First baby big baby? -HELP!!!

[joymaker]

Hi everyone

I went for a scan yesterday and was told by the consultant that my baby is going to be on the large side, that is maybe 10lbs+

I have read a MN thread discussing birthing a big baby but wondered if anyones' FIRST baby was a big baby.

I know that first births are generally thought to be more difficult/longer and now coupled with the baby being big i'm wondering how I'm now going to cope.

I'm 37+4,I would appreciate any advice/ experiences you have as I just want to get a realistic picture of what it might be like and what things I really should be considering if I cannot manage a natural birth (eg cs v episiotomy and forcepts

Please tell me what you think. Thanks in advance

there was another thread on here yesterday regarding this(have a look in pregnancy threads),only the op thought her baby was huge..it was only a predicted 8 1b something!

what came to light was that lots of the posters had had theses scans,and produced a child nowhere near that weight.

i know of several people in rl who have experienced the same.theses scans and graphs are notoriously unreliable.

my best friend is a gp who used to work in obstetrics and says as much.she teases me about the size of my bump (huge!)and that i'm going to have a mammoth baby,but is teasing,as she concedes that you can't tell by the size of the bump...and that scans are often wrong about it...so

try not to worry,you may have a 9 1b er on board! my last was 9 1b 6 and i survived to tell the tale.

good luck

motherbeyond thanks so much for your reasurance I have just read the thread you refere to and am feeling soooo much better

Definitely don't get too fixated on predicted birth weights.........I was told my first would be a 10lb-er and she was 7lb 12. they're notoriously inaccurate.

I had a tiny bump and a growth scan a couple of days before I gave birth said 8lber. Turned out to be 9lb 5 and everyone was shocked and I couldn't get her out and it was completely hideous. But erm that's not what you wanted to hear is it!

Hastens to add my good pal also gave birth to an 9lb 5er in same hospital 8 days before me- 3 pushes and she was out. So I think it depends on loads of things (secretly like to think my friend has a baggier fanny than me but actually probably wasn't that at all!)

Good luck!

My first was 9lb 15...I had a natural birth, with petidine and episotomy but recovered well after. 2nd baby was 10lb 6 oz with no drugs and only small tear. Your body can cope and big babys are so much easier to care for when they arrive...dont panic and the best of luck x

My first was a whopper, 9 lb 6oz, with shoulders like a prop forward, and I was and still am a tiddler. C-section here too I'm afraid, after the not so little tinker turned transverse 19 hours in - I'm waiting for my notes but suspect that it was because he was too big to fit, and all the active birth positions I was trying during the 1 and a half hour pushing stage dislodged him! I never had any urge to push, which should probably have hinted to the midwife that he'd turned into a funny position, but they only discovered it in theatre.
I didn't enjoy the section much at all but it was that or rotational forceps and I have to say I was pleading for the section as I really didn't want forceps - luckily DS was too high up for them to reach with the forceps as there are threads on the general health site which document the awful damage high (Keillands) forceps can do. Then to cap it off I had a big bleed, a common side effect of a section. I have to say though that the first 17 or so hours were going really well, and DS's size certainly didn't stop my labour from going on at a nice brisk rate - and the birth pool was bliss! It was totally managable, I survived on cocodamol and swearing at my husband for the first 7cm and then gas and air for the last bit. Until I had the spinal for the section.... which was also lovely
There's no reason that size is necessarily a problem unless you have other hints that all is not well, like them never quite engaging, shifting position lots in the final weeks... anyway good luck! And big babies ARE sooo much easier to look after, plus health visitors don't breathe down your neck so much if they are slow to gain weight!
If it helps DS is eight months and I really want another one - although DH is still a little traumatised

My first was 9 pounds 11 and a forceps delivery.

You asked about practicalities and I would say that if it looks like things are going the way of an instrumental delivery then make sure you demand adequate pain relief before they start doing those things.

I had an epidural which had worn off hours before the pushing stage as the m/w refused to top it up.

Being able to feel an episiotomy and someone shoving forceps up there isn't pleasant. But I have friends who have had forceps under epidural who haven't found it too bad so I do think pain relief is key.

As others have said, scans and bump size are notoriously inaccurate predictors of actual weight. My Mum was predicted to be having a 'whopper' with me. I was 5lbs.

And weight is nothing compared to head circumference and position. In fact bigger babies are often described as easier to birth due to gravitational aid!

I had a 7lb 12oz average baby who was so stuck that after 6hrs of pushing, episiotomy, attempted manual rotation and 3 ventouse attempts, she was pulled out of the sunroof.

Size ain't everything. I'd try not to worry too much if I were you. Have an idea of what you'd like to happen in any eventuality and make sure your birth partner is aware.

Good luck and congratulations.

My first was 10lb 11oz - yes, she got a tiny bit stuck, but I had no interventions beyond changing position (MacRoberts manouevre) and she came out really quite easily - a few stitches, great recovery and the most gorgeous huge baby - she filled the hosp cot end to end. ds was 9lb 1 and came flying out...

Totally go with what the others are saying about scans, they are inaccurate.

What does your midwife say? From 16 weeks mine said I had a big (first) baby and she was right - 10lbs 14ozs.

The Docs shrugged it off and I had no special monitoring or anything. The birth was difficult (ventouse and PPH)

I had scan for my second bubba because of the above and was told 8lbs max, he was 9lbs 10ozs so a tiddler compared to his brother, but still an inaccurate scan!

i had to have a growth scan with DD1 at 32weeks as measuring small, told me she would be a tiny 5 lbs- she was 8lb 3oz, 32 weeks PG with DD2 and got to have another growth scan but not worried at all as there often wrong, im expecting this 1 to be a 9lb +! i am only a size 8, they never take your build into consideration!

My first was 9lb 12oz and was a forceps delivery.
My second was 10lb 15oz and ended in EMCS.

That said it wasn't that bad and looking after a big baby seems a lot less scary because they don't seem so delicate.

My first was 10lbs 14 oz.
My doctor said: Dont worry we deliver such babies every day

My midwife said: Dont worry we deliver such babies every day

My consultant said: Dont worry we deliver such babies every day

Then baby was born by emergency CS! And they said....

Midwife: MY GOD in 20 years I havent delived such a heavy and long baby (60 cm)

Doctor says: Same....

Consultant says: Same....

Why the change of opinion? Becaue they refused to want to give me a CS despite: High BP, back to back, heavy and 38 cm HC, me being over 40.

Then I ended up with an Emergency CS!

There you go...

Hi guys thanks so much for all your replies you've given me a lot of food for thought.

My EDD was 14 May but guess what.... my waters broke today so we will find out shortly exactly how 'big' bubba is. I will let you know

Ooh! Good luck - let us know how you get on.

I just wanted to add a message to say good luck hope all goes well. I've been told since my 20 week scan that baby is on the large side. His leg measurements are off the scale. I'm booked in for a scan at 36 weeks to check his size. Looking at different threads the size of baby doesn't seem to influence how the actual birth goes.

ooh how exciting,looking forward to see how big your baby actually is,and boy/girl/name etc!

My DD was 9lb 5oz.I never measured big or anything.This time (I'm due day before you may13th) I have been sent for 3 extra growth scans and a GTT test which was negative.

According to the scans the arms and legs are off the centiles and the head is at the top.We shall see!I am nervous as I'm trying for a Vbac but the midwives and sonogrophers don't seem to think a big baby is a problem.

Ohhh good luck!! Yes please get back and let us know! Wishing all goes well!

My first was 10lb 2oz Only pain relief i had was two paracetamol, no one believed i was in established labour, i was fully delated before being examined!

I was also told i was having a small baby!

I've had two big babies and a small one i'd go for big any day of the week!

Hey there, firstly, really good luck.

Secondly, I was told all through my first pregnancy that DS was going to be small - they kept sending me for scans and all. Even during labour, consultant said he'd be titchy. I had an average-ish labour, epidural after about 15 hours, then delivered DS with no intervention and only the tiniest tear (one stitch) about 6 hours later. They asked me to guess the weight, and even in my nutso post-birth state, I thought, do you know, he looks rather bigger than the 6lb-er we were expecting. Turned out he was ... 10lb7. None of the clothes we'd brought in fit him, and he spent his first night on earth wrapped in my hospital gown, and waking me up every time he startled as his hands banged against the sides of the too-small crib

So! In summary ... a) no one knows what size your DC will be until s/he emerges, and b) even if s/he's mahoosive, it really might be totally fine.

Again, good luck!

Ooh how exciting - good luck, OP!
I'm 27 weeks preg with my first and have been told all along that the bump looks big. At the 20 week scan they thought I was actually a week further ahead (but I'm sure of the date of my last period, so they shrugged and said "might be a big baby, sometimes we're just wrong") which made me wibble. There's a history of 9lbs and 10lbs babies in my family (DN was nearly 11lbs!) and everyone's managed to have vaginal births without horrific tears... so fingers crossed it'll work out!

Do come back and tell us all about your gorgeous baby, when he or she is born!

Good luck good luck good luck! You sound like you're prepared for anything so just enjoy it as the most exciting day of your life, whatever happens!!!
All the best - you'll be cuddling that babe in no time eyes well up

Hi All

grabbing a sec to let you know that i had a beautiful DS who (seems to smile heaps when he dreams) and was all of 8 13 oz at birth not sure if that's considered to be big
(?)I asked to be told the weight of my afterbirth and that was nearly 2lbs which i think is considered to be on the large side.

i ended up having a c-section but must stress not because the baby was considered to be big but because after 36 hours of waiting for contractions to start (after waters had broken) then a pesary with no result and then 2 days on ans oxytocin drip and little progression (3.5cm dilation) I decided, in conjuntion with my consultant and midwife, it was best. The baby was back to my back. I can honestly say that in so far as possible my birth plan was followed which made it a very positive experience.

Sorry for the long post,thank you all so much for your well wishes and shared experiences which increased my confidence and kept fear of the unknown at bay- We [heart] netmummers!