9 lb baby and small frame

[tricia]

The weight is really just a guesstimate. My doctor swore up and down that my 2nd child would be well over 10 pounds and that I would never be able to get her out. They had me so scared that i scheduled a repeat c section though I had planned on a V-bac. My daughter was 8lbs 5 oz, no where near over 10. I was pretty aggravated.

Think carefully before a c section. For most people it is WAY harder to recover from than a traditional birth. There is a lot more pain, longer recovery time, more hospital time and you bleed for longer.

Whatever happens I hope it all goes smoothly and safely and you can soon hold your beautiful baby in your arms!

Just relax. I agree with most of the PP;s in that it is just an estimate and you will be amazed at what most bodies can handle. I too, have a small frame 5'2'' and about 105 lbs before getting PG. My boys were 8.5 lbs and 9.5 lbs (and he was a week early!!) No problem at all with natural births.

OTOH, my SIL, with the hips that touch both sides of a door frame, had to have C-sections cause she did not open up properly.

Just relax, put your trust in your doctor to recommend the proper action and have a great birth.

 

[Ar1el]

Thanks all. I am more relaxed today. It is what it is and I am sure I will be fine.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I just wanted to chime in and say that c-sections aren't all awful. DS was born on Sept 1st, and he was 9lbs 12oz. I had no idea he was THAT big- I was ginormous but I figured it was because I was full term (DD was early.) He was born on a Wednesday, we were out at Target on Sunday. The 1st 2 days were rough but I kept up with the pain meds and was fine in a few days. I'm really glad I had a scheduled c-section instead of laboring forever and then being an emergency c/s.

 

[Ar1el]

I just wanted to chime in and say that c-sections aren't all awful. DS was born on Sept 1st, and he was 9lbs 12oz. I had no idea he was THAT big- I was ginormous but I figured it was because I was full term (DD was early.) He was born on a Wednesday, we were out at Target on Sunday. The 1st 2 days were rough but I kept up with the pain meds and was fine in a few days. I'm really glad I had a scheduled c-section instead of laboring forever and then being an emergency c/s.

I do hear ya on that one!!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Believe it or not, I can top that! My son was 11lbs, 6 oz!!! (Two weeks early!) Had him induced as he was so big that my body was treating him like an allergy and I was going crazy from the itching! Pushed for two hours before the c-section, had the c-section and the doctor said he was a "gorilla" and there was no way he was comin' out naturally! I recovered just fine - sore, but no biggie! Just was happy that everyone was healthy! BTW, my pediatrician actually gave him a perfect score on his APGAR b/c of his coloring - said he was the pinkest baby she had ever seen, and that most likely that was do to the c-section! So... it was healthiest for him and healthiest for me, and five years later we are doing great!! Good luck with everything! You'll be great!

Holy crap!! I thought Ben was a biggie!

 

[~Kristina~]

Thanks guys!! I will try to ignore what I heard today and go about the rest of my pregnancy the way I was from the begging.

Have you thought about hiring a doula?

 

[pfeifferdcat]

Just wanted to chime in & say that all c-sections are not horrible. I had 2 (1 emergency & 1 planned). Both my kids were close to 9 lbs. After the 1st emergency c-section I went to my friends wedding reception 2 weeks later. I took the pain meds & used the band to hold everything in tight.
The most important thing with delivery is to have a plan, but be flexible enough to change it as needed. Also have a Dr that you trust.
BTW, with my 1st, the Dr used to tell me, just by feeling my belly, that I had a big baby. I thought she was nuts, but obviously she was right. I don't think the U/S people ever gave a weight estimate.

 

[taximomfor4]

My friend was taken out of work for many, many extra dr appts at the end of her pregnancy, AND had her baby delivered by scheduled C-Sec early due to "extreme size of fetus." They were estimating at least 12 lbs!!!! Well, lo and behold, she went in, had her C-Sec (her 1st baby. They weren't even trying labor with a baby that big), and they delivered a 7 lb 4 oz baby. OOPS.

Anyway, it has NOTHING to do with your size. It's your pelvis. The shape of your pelvis, specifically. The extra weight isn't in the baby's head, it's the baby's body. Also, they say that baby size tends to mostly follow nature, and what the mom can handle rather than the dad's size. For instance, if a teeny 85 lbs mother has a baby, and the father is a 260 lb guy who is 6 ft 10 inches tall, the baby tends to follow genetics LATER, not before birth. So it might be a 6 lb full-term baby, but by age 2 is 95th percentile.

The very best advice I can give: let your body dibble and dabble with labor, and go on its own. Your body knows what it needs to do to prepare, and it's NOT unusual to have contractions take a week to reach <5 min. apart. I am of the unpopular opinion that waiting for labor (unless it becomes actually dangerous to wait) yields the best chance for trouble-free delivery. (Lived over in Europe for a time, where the C-sec rate was waaaaaay lower than here. They made fun of American women getting c-sec for going past due without danger signs, and for "big" babies. Oh, and for breech births, too.)

 

[bethy]

Thanks again all for the replies. Big babies and small frames just do not seem to go hand-n-hand but I do hear what all of you are saying.

The fact that you have already successfully birthed 2 babies ******lly is a very good sign. I am 5'3" and 110 pounds and had babies that were 8' 15" and 9' 13". My SIL is the same size as me and her second ******l delivery was a 10' 12" baby! You just never know. My second delivery with the bigger baby was WAY easier than the first.

For me, I would at least try to deliver ******lly. And if your cervix is very soft and dialated already then maybe push for an induction attempt. That way if it doesn't work and you end up with a C then it is what it is, but at least then you would have a chance at a ******l delivery. I am biased - I'd do nearly anything to avoid a C at this point.

Plus my doc won't even do those sizing u/s b/c they are not accurate enough and he would never do an elective C due to a baby's predicted size anyway. He'd want his patient to at least attempt a ******l delivery.

GL! You'll do GREAT!

 

[LuLuO]

I am 38 weeks pregnant and I had my doc appointment today. He said I was measuring small and sent me to the hospital to get an ultra sound to measure the baby and the fluid around the baby. I was told that this was not a small baby but it was a large baby...........9lb. I have to other children, DD was 6 lbs 10 oz and DS was 7 lbs 14oz. 9 lbs sounds so big and I am not a tad bit nervous. I have a very small frame. I am about 5"4 with no hips really. I am scared that this baby will get stuck on my pelvic bone or something. I am now considering a c-section. I have had 2 very easy deliveries with my other 2 but I am scared that this one will not go so well bc of the size of the baby. I have not spoken to my doctor yet, I plan to call tomorrow.
What would you all do? I am sure 9lbs is not uncommon but my frame is just so small. Before I got pregnant I wore a size 0 or 1. I have no pregnancy pants bc even the xs are to big on me. I just wear my sweatpants and yoga pants I wore before I got pregnant. Just do not know what to do. I really did not expect to hear that this baby is 9lbs.

Measurements can be off. Both of my kids were supposed to be over 9 pounds and close to 10 according to my OB. DD was 7.13 and DS was 7.6. So I don't have much confidence in their predictions.

I had a non medicated birth with DD and a c-section with DS because he was breech. I tried everything to turn the little bugger but he wouldn't budge. The recovery from the c-section was much more difficult and I still have pain and numbness at the incision site and DS is now 19 months old. The OB said that I may always feel that pain and numbness due to the nerves being cut.

I would never voluntairly do a c-section unless it was absolutely medically necessary, as was the case with my son. If there are no other medical issues then if I were you I would try for a v-birth. You can always have a c-section if issues arise.

 

[halikatak]

They can't tell you for certain how much your baby weighs yet. And, for delivery it really depends on the size of the head, right?

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

They told me at 37 weeks my son was 8 lbs and I went 2 weeks beyond that. I did have a C section but it was scheduled from the beginning. But, he ended up weighing 7 lb 14 oz, whereas they were estimating him to weigh closer to 10 when I had him.

So they don't always measure correctly!!!

 

[Ar1el]

How would one know if my pelvic area can accommodate the babies head and stuff? I was told when I had my son that he had a big head but I didn't really think so.

 

[dunbarfamily]

A couple of points...they might have already been made, but I haven't read through everything here....

The difference between a 7 lb baby and a 9/10/11 lb baby is fat. Fat squishes really easy. Most full-term newborns above 7 pounds have about the same head circumference. (By posting this, I'm sure there will be a bunch of people who will share their stories of how they had different head sizes, etc. But rest assured, "most" babies have about the same, give or take a cm ) My midwife has caught "big" babies (think 9-12 pounders) of tiny women. In fact, my great grandma, we called her "little grandma" as she stood 4'10" and weighed about 110 pounds wet, gave birth to 12 children on the farm, the smallest being 10 pounds, with no problems at all.

Another thing....even though ultrasounds are a great tool, they can be wrong. I can site so many times where someone was told they'd have a certain size baby days before their duedates, only to give birth to a baby that was 2-3 pounds different than they were told.

Bottom line-Trust your body. Your body knows how to give birth!!

Happy Birthday to your little one in a few weeks!!

Take care mama.

 

[~Kristina~]

A couple of points...they might have already been made, but I haven't read through everything here....

The difference between a 7 lb baby and a 9/10/11 lb baby is fat. Fat squishes really easy. Most full-term newborns above 7 pounds have about the same head circumference. (By posting this, I'm sure there will be a bunch of people who will share their stories of how they had different head sizes, etc. But rest assured, "most" babies have about the same, give or take a cm ) My midwife has caught "big" babies (think 9-12 pounders) of tiny women. In fact, my great grandma, we called her "little grandma" as she stood 4'10" and weighed about 110 pounds wet, gave birth to 12 children on the farm, the smallest being 10 pounds, with no problems at all.

Another thing....even though ultrasounds are a great tool, they can be wrong. I can site so many times where someone was told they'd have a certain size baby days before their duedates, only to give birth to a baby that was 2-3 pounds different than they were told.

Bottom line-Trust your body. Your body knows how to give birth!!

Happy Birthday to your little one in a few weeks!!

Take care mama.

I like to say trust your body more than your ob. But that's another issue for a different day.

And yes, I'm a homebirther and student midwife, so these threads attract me like a moth to flame. Lots of section threads lately.

To the OP, YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[Ar1el]

Thanks for all the support.....much appreciated.

 

[nexttripdisney]

Well, I personally know of very petite women who easily birthed large babies and I know large women with wide hips that had difficult deliveries of small babies.

I have found that many women have similar deliveries to their mothers and sisters. Do you have a close relative that gave birth to a large baby? Find out what their experience was.

Can you go into the delivery and just see how it goes? Will your doctor prep you for a c-section if the delivery is taking too long or is too difficult? Get those facts from him/her up front.

 

[Ar1el]

Well, I personally know of very petite women who easily birthed large babies and I know large women with wide hips that had difficult deliveries of small babies.

I have found that many women have similar deliveries to their mothers and sisters. Do you have a close relative that gave birth to a large baby? Find out what their experience was.

Can you go into the delivery and just see how it goes? Will your doctor prep you for a c-section if the delivery is taking too long or is too difficult? Get those facts from him/her up front.

My mom was over 9 pounds and my grandmother is on the smaller side I guess but she was knocked out so did not feel a thing. I was in 8 pounds some ounces but my mom is also 5 feet 9 inches and I am not built like her at all.
I go back to the doctors on Tues so I will get those answers.
Thanks!