Baby boy sizing and percentiles/genetics question

[Mrs. Charming]

Hiya! I have a question about baby boys' clothing. I'm due in September (c/s late Aug) and I'm having a little boy. At my 20-week u/s, they said he's in the 80th percentile. Does this stay consistent? Am I going to have a huge baby?

DD was and still is 50th percentile, so I'm clueless when it comes to boys. She was teeny when she was born, and was in preemie sizes for about 2 weeks! She seemed like she was in NB forever. I was shopping with my aunt yesterday and she went on about how my cousins (her sons) were SO big. But, they're tall men now, and I'm 99.8% positive it's from their dad's side of the family. DH's family is *short*-- he's 5'6'' and taller than some of the men in his family, I think the tallest is 5'8"!

Should I return the cute lil NB jammies I got for him? Should I just buy 3-6 instead? 0-3?

I just don't know what to expect. I don't know any other moms with little boys and short husbands!

 

[krcit]

I don't think you can really know how big the baby will be by your 20 week u/s. They told me that my ds was going to be around 7.5 lbs and the next week I delivered a 9 lb 8oz baby That being said, I never was one for newborn clothes. All of my kids were over 8 lbs so they would have gotten about a weeks wear out of them, lol! Good luck with your pregnancy!!

 

[Zeebs]

They can't tell for sure. They told me my first was going to be a big baby, he was 8 lbs, my second they said he was bigger than average and he was at 9 lb 8.5

Most of my friends were told one thing and their babies were completely the opposite.

My suggestion "Don't buy too much in new born size and don't put too much stock in their predictions."

Currently waiting on 3rd baby, hoping because she is a girl she will be smaller but haven't splashed out on any small stuff easier to fit them in larger clothing than squeezing them in small stuff.

Good luck.

Kirsten

 

[MyMagicKingdom]

DS was born 5 1/2 weeks early and weighed 6 1bs 8 oz (dr. said if I'd gone full term he'd probably have been over 10 lbs!) and he wore his nb clothes for about a week because he grew so quickly. Now he's in the 95 percentile for height and weight, he's 37 inches and 30 lbs at 21 months but I'm 6' and DH is 6'3" so we were more or less expecting that. But things can certainly change quickly from now until the baby is born. If you can't find the NB clothes you bought in the next size up and love them way too much to return for something different maybe you can keep them and hope to get one wear out of them. If you can though, I'd probably go the next size up just in case. Also, congratulations!!!

 

[Legendofthehawk]

This doesn't mean anything. US can be off by 2 pounds in either direction, much more so late in the game. As well during the last weeks of your last trimester they aren't packing on pound after pound.

Our 39 week US with our DS said he'd be over 9 pounds.. He was 8 pounds 2 oz, 21 inches.

our DD was 41 weeks 5 days. They said she was measuring 38 weeks. She came out 8 pounds 3 oz. 20 inches.


Totally different kids. DS unfortunately was mostly formula (and likely over fed) and was a small moose. So he didn't really stay in things for long.
DD however was excursively BF, and she stayed in things much much longer.

So, if you are worried. Keep your receipts just incase, but unless you have uncontrolled sugar issues, I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[mjkacmom]

First of all, u/s's can be very inaccurate. All of my kids were in the 90th percentile when I was pregnant, and my singletons all 8+ pounds. Only ds12 is in the 90th. Dd13 is in the 50th %, and dd9 (almost 9 pounds at birth, 21 1/2", 2 weeks early) is in the 20th % (and even at birth fit into newborn clothing for a couple of weeks). Keep the clothes!

 

[Bephus]

Like many PP have said, US are notoriously innaccurate. I would not worry too much about what he measured at 20 weeks, that has pretty much nothing to do with what he will come out as. Plus since you are having a cs, he will not be a full 40-week baby so he will not be as big as he potentially would be.
That being said, even if he is born fairly big he will still fit into nb for a little bit (at least first two weeks as he regains his birthweight) and there us no way a newborn will fit in 3-6 month clothes, they will swamp him! I would limit the nb to a few items that you particularly love (like his going home outfit) and then fill out the rest with 3 month stuff. Boys are so much easier with that stuff. DS pretty much just wore indies for the first 6-9 months of his life with a few pairs of knit pants when it cooled (June baby). DD had so many cute dresses and such that it was crazy. A newborn in all that fashion. Oh well.
GL and have fun with your new LO.

 

[cogero]

Don't buy much before he gets here. My dd weighed in a 9lbs 14oz so I figured ds would be the same.

Nope DS was 8lbs 4 oz when he was born but due to complications he was only 7lb when we bought him home and stayed in NB and 3 months for almost 5 months.

 

[tzolkin]

No, they do not necessarily follow along with their size at birth (or in utero).

My biggest baby dropped down to the 20th percentile within the first few months and is a petite little girl.

My other two were always in the 90th + percentile. DS is 2 years 2 months younger than my middle DD and they have been about the same size since he was 18mos old.

I had to buy all new girls clothes for my second once her first winter came. She was wearing 6 month clothes while my older DD was wearing 2T when she turned a year old.


My DH is not tall. I'm 5'5" and he's maybe 2 inches taller than I am. He was also a super skinny kid. Somehow two of our kids seem to take after my father and brother (6'5") and are tall and heavy (within normal BMI) for their age.


edited: I noticed you were talking about NB and not 0-3 month clothes. I have never used anything in the NB size for any of my kids. 0-3 month was that smallest size I ever used and they all fit into them when they were born. No one in my family has ever used any of the smaller sizes (except one cousin who had her baby at 29 weeks), but perhaps we just all have large babies? I thought mine were average sized (all around 8lbs).

 

[kellyg403]

Mom of a ds with genetically short family...unfortunately on both sides. I am the tallest girl in my family and I am 5'1 on a good day!

He was 7lbs exactly at birth, but was thought to be in the 8lb range. He was 21 1/3 inches long....really skinny and had the longest legs! Those legs kept him out of the NB clothes really. He filled the 0-3 up in length but sometimes I felt like I could fit two of him in there width wise. At 13 months, my skinny guy weighed in at 28 lbs...he was a serious chubber.

Today he will be 16 in 3 weeks. He stands 5 foot 5 and probably weighs in around 110 lbs. We have reverted back to skinny but I think he is in a growth spurt and may be a little taller than his dad...who claims to be 5'9 but again...on a good day!

Just can never tell! My biggest baby was my dd22. 8lbs 8 oz and 22 inches. Somehow, someway she got the gene none of us ever did..she stands 5'8 and probably weighs in at 125 lbs. She is absolutely beautiful and I think a throwback from some generation way back when!


Kelly

 

[msmama]

Like everyone else said, especially at 20 weeks it's just too hard to tell.

I thought I was going to have a huge baby (ended up being 8 lbs). I think I had a total of 3 newborn outfits. The rest were 0-3 or 3-6.

That said, my DS followed my DH's growth curve EXACTLY up until 6 mos (which was the last record my MIL kept). So it's not that important how tall you/your DH ended up, but it's more important how you started off (percentage wise).

 

[nmmom95]

You can never tell. My DH and I are both short. I'm 5'2" and DH is 5'8". Our DS12 is already taller than me. He was 8 pounds when he was born and grew like a weed! My DS6 is small for his age. He was big for a preemie (5lbs.8 oz. at 34 weeks), but he has never gotten above the 25th percentile. He is 45.5" at almost 7. His brother is like 5'4".

 

[ktlm]

There is just no way to tell ahead of time what size he will be wearing or for how long. The measurement they gave you means nothing. Plus, you can't even be sure when he is coming. Mine was estimated to be a big baby, but she decided to come exactly 3 weeks early so she was 6 pds 7 oz. She was tiny as she dropped to under 6 pounds before she started gaining. The 0-3 clothes looked huge on her and we had no NB at all. Everyone told me before she was born that she wouldn't be in 0-3 clothes for long and they bought us a ton of bigger clothes as gifts and very few 0-3. DD stayed in the 0-3 clothes for close to the full 3 months and we had to get more clothes as we didn't have enough in that size. Then she went from the 20% percentile to the 90% percentile in weight in the scope of a month. We look at pictures of her from the beginning and the end of that month and it is amazing! I can't remember whether it was 3-6 or 6-9, but we had gotten stacks of that size clothes as gifts, in she was in the size for 2 weeks and that was it. You just never know!

 

[CrAzY4DL]

Both of my girls were 8 lb 5 oz (one was 10 days overdue, one was 3 weeks early so I don't get that!!!) and both wore preemie sizes for at least the first 4 weeks. One was 19" long, the other 20". So, it's really hit or miss. I am 15 weeks now with my 3rd monkey and bought 5 boy preemie onesies and the rest will just be NB. Still have to buy some girl preemie onesies, but BRU didn't have any when I bought these.
Best of luck to you!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Oh gosh... your answers really run the gamut! LOL. Thank you for all your help. I guess I'm going to hang onto the NB's, but also make sure the receipts stay intact! I guess you really just don't know until the little one comes out. Haha, silly me, I thought there was a cut-and-dried answer. I guess I just thought boys were more consistent than girls, I guess not!

Thanks again I knew I could count on the DIS Moms for the answers.

 

[deva]

I agree with all the other PP's. You just can't tell from an ultrasound. OB sent me for an ultrasound because I measured small (from the outside). Ultrasound "revealed" a larger than normal baby and they predicted I would deliver a 10 pounder. DS was exactly 8 lbs and 22 inches. So you just never know till they're out!

With regards to clothing, even with a bigger baby you will still need some NB/0-3 clothes. He might outgrow them faster, but you'll be happy to have clothes that fit properly. At 22 inches, DS was fairly long, but still swam in some of his sleepers.

 

[katied]

The reality is that you never really know. DH is 5 7, and I'm 5 5. When DS was born, he was right around the 40th percentile. By the time he was 4 mo, he was in the 20th percent, and now he hovers around the 10th percentile generally (and has since he was about 12 months old). The dr's don't worry - developmentally, everything is good. His BMI is proportional, and with DH and I not being big people, DS may just not grow up to be a big person either.

For DSister, her first was like my DS (but is a girl). However, their second is BIG. He's 10 months old and weighs only 3 lbs less than my 3 yr old. Now for them, DSister is my size, and DBIL is 6' 4". But, it seems like they have 1 kid on the low end of the #'s and another kid on the top end of the #'s.

The truth is, buying baby clothes ahead on sale is always a risk. You never know how they're going to grow. We ended up with some things bought for DS that he just never got to wear because by the time they fit, the clothes were the wrong season. It does get easier once they are in the 2T, 3T clothes, as they fit for a lot longer so odds are, at some time they will be able to wear the clothes.

 

[indimom]

You really can't tell. All during my pregnancy with DD12, the doctor kept telling me how BIG she was going to be. She was only 6lbs 12oz, and 19" at birth. They didn't give me percentiles, but I was expecting a monster and got a baby who went home in a sleeper that floated on her like a potato sack. I couldn't even get her "little" socks to stay on her feet, which is why she wore a sleeper home instead of the pretty dress I wanted to put her in.
I wish I could post and show my pix of her in her carseat - it's hilarious, she only took up about 1/5 of the entire space available.
We borrowed her boy cousins' preemie outfits and she wore those the first couple weeks until her clothes started to fit.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

They can't tell for sure. They told me my first was going to be a big baby, he was 8 lbs, my second they said he was bigger than average and he was at 9 lb 8.5

Most of my friends were told one thing and their babies were completely the opposite.

My suggestion "Don't buy too much in new born size and don't put too much stock in their predictions."

Currently waiting on 3rd baby, hoping because she is a girl she will be smaller but haven't splashed out on any small stuff easier to fit them in larger clothing than squeezing them in small stuff.

Good luck.

Kirsten

All of my babies have been big but my girls were all bigger than the boys.

The sonograms are just an estimate. They have no idea how big the baby will actually be until they arrive.

 

[Kit'smommy]

My son was in the 50% percentile at my 20 week ultrasound, but the tech that did that said it was pretty meaningless as a predictor of birth weight.

He was only 5.6 at birth and 5 even when we left the hospital, so I had a low birthweight baby. He spent a few weeks in premie clothing and a few months in newborn. Since then, he has settled in at the 25 percentile for height and weight and at 6 years and 3 months wears mostly 4Ts. I am 5'4" and 125 and DH is 5'8" and 150, so I think he might end up on the smaller side.

I did have a few ultrasounds in the last month when I started having problems and on the last one I had the day before he was born, the tech estimated he was 5.8, so she was very close.

You will probably need some of the newborn sized clothing at the beginning. It is hard to dress a baby in clothing that is far too large for them. Just don't overbuy and get larger sizes as needed.

Best wishes to you.