Big baby, big fatty pregnancy ?

[bigbabyshame]

Hello,

This is going to sound ridiculous - however, please hear me out.

Is having a larger baby ( weight wise ) a sign that you've been a fatty during pregnancy ?

Is having a big bump a sign you've been a fatty during pregnancy ?

My babe is measuring reasonably normal (50th centile ), but not small and I can't help feeling like she's going to be massive and I feel ashamed of it- like I've caused it or something ? I just can't help but get a bit upset when people say that I'm absolutely huge and that the baby is going to be absolutely huge- did I cause that by eating too much ?

@goingtoneedabiggercar bigger babies are better than really small ones anyway. And the most important thing is that they're healthy. Congratulations and I love your attitude.

Aside from gestational diabetes, a big baby is part genetics and partly a very efficient placenta.

I was slim pre pregnancy, BMI of 20 at my booking appointment, and I gained about 3 stone. I was all bump and measured on the 60th percentile throughout. Baby arrived weighing 9lb 2oz so 91st percentile! I had treats when I wanted them but didn't eat excessively - people still thought it was okay to tell me I was huge. I left hospital in non maternity leggings and my bump has completely gone now at 2 weeks pp. As @Lostmymarbles1985 says, there's a lot of water and then you have the placenta too..

I'm proud of the size of my baby and even more proud of the fact I managed to give birth to him. Once your baby is here I promise you it won't matter

It doesn't necessarily mean you have put the weight on though meaning how much of that is water. The placenta also adds weight. With mine I weighed before baby was born then when they were one week old. With all if them I was at least 2 and half stone lighter after 1 week. Most of it was water weight and as I said I weighed less than when I got pregnant.

If you have a healthy balanced diet I wouldn't worry. Speak to your midwife. Anyone who comments is really just incredibly rude. Try not to let them spoil this time for you!
Just as important to not let them get to you after baby arrives either. It takes 9 months to grow a baby your body needs time to recover!

@Lostmymarbles1985 thank you. I hope something similar happens to me 😂and yes OMG I'm so worried about the 'after' part already. Hopefully I'll just focus on the baby and not be as obsessed with myself. And just give myself time to recover and not worry about how I look too much. But again, society loves to put that pressure on us. I can't believe how self involved I am. Here I am, pregnant - when lots of people can't be. Expecting a baby that seems healthy - when lots of people don't have that. And I'm worried about this ? So self involved really.

Never had an eating disorder

I beat myself up about this daily and have even developed unhealthy habits ( making myself sick )... sometimes I do it just to get the food out so I don't get ' too fat

Erm I think you need to reconsider that too statement. I'm not trying to shame you or be harsh, I'm genuinely concerned. And putting in the weight doesn't mean you aren't making unhealthy choices OP. Please be very honest with your midwife x

@bigbabyshame you don't need to be embarrassed. It's your body. If it helps, stop weighing yourself and ask the MW not to mention it at appts.

I'm 22 weeks myself and was heavier than I would like when I got pregnant having not made much headway into the baby weight from my first pregnancy. But I also know that my baby is the most important factor and it's my responsibility to make sure that she is growing strong and healthy.

Me having a bigger arse than I might like really is neither here nor there, and I can kick said arse into gear once my baby is safely out. Of course I am mindful not to eat everything in sight but I am not prepared to deprive my body of nutrients at this important time.

Babies are bigger now because we have better diet and health and people are getting taller

@SleepingStandingUp I get your point. But it's never been a thing where I've got so thin or big that any health professional was concerned. So no one has ever diagnosed anything like that. Which perhaps actually makes it more difficult, as people brush it off as just being normal - when perhaps it's not. I don't think you're being harsh. I'll speak to the midwife. Perhaps this can be a turning point for me at which someone will actually help me get over it. It's hard to get help for issues like these, unless you literally look like a skeleton- which I just don't.

How far along are you? I think the pregnancy wshould open up some additional support too x

@CalamityJune thank you, you're so sweet and you're also very right. Any weight can be lost after and the health of the little person is the most important.

My midwife has actually never even mentioned anything to do with my weight, which I really appreciate. We only had a brief discussion once when I mentioned that due to my PGP I couldn't walk around much without being in agony and that it was stressing me out because being inactive is leading to more weight gain. PGP plus the relentless nausea have made it difficult. She said I shouldn't worry about it and that I should just do what I can and that it's just the way it goes sometimes. I was so happy she said that.

@SleepingStandingUp 33 weeks.

Some people are just rude.
I remember when I had dd and saw my friend and her mum.
Her mum commented on dd's birth weight saying how her grand child was a ' delicate petite thing' .
She also moaned that she had 'never been blessed with a grandson and wanted a blue-eyed grandchild, not the brown eyed ones she had!

Anyway, I always thought birth weight was genetic and determined by the mother's birth weight.

I gained 4 stone during my first pregnancy due to eating absolute shit and DS was 6lb12. I thought this was fine, but I'm pregnant again with DC2 and I've been informed he was really small at birth and I've got a million growth scans scheduled. I'm guessing he was classed as small due to the amount of weight I gained? I'm already a stone heavier than I was at the start last time, but I'm determined this time I will not be putting on 4 stone! Also I actually think DS is not for his age now, and followed the centile lines quite nicely for the first year, then just shot up.

@emilybrontescorsett this lady sounds lovely... oh dear !

I have no idea what determined the babies birth weight and that's why I posted - wondering if it is determined by gaining lots of weight in pregnancy. 🤷‍♀️

@bigbabyshamebigbabyshame you're two weeks behind me 😍

@SleepingStandingUp Aw really ! Do you know if it's a girl or boy ? Sorry if you already said!

My boy was 10lb 14 (natural delivery-no meds , ouch)
I put on 6 stone in both my pregnancies.

I am so proud of my giant baby, and my weight is coming off easy enough.

Tell your MIL that you hope baby is really chubby and cute, and your eating for 2, Just to piss her off

@bigbabyshame two boys. And bigger is def better, I'm so pleased the baby's are measuring over 60th percentile, in most cases bigger babies have a little more resilience against that early weight loss, any bugs etc.
Tell MIL you've decided to fatten baby up for Christmas just like a juicy turkey!!!

I've also been wondering this.
My bump is fairly small but baby is measuring big. So not much belly but quite a lot of baby!
I had hyperemesis which caused food aversion, so I could only eat certain foods. I was very worried about the effect on the baby but all the doctors I saw said that baby would take what he needed.
One even said to me that he was giving me his permission to eat whatever I could keep down and not to feel guilty.
I'm quite interested to see what weight the baby will be at birth.

@SleepingStandingUp wow twins ! That's amazing!! Congratulations, what a blessing.

@bigbabyshame I’ve had 3 babies all over 9lbs and they were perfect. All came with massive placentas!

I’ve also had bulimia and “a few times a week” is how it starts. I can assure you it is a very slippery slope though and it will very quickly take over your life, unless you urgently get some help to deal with your self image and your fear of being fat. Even when I was bulimic, I managed to not be sick when I was pregnant as I knew how dangerous it could be for my baby. Please have a chat to your midwife...it would be great to get some help now before your baby arrives, you need to be healthy physically and mentally to deal with becoming a mother. Good luck

I've had 2 massive babies. Dd 10lb6 and 2 week old DS 11lb. Put on loads with both of them. Not sure how much but it is what it is. I'm back in my jeans now and people keep saying they cant believe I had a baby 2 weeks ago. The rest of the weight will come off it's not a big deal! I'm very proud of my 2 chunks!

I was a size 12/14 going into pregnancy so for a 5'2" woman that's quite big. I continued to gain weight rapidly and had a huge bump, I was showing at 8 weeks and looked full term entering the third trimester. Had a normal 7lb14oz baby girl at 39+2 so basically full term. I did have extra fluid but that only happened at around 37 weeks.
I think the baby's weight depends on lots of things, my grandparents were both small babies and my mum and her siblings were small, my parents were small babies and me and my siblings were small. My partner however was a huge baby so I think that balanced things out.
My mum and grandmother also had stressful pregnancies whereas mine was relatively stress free.
I always said I wanted a dainty baby like myself, and was quite sad when I found out she wasn't going to be (wrong I know!) but I've found a new love for chubby newborns, and I always loved chubby babies so that's great. The only downside is she's 5 months but in 6-9 month clothes and has been for quite a few weeks now, was also in 3-6month clothes at 2 months!

@thatguiltyfeeling fair enough. Your baby doesn't sound big though ? 7 pounds is normal isn't it ?

I have no problem with a chubby baby by the way. They're so cute and healthy looking.

I just have a problem with the fact that a chubby baby might make people think that it's because I over ate.