs. Four days later he was born at 6lb, 9 ozs. So much for that.

Don't worry, most women only have babies as big as their bodies are built for.

[Anonymous]

I had big babies (not going to say how big, just really, really big) and I still had them vaginally.

[Anonymous]

My MIL is thin and vaginally delivered multiple double digit babies including my 11lb+ husband without any trouble. Hopefully, your body will be able to handle it. I'd probably start doing squats or yoga or something to limber up for it.

I had been told the mother's birth weight was more of a factor than the husband's so was hoping for a nice 7lb baby and ended up with a 10 pounder via c-section. DC was estimated to be a "big" 8lbs just days before delivery.

I think it would be good to be prepared for the possibility of a c-section. Nothing I had envisioned for my delivery happened, but I'm glad I was prepared with a contingency plan rather than going in not knowing what my options were.

However you deliver, you'll soon have your little one at home and you'll have all new things to worry about

[Anonymous]

I also had three big babies and I am rather small, by most people's standards.

[Anonymous]

Okay, here is the other side. 11 pound baby. And it was fine. The fact is, labor is labor. It is no easier with a small baby and no harder with a big one (the only danger may be c section...but I had mine vaginally so it's not routine to do c section just because of size). Relax.

[Anonymous]

Ultrasounds aren't always right - I was told at 37 weeks that my baby was probably already 8 pounds! With another 3 weeks to go I had visions of an 11 pound baby. My OB even went as far to say get rid of the newborn sized clothes, no need for size 0 diapers....needless to say, 2 1/2 weeks later my son was born at a "whooping" 7lbs, 10oz. Turns out he just had a big head!

[Anonymous]

I really wish doctors would stop freaking people out with this unreliable estimates, especially one based only on weight gain and uterus measurements. I was constantly told my baby was measuring small during my first pregnancy and she was 7 lbs 3 oz at 39, totally average sized.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PPs that those measurements are rough estimates. I gained a ton towards the end of my pregnancy (though earlier than you) and delivered a totally normal size baby a little before 38 weeks. I was told I was measuring perfectly so who knows if the baby would have been big two weeks later on my due date.

[Anonymous]

my doc measured me and estimated (and told me it was a MAJOR guess because they cannot really know for sure) that DS would be about 7.5 lbs. He was 6 lbs 3 oz! So...even though mine was never going to be a "big" baby, it was still a mistake. Friend of mine had a 10 lb baby naturally and said it was "hard as hell but worth it." I had my 6 lb baby naturally and it was pretty easy. Friend of mine had a 5 lb preemie and said it was torture even with the epi...in many (but not all, obviously) cases, birth is what you prepare for it to be. Go into thinking "labor is hard work but I can DO this" and you will be just fine. And remember, as another poster pointed out, fat squishes!

[Anonymous]

Estimates are just guesses and can be wildly off -- especially as you're looking at how YOU are measuring, which can be affected by so much.

Also, baby fat squishes!

[Anonymous]

Just another person to concur...my baby, who "was going to be well over 9 lbs" was just 8 lbs. Everyone thought I was huge with her and the second, who was 7 lbs 6 oz. Also, my dr. gave me a great perspective. She told me you just don't know what you can do until you do it. She had seen smaller people easily deliver larger babies and larger people who had difficulty with a 6 lb baby. You just don't know, no sense worrying about it.

[Anonymous]

My sister's first was 9 pounds, 5 oz. Delivered vaginally and after only 14 hours in labor. So big baby doesn't necessarily mean c-section.