Whoppa size baby on the way!!!

Hi ladies and middies

I dont know what im looking for, but maybe just some reassurance that ill get through this pregnancy ok or at least in one piece!!!!.

I went for an ultrasound the otherday, for the 34 week one. And the ultrasoundist said the baby is already measuring 37weeks, ie is a large baby, its weight is already 3.5 kilos, around 7 pounds!!!!. She said there is no way the doctors should let me get to full term, which is less than 5 weeks, because by then bubs will be over 10 pounds.

Yesterday i went to see my shared cared midwife and doctors, and they had the ultrasound results, which said im in the 97 percentile, (what ever that means), and despite this, i sould be right to reach full term and give birth to a big baby. Simply basing it on the fact because this is my 3rd pregnancy, and that my 2nd child was over 9 pounds!. (so im pre-stretched)

Geez, im just wondering how big is toooo big????lol Dose this seem fair??..she said if it was my first child, then more options may be open for me, so that no damage like tearing and such. But im thinking, why cant i get a c-section?..i know its going to be torturous!.

I dont know, im thinking i cant hack it.

Some one just shoot me!lol:wall:

Mel

My son was 4.3kgs when born. They told me he was going to be 5.2kg or more. The scans are not very accurate as far as I am concerned.

Besides, your body will not allow bub to grow to a size that your body can't handle. Have faith that your body knows what it is doing.

I had a scan at 36 weeks and my OB said I was going to have an 8lb'er. DS turned out to be 7lb 4oz so nowhere near 8lb.

Why would your Dr want to induce you? Women give birth to 10lb babies everyday. My first son was 9lb 7oz and he was as difficult to deliver as my 7lb 9oz daughter and my 7lb 10oz son... so there is no reason why you can't deliver a healthy 10lb baby too.
Just have faith in your body... you said you have delivered a 9lb baby before... it will be no different to delivering that baby.... it could actually be easier because you have BTDT before.
That said, I was told the whole was through my pregnancy with Harrison that I was measuring large for dates, and told my baby would be a huge one... one midwife was a little worried about it too... but as it turned out, he was a healthy 7lb 10oz baby, not the gigantic baby they had imagined him to be.

Yeah given your last bubba was a 9lb'er I wouldn't expect you to be having a small baby.

BUT I wouldn't trust an u/s weight guess for the life of me. At 41 weeks I saw the OB who said "I don't think you have a 4kg baby in there" (my first was 4kg) and I said great, but I had to have a scan to try to postpone induction... the scan showed a 10lb 11oz baby. So the OB's at the hospital told me I had to have a c/s. I refused, went into spontaneous labour 2 days later & had a 4kg baby or 8lb 13oz. No where near what the scan showed.

To get a weight guess, the sonographer measures the femur bone in the baby. And uses a ratio with the head circumference. Not the amount of padding ;). So length vs head = weight guess. Which was inaccurate by almost 2lbs for me.

I was told that Molly Jane was in the 97th percentile too, she turned out to be 8lb6 (3.8kg).

I ended up with an emerg c/s (not to do with her size)i i can tell you that it is no fun at all. its difficult to pick up your bubs, there is so many more complications and the pain for the next few weeks is not something i would like to have with more than one bubba around to look after.

you have given birth before, you and your body knows exactly what to do - dont think too much about the size, as the other girls have said, its not that accurate

Goodluck, you will be fine :)

I measured 3-4 weeks ahead in size throughout my pg to Charlie and he was born 7lb 14oz, so not a big bubba at all. He did have a big head, though - 39cms, but my FS said that at 34 weeks all they can measure is the femur and the head circumference as they can't see the entire baby, so no one will ever be able to give you an accurate determination of how big your baby is at that stage of your pregnancy.

And as Lisa said, delivering a 8lb 1oz (DS3) and a 6lb 2oz (DD) was equally difficult for me (or easy depending on whether you're a half-full sort of person) and women routinely birth 10lbs all the time (my MIL was one). I have also heard of heaps and heaps of women in this very forum who've been convinced to have a c/s due to a 'big' baby only to have normal sized babies, so I am understandably dubious about most claims from medicos of 'huge' babies.

Yep i agree, your body and your baby should know what to do, i wouldnt stress too much about what they say.

Heres a stressfull one for you - my god sister's first baby was 13 pounds! She was HUGE.

I had growth scan last week to be told bubs was about 3.6 kilo and I had 2 weeks to go. They said they have about 600 gram discrepancy either way.
I think if you have given birth to a 9 pound you should be able to birth this bubs.
I had emergency c section and they are not an easy alternative. Although I had an awesome recovery there are so many things you shouldnt do like drive for 6 weeks, which if you have other kids, may be difficult.
I would see how you go, play it by ear and if you end up with c section then I guess it was meant to be.

Sorry to seem a downer, but I am a small-built woman, only 5 foot tall (and 47kg pre 1st pregnancy) and my FIRST baby was 9lb 1oz (4.1kg) - which I delivered naturally although with an epesiotomy ... plus he was 56cm long at birth ...

Hi, my babies weights were pretty much the same,1st born son =3.4kg, 2nd born son =3.5kg, 3rd born daughter =3.1kg , 4th born son =3.6kg and our fifth baby son born in dec`07,was my first c-section and only weighed 3.7kg, I was told that ultrasounds arn`t that accurate later in pregnancy, and because iam over weight the doctors told me my baby was going to be at least 10 pounds and because my fourth son`s shoulders got displaced,they recommended a c-section,this was the pits,so painful and long recovery,give me natural child birth any day. Anyway if a ultrasound can`t give us precise measurements what would a doctor know! Also that stupid measurement Fundal height mine was always out 3-4 weeks and none of my babies were ever 10 pounds. Cheers!:)

Hi Butterflyz
This is an extract form the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine

'No formula for estimating fetal weight has achieved an accuracy which enables us to recommend its
use.'

So even they say that you cannot accurately measure baby’s weight by ultrasound.

They told me Imran was going to be a baby elephant - he was big but he wasn't an elephant :)

:

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Geez, im just wondering how big is toooo big????lol Dose this seem fair??..she said if it was my first child, then more options may be open for me, so that no damage like tearing and such. But im thinking, why cant i get a c-section?..i know its going to be torturous!.

---

WTF???? More options? if this was the first bub then they would be taking away any options you have for future births. And thats not to mention the 'damage' done to your uterus from surgical birth.

Think of it this way - how would you feel if they talked you into a surgical birth because of your ginormous baby and the baby only turned out to be an average size? I know I would be FURIOUS!!!! Honestly, you are being given a bum steer with this and I would tell them that you are fully capable of birthing a large baby considering you have done it before. My last baby was 59cm long with a 37cm head circ at birth-if I had of had a dating scan late in pg, I shudder to think of how big their 'estimation' would have put him at (and yes, he was over 10lb too).

There should be a law against sizing scans.

Hi - i agree with most of the posts in here so nothing new to add there BUT

Instead of worrying about size (3rd bubba, you will be fine) be thankful and very happy that your placenta has obviously been healthy and doing its job in growing a beautiful baby.. Welldone. That is what I told myself after my son (first) was born at 4.15kg :lol::lol:

As someone who had to have an Unnecesarean due to "distress" from my baby being "too big" and then went on to birth a baby 10 oz bigger (9lb 11oz) with no tearing or any problems related to size at all. Size means NOTHING. As my ob said to me a woman can struggle with a 5lber when another slips out a 10lber with ease. It depends on how educated you are (with regards to active birth, positioning etc) as to how well your birth goes. It doesn't have to be torturous at all. Put it this way if you had weak muscles in your ankle would you chop your foot off? Or would you do exercises to strengthen it up?

i was told at the ultrasound that my baby looked to be about 7 pnds 7oz.
he came out vaginally and was 10 pnds 3 oz.....
you'll be fine :) you've done it all before, like the others have said

Honestly hun - it doesn't matter if they're 5lbs or 10lbs - when they come out they all hurt.

I'm not trying to be cute, there is no difference in terms of pain birthing a larger baby than a smaller one.

As far as the ultrasound estimation of weight...pfft it's more likely to be wrong than right.

And even if it IS right - you have previously birthed a baby only one pound less than that. Your body can do this, give it that chance. A caesarean is no picnic, no matter what they tell you about how "good" and "easy" they are these days. They hurt. You can't roll over in bed or get up without help for a good week. You can't pick up your older children for much longer. You will have a scar on your belly for the rest of your days. Caesarean surgery IS major. Wonderful things for women who need them...but on the face of it you don't. Don't put yourself through all that on a "maybe".

Thanks for the massive replies ladies and mids!lol

Seems that everyone is head strong on their beliefs. I guess bottom line is Yes im a big fat CHICKEN!lol..:pray:

I guess tts other factors as well that i should add in. I didnt have an easy birth last pregnancy with my 9 pounder, and the male midwife and woman were not very supportive of my distress. (Hence me screaming at the top of my lungs, until i lost my voice!), and them telling me to shoosh up!!!!!!!!WTF. As if being in a vunerable position, having your crutch exposed to strangers, and not being able to do a damb thing about it, is bad enough. And then to be told to settle down!. And not to mention i didnt have any pain killers, but gas. But that did eff all.

And no with this pregnancy, it has plagued my mind and caused alot of extra anxiety as to what sort of midwife will i be getting this time, because there is no way in hell that i will be keeping my mouth shut trying to push out a 10 pounder!, even if i tried to! And no i wont go for the pain killers just yet. Im going public not private, so my choice is who ever you get is what you get on the day.

I dont have family support, since their all deceased, or live over seas, and that comes to hubby as well. Hubby wont be in the room with me, as he cant stand blood!lol

And the friends i have are not the ideal people i want in the delievery room either.

Ive seriously thought to myself, that i will be better off giving birth at home, away from everyone. Thanks to the midwifes/student midwifes attitude towards me in my last pregnancy.

So i guess, my reasoning, or leaning towards a c-section is because its a more controlled thing, a scheduled thing. And i know it hurts like hell, but doesnt having your b-hole ripped to your v-hole any difference, in terms of the length it takes to heal.

I know its a cop out guys, to just want a c-section like hollywood style, but im really sheeting myself about this. I might add that my first pregnancy was good, and i wasnt in as much pain, thanks to giving birth to a 7 pounder. So i cant say, that both births were the same.

Anyway thats how i feel:doh:.

Mel

Mel - have you thought of having a doula with you for support, especially if hubby won't be in the room with you (big chicken - men, think it is all about them LOL)??? That way you could have constant support, reminders about positioning for pain and options - it is important to be looked after psychogically as well as physically!!

Just an option to consider. My hubby whilst very supportive is too practical for my liking during labour and birth, all my family is interstate & mum deceased too - so we are having a doula for this bubba - finally talked him into it ;)

I agree with Sami's doula suggestion... that way you would have some support there, and have someone to speak on your behalf and to help you to not get any cr@p from anyone.
Wishing you all the best.

Hi SamiH,

Oh yes, ive thought of the doula, even asked for one through this website, but no luck.:(

I guess ill leave it to the gods!lol and hope for a friendly, supportive midwife, who can block his/her ears out while im in the process of doing my thing!lol:cryinglaugh:

Ive even got a handy pack of ear plugs that im seriously thinking of providing the hosp staff!lol:cryinglaugh:

Mel

Hi Mel... you sound scared. And by the sound of it you have every reason to be scared! If I may give you a piece of advice? Your difficult labour you had with your last baby may not have been due to size, but due to your anxiousness and lack of support. Your baby may have also been in a difficult position. There is so much evidence to suggest a stressed, scared and anxious labouring woman can hinder the process of labour.

Just remember that babies are very pliable and flexible and so is your pelvis... both of which are suited to labour and birth.

Make sure you have a well thought out birth plan and arm yourself with support :)

Please don't let your caregivers scare you even more with talk of a big baby.

I wish you all the best and please don't hesitate to vent or ask for more advice in here.

Tanya

ETA: where are you located, Mel? Maybe we could go on the Doula hunt for you :)

Thank you very very much for your help Tanya!

Your an angel!;)

Im definately going to look into it. Ive already PM you, with the same comment.

The info your provided, is like a weight lifted off my shoulders!!!!

Yes looking back at things, your right, i guess with added stress, labour does take longer, even though you want to rush it and get out of it as soon as possible!, at least for me at the time it was the case. At that time i felt they were impatient with me, and i was giving them a 'headache' with my winge. I even remembering apologising to them for all my winging!, after when the baby was delievered!! Now i look back and think why should have i apologised, they should know that some woman can only handle so much!!!. So the doula would be great. ALthough i would only need a doula just for the labour and birthing period, and not so much as to adjusting when i get home.

Yes i can see it now, my doula being a bouncer/body guard for me. Ill direct her to punch a few unsympathetic midwifes out!lol...kidding.

Mel

Hi Mel, I second what everyone else has said about getting a doula - worth their weight in gold if you ask me. The other thing that you could do to avoid an unfriendly setting is to stay at home as long as possible before going to hospital. Also I would write a birth plan clearly stating to the staff that you vocalise as opposed to internalise your birth pains and that it would be unproductive for them to tell you to 'shoosh up'.

When you book your doula, you discuss with her what sort of things you need the most and go from there, but it is very handy to know that they will do post natal JIC you decide you do need it.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop with what is going on OK?

hi there...
i think it depends on who's done the scan.
I just had my first baby by emergency c-section from a failed induction due to size of baby. I had a scan at 32 weeks and 36 weeks to check on size. At 32 weeks my baby was estimated to be 2.5 kgs at 36 weeks- 3.5kgs.
At 38 weeks he was born at 4180- 9lb 3 1/2. so estimates seemed to be largely accurate for me....
mind you, i still dont think i shouldve been induced- but i'm healthy and so is my baby, which is all i can ask for.