What weight is 'average' for a newborn?

[PavlovtheForgetfulCat]

I have had a scan (well, had it at 28 wks) and been told that baby is slap bang in the middle of the charts for size, for all three things they look at (length, head, abdomen) and that should he continue to grow at this rate, and stay in the middle he will be a good average sized baby.

I am curious to know roughly what size that might mean, roughly?

retreats to the corner to rock back and forth

Is it normal to be THIS terrified as a first time mum??

(Sorry Pavlov, I appear to have hijacked your thread somewhat!)

erikamaye come on in! you can panic with me ok? First time will be fine as you have nothing to compare it to, honestly

I'd definitely say average these days is 8-9lbs

Nearly everyone I know, with children, have had between 8-9 pounder. Maybe it's the London water .

In fact I always go when someone says "my baby weighed a whopping 8lb 8oz" Seriously, that is NOT whopping. my DS1 was 9lb 12oz. I wouldn't say a baby was whopping unless it was at the very least 9.5 lbs

Whenever someone says they had a 7 pounder or less I always assume it was prem, unless the mother/father are particularly small

A mw friend of ine said bigger babies were often easier to push out - not sure if she was trying to make me feel better when they kept saying i was expecting a big baby. A friend of mine, small build, pushed out 2 10 lb'ers (not at the same time) no bother on some gas and air. I read somewhere also that the weight doesn't really matter as its down to head you've got to get out! whether they're big or not is down to body size.

I don't think I've ever been more frightened in my life..! Plus I'm a short-ass, and I have small feet, which I am informed is in respect of your hips or something... whimpers I think there should be a zip. They could just unzip you, pop baby out, zip you back up... Would be so much easier!!!

fruitbatlings DD was 5lbs, not prem, but stopped growing so they are keeping an eye, no reason for it that they found. I am slight, but not stupidly so, DH is not tall, but not short either.

To all the first time mums the trick is to just get yourself really really worried and then it will be a piece of p*! I was PETRIFIED when I got pregnant with DS1 but actually it was fine and dandy and was shopping in B&Q with contractions 6 minutes apart - nothing could be as bad as I thought it would be so actually I was OK IYSWIM!

However, DS2 I thought same as everyone else - second one should be easy and turned out to be much harder. He was 10lb 1oz to be fair.

Size/weight of baby does not matter so much as size and position of head.. This is why delivery of small/premature babies can be difficult; the cervix just does not flatten/open as easily.

I would have said average is 7-8 lbs; mine were 7lb12oz and 7lb14oz, so I woudl say that, wouldn't I .

Pacific that is easy to say when you haven't squeezed out a ten pounder who likes 'vogueing' madonna style LOL! Third degree tear says it mattered to me

ive heard its 7 1/2 lbs is classed as normal weight

, GoAwayMrWappy!

No "rule" without exeption, I suppose..

Then again I remember a (tall) lady who delivered a boy weighing over 13lbs vaginally without any probs...
'Tis a lottery, to some extent. My point was simply that weight alone is not everything.

Pavlov - I was similar. DD1 stopped growing - 4 lbs 9oz. DD2 though was 7 lbs 1 oz. I am small too (5 ft) and would have worried slightly about an 8 lber although agree that its not huge these days. That said, both mine ended up coming out the sun roof so wouldn't have made a difference (although I looked very much like a weeble with dd2 so any bigger and I might not have been able to move !).

Wheely - I like the expression 'sunroof' ! . I am tiny, as people keep feeling it appropriate to point out {sigh} due to hyperemesis up til quite recently, and while I am doing my utmost to put on the pounds (ie trifle for brekky that kind of thing!) I have a nice round bump, not an ounce of fat on me. But clearly vomitting horrendously for much of this pregnancy has had no effect on this boy!

at sunroof!!!

Pavlov people keep pointing it out to me too, maybe that's why I'm worrying so much...

When dd2 was born early (37 weeks) I shreieked "oh, she's a tiny baby" (she was 7lb15). The midwives thought I was mad!!

Different hospital, so they didn't realise that dd1 had been 9lb12 and ds 9lb3. Dd2 was indeed tiny, for me!!

eek - mine was measuring over 8lbs when I had scan at 36 weeks. Now I'm 39+3 and funnily enough am quite keen to get it out! I am clinging on to the fact that everyone tells me scans are very unrealiable!

I assumed everyone knew the term 'sunroof' to mean c-sec but when we text everyone to say dd2 had been born 'via the sunroof' everyone assumed I had given birth in the car on the way to the hospital.