Mumsnet Talk

Bit trivial I know, but everyone keeps telling me my baby will be 'a small one' and it'll be 'easy to get out' because my bump is tiny! Obviously I want to have a nice, plump average sized baby and find it a bit upsetting when I hear it a zillion times a day. I'm never usually this sensitive. I may be crazy for wanting a chubster, but anyone got any 'I was small and had a quite large baby thank you' story?

Your midwife should measure your bump and check it's not too big or small. If it helps, I often get people telling me I'm either enormous or have "a nice neat bump", often on the same day!
I think how big it looks probably depends on how tall you are too.
How many weeks are you?

I'm 24 weeks and haven't been measured yet, though assume midwife will at my next appointment which is on Tuesday?

At 24 weeks tbh any comments on bump size mean nothing. I think I was first measured at about 28 weeks. I had my 36 week appointment this week and I've been running small for the last month. The midwife did say the baby would probably be my smallest (both dc were around 8lb) and this bump does feel much smaller, but who really knows? I have a very skinny friend who looked tiny and had a 9 pounder.

I can't remember when they started measuring mine, but it was sometime around then.
They probably think they're making you feel better by saying it will be small and birth will be easier. People can be so tactless!

Thanks fuckity. It's amazing how once you're pregnant, everyone believes they have the skills of a bloody super-midwife. It's just a bit worrying when it's your first baby and people feel the need to tell you it's going to be tiny. Maybe I'm just weird for wanting a jumbo baby...

My sister was tiny with her first baby and barely looked pregnant. I dont know where she'd been hiding him because he weighed 10lbs!!!! Even the doc who was present at her delivery said had he not seen it with his own eyes he would never have believed that baby came out of her She went home 2 days later in her size 8 jeans

I was small and neat and ds was 8lb 4.

And likewise, a girl at antenatal who was being monitored and ended up being induced due to her large baby had a 6 lber. There are so many other factors like your weight, fluid and position. I'm sure people don't mean any harm and are just looking for something to say!

I was small and neat and ds was 8lb 4.

And likewise, a girl at antenatal who was being monitored and ended up being induced due to her large baby had a 6 lber. There are so many other factors like your weight, fluid and position. I'm sure people don't mean any harm and are just looking for something to say!

I never grew into my maternity jeans and DDs were 6 lb 2 and 6 lb 6 at 39+.
So it can follow, but I don't think it's a very accurate guide

If it helps, I had no bump at all at 24 weeks, and only a small one by 40 weeks - wearing size 12 non-maternity jeans the day before I gave birth wasn't a problem (normally a 10 tho) DD was 7lb 10oz so obviously not a big baby but I wouldn't say she was tiny.

I was barely showing at 20 weeks with twins and even at 38 weeks wasn't particularly big (they were 5lb 5 and 5lb 10). I then never got over 34cm with DD (born at 39 weeks)- was told that she would be 5lb but she came out at 7lb 3oz. I later discovered that I have a retrovered (backward tilted) uterus, hence why my bumps never stuck out much!

Well i was the size of a house with DD she was 6lb14 and was in no way at all an easy birth, my friends easiest birth according to her was her 10lb10 DC2 so it doesn't always hold that smaller is easier either. sorry

I had a small bump. Ds was 10'6 and the birth took 2 hours 45 minutes from first twinge to first wail!

anniebunny i have a backwards tilted uterus as well and all i ever here is "wow is it twins", i haven't seen my feet since 12 weeks

With Dc3 my bump was comically massive, then my waters broke all over the living room carpet, my bump halved in size and out came tiny 5lb14 baby.

I had a small bump, had to have a growth scan, went on to have a 30 hour labour and an average sized baby.

Best to ignore them - I found as soon as I was pregnant I became public property with people commenting on what I ate, grabbing my bump etc. v. irritating but for the most part they meant well.

Well i was small the first time and had an 8lb 3oz dd the second time I was smaller and had a 10lb 9oz dd! I'm not a big person either all the mws were shocked and there wad panic as her head poped out and they realised how big dd2 was! My community mw was shocked when she saw her as were all my friends and family.

So there is hope for a big baby yet!

You cant tell until you have been measured apparently I am over the size you are meant to be at this stage (35 weeks). according to midwife with the tape measure. However I am told by everyone how small I am, neat bump, have you even put on any weight at all? etc constantly. I also am still wearing size 8 trousers with just a hair elastic threaded through and tied round the button and also wearing size 8 leggings.

If you are in general very slim and havent put much weight on anywhere else I find it is just something people say, and I got it loads last time to.

Not at all. I had a tiny bump 8 years ago. Had a 6lb 9oz baby. Not large, but I wouldn't say tiny. Then 15 months ago I had another tiny bump. She was 8lb 4oz. So quite a good weight. I only put a stone on throughout my pregnancy.

My sister had a teeny tiny bump, but baby was a healthy 7lbs 10 and you should
See him now at 4 months - never seen a chunkier baby!

I was very compact and had an 8lb4oz ginormous headed DS so it's not really an indicator. My fluid levels were a bit low though, apparently. It took 3 scans at to check that they were indeed over the minimum.

With DS1 I was a size 14 pre-pregnancy and had a "small bump for my size" according to my GP. I always measured 2 weeks small for my dates (they measure you from rib cage to bikini line but it is old & only roughly accurate guide, so not all mw bother doing it)

At one point my GP wanted to sign me off work, as she thought that I must be working far too hard (ha, ha) due to the size of my bump!

DS ended up being 2 weeks late and 8 pound 9!
So I wonder if he measured "small for dates" because my dates were not quite right.

Complete opposite with DS2 - I was GINORMOUS and always measured 2-3 wks BIG for dates! Sadly for me he was also 2 weeks late. I had convinced myself he would be 2-3 wks early. He weighed 10 pounds!

I have had friends with big bumps have small babies (carried lots of fluid) and friends with tiny bumps have average sized babies.

It's going to sound like bragging but my bump with ds2 was so big I kept shutting it in the fridge, and he was 6lb 13. It depends on how much fluid you are carrying. I also carried alot of fat as it turned out. I ate alot to fatten the baby up and it just fattened me up! Ds1 was 5lb 15 and I didn't want a tiny baby again as he was feeding every 2 hours and we were knackered!

I was still in my jeans at 28 weeks, never bought maternity clothes, no one noticed I was pregnant and I'm only five foot tall. Dd weighed 7lb 8oz. I was back to normal in 4 days.