Measureing large Terrified! any suggestions

[Pippasdvision]

Hi there,

I am looking for advice and reassurance i guess. Both myself and my husbands family have very large babies. I was 11lbs 2 and my brother was 12lbs with no diabeties etc. my DS was born at 31 weeks and was already 4lb. I have just been told that at 28 weeks my next is off the chart but there is no way the dates are wrong. The doctor at the hospital says that at the moment he is the size of an average 33 week gestation. I an not diabetic and i am being careful with what I eat. can anyone make suggestions as to what i can do to make life easier or slow down the growth a bit.

[seeker]

There's nothing you can do to slow down the growth,I'm afraid - and watching what you eat isn't going to make a difference. Sorry. If it helps at all, I had a 10lb6 baby in two hours (made the hospital with 27 minutes to spare) No pain relief - only a couple of stitches and home bu lunchtime. I don't really think the size of the baby makes much difference to the labour - my first was 9lb9 and it was totally straightforward - if not as quick as number 2.I wouldn't worry - easier said than done, I know!

[whomovedmychocolate]

Your body only grows what it can cope with. Small chinese women rarely grow 12lb babies. You will be okay.

You can't slow the growth and worrying won't help either. Drugs are there if you need them, as is expert help and support. I bet the 4lb baby was a bit ouchy on descent too - whatever size it's a hard job, that's why they call it labour. But you will cope

[chubbymummy]

Throughout my pregnancy my son was large for dates (the dates were correct) and his measurements had me really worried -particualy his head which seemed masive. During my labour i expressed my fears to the midwife - I'm only 5ft so this worried me even more. They took into consideration the width of my hips and my shoe size(?) and decided to see how my labour progressed. When I was fully dialated they realised that my son was not going to be able to be born naturally and I was taken for an emergancy section. It turned out that although I have annoyingly large hips the inside of my pelvis is a funny shape and I would never have been able to deliver even a small baby naturally. I think the best thing you can do is discuss your fears with your midwife (take your husband along for moral support) and ask how big they predict your baby will be at birth and what size of baby they feel you will be able to deliver naturally. That way you can look at all your options, you will feel more relaxed if you feel that you are fully informed.
My son is perfectly in proportion by the way, after all my worrying it turned out that he didn't have a head the size a small planet and the scary measurements were nothing to be worried about.
Good luck. x