Please tell me your most reassuring "small for dates" stories

[DitaVonCheese]

Currently 31 weeks pg with DC2. MW has just been and I'm only measuring 26-27 cm so she's sending me for a growth scan. Have never been particularly convinced by the method of measuring as so much seems to depend on baby's position (any MWs reading feel free to correct me!) but still can't help worrying. Just want to cry really :( Explains why everyone keeps saying I'm so neat anyway!

Could just be I've lost weight since last appointment - MW said it's probably from dashing around after DD though have also just come back from holiday and was a bit ill then so perhaps that's it. Just been looking in the fridge and trying to think of something that is both high calorie and nutritious - bit of an odd sensation when I'm usually overweight rather than under

Sorry if this is bit nonsensical, midway through giving DD lunch but fretting :(

[Lib76]

i was told i was small for dates with ds and he was 7lb8! currently 38+3 with dc2 and everyone keeps telling me i am "tiny". measuring about a week out but no concerns. I too am not that convinced about the measuring process. i am under consultant care so haven't had it done much as don't often see midwive. Try not to worry. If your are like me and have a small frame then you are probably just lucky enough to have a nice neat bump!

[onesuzymac]

In the days before scans, my mum was told I'd be "a tiny 3lb or so" at 34 weeks. 5lb 15oz later my mum told them what she thought of that idea...

[NorkilyChallenged]

I regularly measured 4 weeks behind with dd1. My extremely experienced midwife wasn't too concerned as long as bump was growing on its own little curve.

DD1 was 4 days early and weighed a respectable 7lb6oz

I was bigger (1 wk ahead) with DD2 and she was 8lb14oz (making her quite big in comparison) and even midwife who delivered her was surprised at her size as "I hadn't looked like I was carrying a big baby".

Think it's not a very exact science.

[IslaValargeone]

I was a small for dates, and at 34 weeks or so I think it was was told I'd have a 5 or 6 pounder. Cue 39 weeks at 8lbs 5 oz!

[dribbleface]

I was small for dates and sent for a growth scan, all was fine, measuring a baby that way is unreliable i believe. My DS was not huge at 6ib 13oz but certainly not small. Try not to worry 9easier said than done i know!)

[lilly13]

i was measured 34 weeks when i was 39 weeks, but the scan showed the baby was normal (slightly smallish, but very reasonable and healthy size). apparently, if your initial BMI was below 19 or above 25, then tape measurements would always be inaccurate... that's why these were abandoned in many countries a long time ago. do keep in mind that babies grow sporadically and even if yours is measuring on the smaller side now, there is plenty of time for him to pick up growth! don't worry about stuffing yourself... some babies are genetically small and there is nothing wrong with them. the baby will take naturally all he needs. hope your scan goes well !

[barbie1]

Please try not too worry (hard i know)
I gave birth here in dubai and was happy not to be measured every week and to go along with my doctor, what ever she wanted to do.
At 38 weeks she had to leave dubai, so i had to go to another hospital and seek a new doctor. (i had no notes of the pregnancy to date)
On my first appointment with new doctor, she was shocked when i told her i was 38 weeks, and even more shocked when i told her 38 and not the 28 she thought i said. Loads of panic, and growth scan ordered right away. I was measuring only 30 weeks...As there were no notes, the doctor told me i had to be induced asap as she couldn't be sure if baby had stopped growing at 30 weeks.

Anyway to cut a long story short i had emcs at 40+1, gave birth to perfectly healthy 5.15lb dd. No rhyme nor reason for her being small...just petite.

Now 15 months, she is a very active, healthy little girl weighing in at 16lb.

Good luck

[Lisatheonewhoeatsdrytoast]

I measured bigger for my date by a cm or so, however my DS born at 37+5 at 4lb 10oz but even so, we were home in 4 days and he's a healthy happy toddler now, so don't fret at all!! As long as he/she is healthy their weight will catch up :)

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Measured 34 weeks at 40 weeks. Told to expect a 5 - 6 pounder.

Out 'popped' DD (after 3 hours of pushing) at just under 9 pounds...

[Bluebell123]

At 38 weeks, i was referred to consultant as bump was concerningly small. Consultant examined me and said prepare for a small baby. I was in absolute floods of tears, convinced placenta was rubbish and all was doomed. 6 days later, we welcomed our 7lb 6oz son. Gorgeous, happy and healthy then, as now some nine years later. :-). It amazed me that we had the technology to send someone to the moon, but not to tell how much my baby would weigh

[BertieBasset]

My midwife told me yesterday "we are measuring the lady not the baby" which about sums it up for me. I was bang on average with dd but I have an overweight bmi so would have been under if a "normal" weight. She was 7lb 9.

My friend had a cs due to worries about her baby's size at 37 weeks. Baby was 6lbs, my friend is a tiny size 8.

[mrsravelstein]

i was small for dates with dc3, and much smaller than i had been with previous 2 very large babies. growth scan also showed dd was 'tiny'. she was 6lbs at 39 weeks which was perfectly respectable given that i am 5'2" and size 8... i suspect her 9lbs+ brothers were the anomaly, not her. also i was told as someone else commented that if you are unusually slim or unusually not slim, it is harder to tell how big the baby is in utero.

[PogueMahone]

I measured small for dates with 2 of mine. Right up to the end I was being told they would be small, and I spent both pregnancies willing them to be bigger... They were born at 8lb 14oz and 8lb 3oz.

[DitaVonCheese]

Thank you so much for all the replies - now I want to cry with relief :)

I am a pretty bogstandard size 14, though started this pregnancy smaller than I did with DD (she was conceived shortly after honeymoon + Christmas ) and it took this pregnancy to finally get me back to my pre-honeymoon weight due to loss of appetite in the first trimester - now I'm just at that too-full-of-baby-to-eat-proper-portions phase. DD was a respectable 7 lb 12 oz so kind of expecting this one to be bigger (he's a boy as well if that makes any odds) but DH is quite petite so perhaps not. Will strike Maximus and Leviathan off our name list

Have a growth scan tomorrow so hopefully that will be reassuring.

Peppa ouch! I thought my 90 min of pushing was bad enough :(

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

My best friend was told she was very small for dates and sent for a late scan where she was told the baby would probably weigh no more than 5lb at birth and looked like it had serious health problems due to having a very small head and large stomach.

She gave birth two weeks later to a perfectly proportioned 8 1/2 lb baby.

[herladyship]

i had a supposed small for dates baby.

lots of extra scans to ensure placenta not failing, lots of extra measuring and lots of worry. estimated birth weight given to me be consultant 1 week before due date was five and a half lbs, THEN...

dd was born at 39+3 weighing 8lb 10oz goodness knows how they got it SO wrong! incidentaly, ds was born 6 years prior to dd, identical 'bump' size but he was born at 40+6 weighing 7lb. The size of my bump was never commented upon!

[AimingForSerenity]

My DS was small for dates and when I was overdue they were reluctant to induce labour to give him a chance to grow a bit more. I was told we would be lucky if he reached 5lb and was neurotic about it (first pregnancy). He weighed 7lb 13oz when born, was exceptionally long and is now grown up, fit, healthy and over 6 foot tall!

[humptydumptynumptymumpty]

DC3 measured v small (~26cm @ 33wks I think), scan predicted 6lb & it was a bit touch & go whether they would 'let' me have a hb - he was 7lb exactly (I'm 5ft3 size10 so reasonable size for me). The small measurement was taken after poking around and he'd really curled up over one side, so there wasn't much down the middle where they measure iyswim - a cons mw told me they shouldn't do any poking before measuring for exactly that reason.
Good luck & try not to fret! :)

[jordannarikki]

I measured a week or two behind for dates until about week 37 when I caught up.

A few days before DD1 was born she said "i think you have a 7.5 pounder in there" after a good palpating session.

DD1 was born at 40+2 and weighed 9 pounds 11!!!

Have a friend who was consistently told she was small for dates, had extra growth scans etc etc. Baby was born at 39 weeks weighing 8 pounds 2!

[mamadoc]

I measured small for dates in my last pregnancy, had a growth scan at 34 weeks suggesting DD would be about 6 lb but she was born at 5lb 4oz. This triggered a lot of hospital protocols about measuring blood sugars and resulted in them pushing formula top ups at me and a 10 day stay in SCBU. She grew along the 0.4th centile until I stopped bothering to get her weighed (she's 4 now). I suffered a lot of guilt for her having a hard start and felt insecure in my parenting as I always had HV and Drs looking over my shoulder. She was born small, she stayed small, she is a small person. Lots of worry for nothing!

This time (now 34 weeks) I am again measuring about 2 weeks behind, growth scan next week. I have seen a really lovely consultant though who made me feel a lot better when I was panicking that it was all going wrong again. He said that some babies are small because they're ill but some are small because that's how they're made. On the scan the actual size is not so important as the blood flow in the placenta and the fluid around the baby. If they are symmetrically small that likely means there's nothing wrong.

This time around I'm forewarned and forearmed and if my baby is a bit small but with no identifiable problem I am refusing the continuous monitoring and blood sugars and all the other stuff (I think I would have his support to do that).

So the point of all that is to say that it doesn't matter if your baby is small they can still be healthy. The actual size is not so important and judging by this thread pretty inaccurate for most. The person reading the scan should have the skill to know if there is an actual problem. Worrying will do more harm than anything else in the long term (said from bitter experience).

[MakemineaGandT]

my "month too small for dates" baby weighed in at 9lbs 7oz.............

[DitaVonCheese]

Okay, now I am fretting that (a) the scan is going to be mad rather than helpful and (b) I'm going to give birth to a monster!

I actually think that my pelvic floor is so buggered from last time that he's slung somewhere between my knees rather than sticking out up front ...

Thank you again for the replies

[DitaVonCheese]

Thanks again for the support. Scan was fine - am basically birthing a short fattie (he gets that from me ) as his stomach is two weeks ahead and his legs are two weeks behind but all within normal ranges and an estimated weight of around 4 lb (though this thread has made me a bit sceptical of trusting that!).

[DitaVonCheese]

Sorry, that's an estimated current weight, not estimated birth weight!

[Mum2be79]

My mum was pregnant in 78/79 with me and determined that my due date was 21st Jan 1979. However, she was so small (or rather I was) that doctor's said I was going to be due in March. My mum said that would make her an elephant as she found out she was pregnant mid-May 1978. I arrived a week after my mum's predicted date.