Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Hi Kristen,
    
    When I was 35 weeks along, my doctor told me that I would be delivering
    at least a 9 pounder because it looked as though the baby was already
    about 7 lbs. 11 oz.  I am also only 5 feet tall (well 4' 11", so sue me
    for an inch :-) ) and thought, oh my, how am I ever going to deliver
    such a large baby.  Well, Shane was born at 39 weeks weighing only 7
    lbs. 5 1/2 oz.  Don't let the ultra sound alarm you, it's only an
    estimate.
    
    Lori B.

    All,
    
             Yes, I'll second (or third!) the notion that the ultrasound is
    an estimate only. When my wife had her week 33 (i think) ultrasound,
    they estimated his size at that time to be 5.5 Lbs. A 6 pounder was to
    be expected. Well, they were off almost by a factor of 2! Adam entered
    this world tipping the scales at 3.5 lbs! She was induced at her 39th
    week.
    
    
    	That whole experience made me realize that the medical
    professionals try their best, but often misjudge and make mistakes.
    
    Frank  

    Even if the baby really is large, there isn't any way of telling
    ahead of time how much stretch and flex there is to your ligaments
    and joints, and that has as much bearing on how large a baby you
    can deliver as your bone structure does.  My next-door neighbor,
    who is 5' on a good day, had no trouble delivering a 9-lb baby,
    and it was a VBAC to boot. 
    
    I'm 5'4" which is a bit larger and had no trouble delivering an 8
    lb. 13 oz. baby a few years back.  Didn't even need medication. 
    
    --bonnie

    I had an ultrasound at I think somewhere around 36 weeks (it was late)
    and was told my baby would be in the 8lb range... I delivered at 41
    weeks and my daughter was 8lbs 15.5 oz.  Large babies run in my family. 
    One of the things I learned when pregnant is that <usually> a baby will
    be as big as a woman's body can tolerate.  I know this is not always
    true.  I had a tough delivery, but no c-section was required.  One
    funny thing... my midwives disagreed on the size of my baby.. one said
    she would be in the 7lb range, the other in the 9lb range and this was
    a week apart in their predictions.  You never know!
    
    Good luck!
    Mary

    
    I had my last ultrsound at 40 wks, my daughter was 15 days late the 
    had to induce me.  Anyway at the last ultrasound the doctor said boy
    this is a BIG baby, they had said that from my 33 wk on, they thought
    8lbs was big, the way they said big I was thinking 10 and up, she was
    9lbs at birth.  But big babys run in my family.  Another example is
    a friend of mine just had her baby in Oct and her doctor kept telling
    her the baby was going to be 10lbs her son was 6lbs and 14.5 oz.  
    
    So don't worry to much about it, like everyone eles has said the
    doctors are guessing.  
    
    Good Luck and keep us posted.
    Lisa

    Remember too that even if you have "snake hips" you might have a very
    easy delivery; it's not the distance between your hip bones that
    matters, it's the aperture the baby's head has to pass through at the
    bottom of the pelvis.  I always thought I'd "drop mine in the field"
    because I'm tall and have wide [& well-padded!] hips; my ob/gyn told me
    that stuff doesn't matter, and that we wouldn't know til delivery
    exactly how my daughter and my bone structure would fit each other! 
    Turned out she was 8# 9oz, didn't want to press directly on the cervix,
    so labor stalled at 8cm and we ended up with a (really easy!) C-sec.
    
    Leslie

    Adding to the inaccurate estimates of birthweight -
    
    I am also 5'0" tall, and was told throughout my pregnancy that the baby
    was normal, but they expected a 6 lb baby at the most.  Well, I
    delivered a 7 lb. 11 oz. baby vaginally.  So much for estimates.
    They even thought she was 6 lbs. after I delivered!
    
    Mary

    
    A very good friend of ours, who, while is 5'7", usually weighs 
    about 110lbs (dressed AND wet!) gave birth to a 9lb 6oz baby last
    June. Not a problem at all! 
    I have heard of a lot of people who say that their baby's birth weight
    was overestimated. I'd say "wait and see". 
    In my case Daniel was alread 6 pounds at 33 weeks when I deliveried -
    the doc said that he would have been a good 9-10 pounds had he lived.
    
    I have a feeling that this baby I am carrying now will be of similar
    dimension - although my first ultrasound is Tuesday. (can't wait!)
    Mind you, I am 5'7" and average about 155lb non-pregnant. I suspect
    only fetal distress would make the doc give me a c-section.
    
    We do have big babies in the family though - me at 8.5 lbs, hubby at
    9lb-something, and my father, last of 5, was a whopping 14 pounds at
    birth! (my poor gram!)
    
    

    One more to add to the list of proof that they're only guessing!
    
    In about my 40th week or so (my son was late), I had another ultra
    sound to see how he was doing, and they said the same thing, he would
    be about 9lbs or more!  I am 5' 4", and weighed prepregnancy about
    115 lbs.  The baby was born almost 2 weeks late and, although delivery
    was difficult, was delivered vaginally and weighed 8lbs 13 oz.  He was
    20 1/2" long.  And yes I had drugs, including an epideral!!!
    
    I'm thinking that what they measure in the ultrasound is the size of
    the head, among other things, and average it according to what they
    believe the size of the baby would be based on their measurements.
    
    My son is almost two years old now, and he just had a two year checkup. 
    His head measures large (in the 90%).  His other proportions (height
    and weight) are 75%.  Perfectly normal, by the way!
    
    So,  for instance, if your baby has a large head or a long femur, they
    may be guessing what his weight will be based on that!   I would not
    worry about it.  It will all come out in the delivery room!!!!!  :)
    

    
    I was told I was going to deliver at leat a 9.5 pounder! She was 8lbs
    at birth.  She has been on the chubby side since she was born and in
    the 95th percentile.  I thought I'd have to have a section too,
    almost did as a matter of fact. But I pushed for 4 hours and had her 
    vaginally.  I was told about her being over 9 lbs. during a non stress
    test the day before I went into labor. But they were wrong. 
    
    All they can do is estimate.
    
    sandy

    Well, I have mixed feeling on the replies so far...
    
    On one hand, I like that maybe he won't be SO big and I can deliver
    vaginally and on the other hand, for some reason I like the idea of 
    him being so big, especially since I will be putting him in daycare around 
    10 weeks.
    
    My husband is like a proud peacock that he might be big...it's kind
    of funny...
    
    I asked the ultrasound tech how they measure/figure the weight...
    they take a measurement of the head, thigh, abdominal, and arm and
    figure an average.  She said average gain during the last 6 weeks
    is anywhere from 2-3 lbs....depending also on whether you deliver
    early/late.
    
    I think they do a pretty good job....from some of the replies they
    were not off that much...and at least we are able to get this kind
    of info earlier than at delivery...I'm sure it helps both mom & dr
    even if sometimes they are off...
    
    As far as delivering a large baby and only being 5'0...when I had
    a pelvic, my dr measured the 2 bones that the baby passes through
    (I forget what they are called)....it has nothing to do with how
    wide your pelvic bone is or how hippy you are nor how tall you are...
    
    One thing that is kind of strange....my due date is Jan 24.  That is
    by the calendars and 'my' knowledge of when I conceived.  When I
    had my ultrasound (because the baby was measuring big) it had my due
    date as Jan 6!...which is 3 weeks earlier....the lab tech said it
    is because the ultrasound assumes an average baby...7+ lbs and does
    not have the adaptibility for larger measurements....kind of strange!
    
    Thanks for the input...very interesting...I guess I'll just have
    to wait and see....!
    
    Kristen

    
    
    	Another success story...
    
    	My girlfriend, 5'0" at most, delivered at 9lb 10oz baby.  Her
    doctor warned her that the baby was big, and told her she would most
    likely have a C-section.  She didn't - she had an epidural and thought
    labor was a piece of cake.  She was afraid of labor because the baby 
    was thought to be so large, but once she delivered, she said she
    prayed he'd be HUGE!  
    

    One more mis-measurement by a doctor.  I was estimated to have a 7
    pound baby . . . we had a 9 pound 10 1/2 oz baby girl (just a BIT off!)
    
    Best of luck (remember *everyone* is different)!
    
    Jolene

    
    Well, with me they were right on. At about 36 weeks I had an in-office
    sonogram done and the nurse midwive felt the baby through my abdomen.
    She guessed at about 7 lbs and a boy. Well, I had a 7lb 2oz girl, so
    she was half right.
    
    Patty

    
    mine was off too!  At 36 weeks they said my baby already weighed 6.5
    pounds, and if i went full term the estimation was 8 1/2 - 9 pounds. 
    I'm only 5'1" and the dr said i might have a hard time if the baby is
    that big.  Well, I was 12 days late, and tanner was born 7.10!  Also,
    after my first my hips (at least i think it was my hips) actually
    "spread".  I weigh exactly the same as I did before I got pregnant, but
    my pant/skirt size is one size larger (not my waist).  So, I think my
    body compensated by moving!!!  (thanks alot!!)
    
    good luck
    elizabeth
    

    I could have written the first few lines of your note! For most of
    the pregancy, I was measuring 1 week larger than 'average'. About
    1/2 way through, this moved up to 2 weeks larger...and at 32-34 weeks
    it jumped up to 3 weeks larger....Next step was an ultrasound to
    determine why (amnio. fluid, baby's position, baby's size, etc.). In
    my case, they said that the baby was going to be big. They estimated
    9 1/2 lb. at term (40 weeks). Caroline was 8 lb. 4 1/2 oz. and 21 1/2
    in. long (at 40 weeks +/- a day). So they were off by about 1 lb. 
    
    I remember being worried that I they were going to change my estimated
    due date by moving it up 3 weeks (I wasn't mentally ready for that
    yet!) I was told by the doctors and the technicians that the later
    ultrasounds (30 or so weeks) are better for diagnosing size (vs. due date) 
    and that the earlier (10 weeks or so) are better for estimating due date.
    But, in my case, the later test was best for telling the Dr's what to 
    expect (generally) size-wise (larger than average...although not as
    large as predicted, in my case...Although I can't say that I didn't
    worry ALOT about delivering a 9-10 pounder!). The earlier ultrasound
    that I had was right on the mark for delivery date. I delivered within
    1 day of the estimated date.
     
     

    
    Nature is pretty clever and for the most part ususally gives you a baby
    that your body can tolerate.
    
    	I used (notice past tense) to have slim hips and when they figured
    out that my baby was going to be large, started getting a little
    concerned about the delivery. As it turned out, I (with some help)
    delivered a 9lb 11 oz baby vaginally. (won't say that it didn't hurt
    though ;-))
    
    	My bones did fine.
    
    	One good thing about larger babies is that they are not as fragile
    and are easier to work with (you are not afraid of hurting them). One
    bad thing is that they grow out of baby clothes very quickly.
    
    			Wendy

    Well, I am probably the only one they got right!! All three times! I
    still think it was a guess, but a very accurate one.  With the first
    one, I was told she was no more than 6 lbs..(she weighed in at 5 lbs 15
    oz) #2 was said to be large for me (i'm 5'2 100 lbs), she weighed 7
    lbs.  The doctor did tell me that I would not be able to deliver
    naturally anything bigger, not because of my height and weight, but my
    bone size.  #3 was estimated at 6 lbs and 6 lbs she was!
    
    So, sometimes they can guess correctly, but it is only a guess.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Lisa

    Don't worry too much.  I am 4'11'' and delivered my daughter who was
    9lbs. 10oz! (Vaginal birth)  And I managed it in 6 hours. 
    Unfortunately this is somthing that you won't know until it happens, so
    don't worry until you really have to.  
    
    Kathy
    

    I always measured 2-3 weeks ahead with my first pregnancy but an early
    ultrasound said my due date was right.  At one of my last office visits
    before the baby, my OB said, after measuring my belly, feeling the
    baby's head and shape, "Buy a cast iron crib!".  
                                            
    After 8 hours of induced, bad labor, I failed to progress beyond 7 cm
    and developed toxemia so I had a c-section.  I'll always remember the 
    drs. saying as they were trying to remove him, "Wow, this is a big
    one, I can't get a grip to pull him out. "  
    
    He weighed 10 lbs, 8oz.
    
     But, my sister delivered her 10 lb. 6oz son vaginally.

    Kristen,
    
    I know this is obvious and doesn't help much - but everyone is different.
    
    If this is your first, then you won't know what you can and can't do
    until you deliver.
    
    My experience has been:
    	Baby 1: 7 lbs.  14 ou.
    	Baby 2: 10 lbs.
    	Baby 3: 10 lbs.
    	Baby 4: 11 lbs. 4 ou.
    
    All delivered vaginally, no epidural, episiotomy, etc. And of course
    the last was easier than the first, despite the size of the baby.
    
    Good luck to you,
    Donna

I too delivered a big boy 5 months ago - 10lb 13oz, 23" long (he was long
but also had a big head).  Also no anesthesia, no episiotomy, and minimal
tearing.

My doctor had predicted an 8-pounder or so, but I didn't have an ultrasound
-she went by my size and what she could feel.

My first son (age 9) was 7lb 8oz (which my midwife predicted much more
accurately), so I was surprised that my baby was so large this time around,
not to mention that I was physically able to push him out.

I am, however, not a petite woman - 5.8" and we'll just leave my weight out
of this thank you (still losing my pregnancy weight).

So, we're all different and as stated in an earlier reply, you probably
won't know what you can manage until you're in the thick of it.

Good luck!

-Caryn