to not want to announce my baby’s weight

I disagree very much with the idea that people don't care about the weight. They don't care about the length. The weight is a huge indicator of how the baby is (average is good!) and it matters also for clothes.

But that doesn't mean you're obliged to tell your weird mother.

My poor 4'11" nan managed to push out my nearly 11 lb uncle back in 1938, no forceps or anything. I certainly don't envy her! My own three weighed 6 lb 2 oz, 7 lb 15oz and 7 lb. My 7 lb baby seemed teeny to me, so goodness knows why anyone would think that "big". Very weird. 😕

A chap we knew {very tall and muscular} had been Southmead Hospital's Heaviest Baby at 16 lbs. He came from tall healthy parents .

He wasn't a first baby, and he was born naturally {Don't think they did routine caesarians when he was born {1960's}..His poor mum!

The chap was not remotely fat, just long boned and tall.

I've always had the impression that a higher birth weight was more "desirable" (although obviously it would be horrible and stupid to judge the baby or mother based on it, and it's a weird thing to be competitive about)

Maybe she feels insecure about her own smaller babies and so has gone on the offensive about everyone else's?

She needs to stop her comments though.

My in-laws think any baby born under weighing 10lbs is absolutely tiny!

If she's that obsessive just give her an outrageous birth rate and say she was 22lb and stick to it.

I believe the average weight for newborns is 7 pounds 13 oz, so just shy of 8 pounds.

However, I recognise your mother’s behaviour as mine was the same. Fixated on babies being 6 pounds.

When mine were born and she commented, I just said “well I wasn’t stifling my babies growth with cigarettes like you did when you were pregnant mum”

That shut her up.

Had an 11lb 7oz behemoth here, I couldn't care a jot what people thought about the weight! I understand your mum has a skewed/unhealthy perspective but once baby is here I'm sure it'll be the last thing you think about

Dont hide anything that you would ordinarily share just for your mums sake! Her behaviour is not normal. If she keeps going on, shove one of your pregnancy books at her, open at the correct page. Or waft the “red book” at her. 6lb is below average weight. Low birthweight may happen naturally or with an early delivery but most babies are way over 7lb (and the rest)! In the 2020’s we have good nutrition and medical care and average babies weights have increased over time. Small babies can be a worry , especially if they take a while to regain birthweight.
When you tell friends DC weight, you can always round up or down, e.g 6lb , 7lb.
Where will your mum mum stop? Will she comment on DC size and how much they eat throughout their childhood. If so it needs stamping out and fast. My babies were 6 14lb and 7 11lb, both of them at one point were gloriously chunky monkeys (75-95th percentile and exclusively breast fed). They had chubby cheeks and cankles and whatever the wrist equivalent is? 🥰 They are both now slim healthy teens. Baby chubbiness disappeared for both of them within six months of each starting nursery and getting the usual share of tummy bugs and colds. It was great not worrying that they were underweight when they were off food /milk for a few days.

My youngest was 6lb 14 & she was wearing tiny baby clothes for a while.

6 lbs is puny! {unless the mother and father are very short}

8 lbs is a good weight for a first baby.

Tell her in Grammes or even better, milligrammes!

An 8 lb baby is 3628.74 g

Your mum is being ridiculous 😂

FWIW my son was 9lb 6oz at birth - he is now 11, perfectly healthy and just tall and skinny.

No that's not big at all. It also depends on the length of baby, shoulder width, size of head etc.

You can get small chunky babies and long narrow babies if that makes sense. One of mine was really long and thin, but close to 8 pounds (2 weeks over due), felt no different than my 6pound 6 baby.

Dm is the opposite. She thinks 8 pound plus is a healthy size, anything less than you haven't eaten enough through pregnancy 😡

I really don't understand the obsession on weight, and questions on what kind of birth that go with it. I just want to hear baby's name!

Does she think that the baby weight correlates to later in life in any way? My 8yo DS was 10lb11oz and is now tall for his age but pretty slender. It’s hardly as if the baby has gorged on McDonald’s is it?! I’m confused what she thinks a baby’s weight actually means?

Ask her bluntly. Tell her how odd and offputting it is. Be direct.

In general, this isn’t something anyone cares about. However, there’s clearly an issue to be tackled with your mum. So, tackle it.

Or my 10lb 11oz 😂

So your mother's preferred ideal is to have underweight babies being born and "fat"-shames newborns as soon as they come out of the uterus?

I'm guessing the pride and joy of your mum's life is her being petite and feminine. Pathetic.

Sorry you're having to deal with this OP.
Keeping it a secret isn't great.

Maybe say before the birth that she's not to keep bringing it up.

If she does, say, see, this is why I told you the wrong weight! Only you'll know it was correct but will shut her up.

Sounds like its time for exactly that blunt response then.

That is such a toxic mind set. It's nearly as bad as some mums who used to smoke during pregnancy so that they would have smaller babies and therefore easier births.

Make light of her fixation.
It is normal to share the weight of your child. Don't you also become worried like your mother.

Buy your Mum a T-shirt from the baby printed...
Granny to 8lb 10oz bonnie babe.

Or matching T-shirts:
For grandmother..,
Granny's weight 160lb
For baby...
Baby's weight 8lb 3oz

Did you tell her that 7lb 3oz is absolutely not huge but an average weight for a full term baby? Where does she get her weird ideas about babies' weight from?

Regardless of whether you tell her the weight or not she’ll be able to tell whether you’ve had a 6lb baby or an 8lb baby, surely? My 6lb’ers (both born early, hence low weight) were tiny compared with the rest of my NCT groups who had more average weighted babies (around 8lbs). Plus I assume she’ll be holding your baby at some point?