Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Does a previous big baby mean the next one will be a whopper too?

27 replies

oliveoil · 20/05/2004 11:26

I had my check up with the midwife yesterday for baby number 2 and she raised her eyebrows at the size of my bump and queried whether my dates were correct. They are so she measured my bump and said I was nearer to 30 weeks pregnant on size rathter than the 27 weeks I am.

Is this right? Can they tell by the size of your bump? She had a feel around and baby 'seems big'.

I am about 5'10" and dh is 6'4" so would make sense I suppose. Dd was 9lb 10 so am I to expect another whopper?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
gloworm · 20/05/2004 11:32

I've heard that in most cases each baby is bigger than the one before (although obviously there are loads of exceptions!).
my second was almost 2 lbs heavier than first.
During my second pregnancy doctors and midvives all comented on fact that it was probably a big baby (just by looking at and feeling bump). BTW she was 10 lb 1oz.

Looks like you're going to have a baby will little use of newborn clothes! we also found dd grew out of newborn size 1 nappies after 2 weeks!

bundle · 20/05/2004 11:33

mine were 8lb 4.5oz, then 8lb 9.5oz..both girls

bundle · 20/05/2004 11:34

..but a friend had a first baby around 6lbs, then a whopping 9lb 10oz-er - both girls, both 42 weekers.

oliveoil · 20/05/2004 11:35

10lb 1!!!!! OMG. I think Ghosty had a big baby and I am sure it was around this weight as well.

We bought baby clothes for dd and she was out of the vests within the first week.

OP posts:
SpringChicken · 20/05/2004 11:37

I had my 32 weeks check on Tuesday Oliveoil and the midwife advised that the baby was bigger than average but not off the chart. She said it was likely to be a 9lb'er..........

As this is my first i have nothing to compare it to but my SIL DS was born on time, scheduled c-section and he was 9lb 1oz - She worried all the way through her second pregnancy thinking it would be another big baby and when her DD was born by elective c-section 1 week early everyone was amazed that she weighed 7lb exactly - she looked so tiny in comparison to her brother.

Basically - i don't think it means that because one baby was big that all others are likely to be too.

oliveoil · 20/05/2004 11:43

No way are you 32 weeks already, that has flown (but prob not for you ).

Keep these small bambino stories coming please, I want a small one this time!

OP posts:
gloworm · 20/05/2004 11:45

a lot probably depends on whether they come early or overdue..they can put on a lot of weight in those last few weeks.

SpringChicken · 20/05/2004 11:46

Yep - 7 weeks 2 days til blast off - THIS BABY WILL NOT BE LATE IF IT KNOWS WHATS GOOD FOR IT

I wish i knew if we were having a boy or girl so didn't keep calling him or her it!

oliveoil · 20/05/2004 11:50

I call mine The Womble, sounds better than 'it' somehow.

OP posts:
oliveoil · 20/05/2004 11:50

Has mears still banned herself from Mumsnet? She would surely have some info for me.

MEARS! STOP LURKING AND POST

OP posts:
beansprout · 20/05/2004 11:51

Sympathise there Spring Chicken, although we seem to have settled on "him", which is most unlike us good liberals who tend to be very conscious of these things!

O/Oil - I am still awaiting arrival of no. 1 but would say that my younger brother was bigger than me. Surely there is a reasonable limit to how big they can be? (Spot the note of panic creeping into the first timer's voice!!)

SpringChicken · 20/05/2004 11:57

Ah ha Beansprout - i did ask my midwife this as i nearly passed out when she commented that the baby was big. She did say that you will only grow a baby as big as your body can take, definitely wont grow a baby bigger than you can manage - although, notsure i trust her

lemonice · 20/05/2004 12:02

dd1 was 7lb4oz and 40+13days

dd2 was 9lb11oz and 40+15days

ds was 8lb8oz and 40 + 1 day

suzywong · 20/05/2004 12:04

With your baby's gene pool it is doubtful you are going to give birth to a potential Jockey. FWIW, my first boy was 9lbs 2oz and my second was 8lbs 13oz..
I just took DS2 for the 8 month check and I was surprised to find he is a whole kilo lighter than his brother was at the same age, and this one eats solids like they are going out of fashion.
But I digress, your next baby will be big but not necessarily heavier than the first.

secur · 20/05/2004 12:12

Message withdrawn

JanZ · 20/05/2004 12:20

I had a very neat bump (good stomach muscles ) so in the labour ward they said they predicted a smallish baby - probably around 7lb.

He was 8lb 15oz!

What do they know?!

piglit · 20/05/2004 12:26

Does family history have anything to do with it? I was 5lbs 11 but my younger brother was a whopping 9 lbs 9 (34 years ago).

monkeygirl · 20/05/2004 14:29

Well my brother was a 12 lber (natural birth, no pain relief for my poor old mum) but was 1st born. I was the 3rd child and was only 7lbs 7ozs (and he has always been thin and me fat through adult life - how fair is that )

Gynweth Paltrow looks all skin and bones and look what she produced (nearly a 10 lber wasn't it?).

Your baby may be bigger than average (which is just a few ounces under 8lbs isn't it), but don't take anything for granted - it doesn't mean you will have a whopper necessarily.

feezy · 20/05/2004 14:36

I've had 4 and they got bigger every time :0

monkeygirl · 20/05/2004 15:09

Have just seen on Sky news a feature on a baby who was 13lbs 7ozs at birth!! Now that's a record you don't want to break!

oliveoil · 20/05/2004 15:12

something would break at 13lb 7, ouch.

OP posts:
musica · 20/05/2004 15:17

My first was 9lb 12 (boy) and my second was 10lb 2 (girl) - both times mw said they would be small babies from the size of the bump...

OldieMum · 20/05/2004 15:49

I'm in the middle of reading 'Weighing the Evidence: how is birthweight determined?', by Prof. Nick Spence. It says that, on the whole, each baby is bigger than the last. My dd was 10lb 1oz, so I should be worrying when the next one comes along.

SoupDragon · 20/05/2004 16:01

DS1 was 10lb 1oz and 3 days late, DS2 was 8lb 4oz and 2 weeks early so destined to be a similar size to DS1 at full term. I'd say that you're unlikely to produce a little baby, unless you manage to go into labour a couple of weeks early!

twoteds · 20/05/2004 16:04

Had this conversation at length with my ob/gyn. Number 1 was 4.5 kgs 2 weeks overdue borderline shoulder dystotia - Mama on gallons of epidural so blissfully unaware. Number delivered 1 week early, 3 weeks gestationally younger than his brother and came in at 4.4 kilos - elective c/s. Seems I did the right thing as they estimate he would have been 12lbs ish. I was a whopper and my husband.