DS2 born 26/7 - 9lb 6.5 oz - forceps, shoulder dsytocia and then retained placenta. should have gone for the elective c-section all well now though...and think recovery quicker despite trauma of birth. no more for me!

latest scan at 38 + 2 (on Monday) = 8lb 2oz baby.... still going for natural deliv at the mo although as each day passes and the scope for baby to get bigger I feel more and more anxious.... abdo now just about 97th centile.... am sure it will be fine, but just want it to come!

Hi,

tyni lovely to hear from you again and to hear how you are getting on!

I am due next week and am hoping for a VBAC. I have swayed back and forth for the entire pg and it has driven me mad at times! My DH has always pushed for me to have an ELCS as he is really worried about what a VBAC might be for me but it was my wish to at least try as i feel i want to be 'normal' as much as a i can for DD (2.4). I think i will have a low threshold for asking for a CS if labour doesn't go well tho, i won't hang about and if it's not going well i shall be asking for that CS possibly.

I am also predicted to have a big bub - both head and abdo were >97centile at 32 week scan (ouch) and weight predicted over 10lbs, DD was 9 12.5lb.

missy i'm glad you are having another scan, i wasn't offered one sadly so am hoping they were a bit wrong at that last scan! This bump was breech for a while and, like you, i was secretly hoping the choice would be taken away from me, but now it's head down and ready to come out (hopefully) so i'm back on the VBAC wagon.

x

Many congratulations Tyniclogs at the moment am heading towards natural delivery but have my next scan on 13th (38 weeks) just to check size again. am having a few contractions at the mo tho so fingers crossed it all happens a bit earlier anyway Thanks for sharing your experience - it all helps!!

Hiya, just to update. I had my baby boy last Thursday by elective and he turned out to be smaller than expected at a tiny 9lb 6oz! To me this is tiny as the last one was 11lb 10oz and those extra pounds make such a difference!

In terms of recovery with a 2.5 year old it's going ok. I stopped with the painkillers a couple of days ago and have been out and about. My wound has healed well and I've not even worn the protective sheild I bought yet, so far my toddler knows not to touch mummy's 'ouch'. I have my DH at home so it's working well that he takes the toddler out in the morning to run off some energy. It's also helped having such good weather as we've taken him to the park lots and let him get wet in the fountains. I'd forgotton how much babies sleep so in terms of the newborn he's not been much trouble, we had a night of winding the other night but so far we've all had some sleep. I'm not sure how it will work out when the paternity leave finishes and I'm trying not to think that far ahead, I shall just have to wing it! One thing I think is helping is sticking as much as possible to the toddlers routine and renforcing the boundaries, he's pushing against the norm at present as he's had lots of telly and treats over the past few weeks and it's time to get back to normal.

Hope all goes well and you get the birth you want, whichever way I'm sure your toddler will adapt to the situation.

If it helps your deliberations, DC3 was 10lb 4.5oz and despite a slight pause due to his shoulder getting stuck, (resolved by moving around) he was a straightforward delivery, and I can truthfully say easier and less painful than DD1 and DD2 at 8lb 2oz and 7lb 13oz respectively. No tearing or stitches with any of them, and I went home the same day with both DD2 and DS.

I'm not convinced that larger baby = more painful, I was honestly amazed when they told me how big he was, even though the scans had shown he was probably 8lb 10oz at 37 weeks and he was born at 42 weeks.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, shoulder width can have very little to do with torso. DD was literally fat with what looked like a beer belly.

Do ask about episiotomy - if it's standard practice to do a big episiotomy to prevent shoulder dystocia in your hospital, I'd recommend elCS.

my understanding had been that the abdominal measurement was more indicative of shoulder size which is the problem with shoulder dsytopia.... hadn't thought about the whole episiotomy thing... now not feeling so good again

re "the differential between baby's head and abdomen measurements is not big"

How is that supposed to make you feel better (or delivery easier)? Surely it is the size of the head that matters, not whether it looks proportional to his torso.

Am I missing something?

Missy - Ask your hospital what their standard procedure is for birthing suspected big babies with possible shoulder dystocia. Namely, do they intend to give you a big episiotomy to avoid shoulder dystocia?

If so, you might like to consider elCS instead. I had one of these big episiotomies for big baby and possible shoulder dystocia, going towards the back of one buttock, and I was bedridden for weeks. In comparison, I had an elCS five weeks ago, and was totally fine on Day 3 and didn't even take paracetamol from then on.

Re measurement accuracy - I don't know about the equipment your hospital uses but in ours, head measurements are accurate to the millimeter, like with an MRI. Weight estimations are a bit more tricky.