Is my baby going to be HUGE?

[happyhomemaker25]

Please, please tell me your were constantly hungry with your baby and they were not ginormous! I'm already picking out our outfits to be on the front page of The Enquirer with the world's largest baby ever born. I'm so hungry all the time. It's a boy by the way. I was no where near like this with my precious baby girl who was only 7 pounds when she was born. She loved salad and fruit... sigh, I miss that. This baby loves everything I can't have as a diabetic. LOL

My A1C is fine and at 24w I have only gained 8 pounds (well I go to the OB Thursday so that could change, but my scale has not), but I am overweight to begin with. On his u/s last Thursday he was only 1p 2oz, though we all know how accurate those are!

I just can't seem to ever feel full or not hungry. Because of my diabetes my OB is adamant about big baby c-sections so I have to be careful. He starts talking C-section at 9 pounds. He is the best OB otherwise, very encouraging and takes care of my diabetes better than my PCP sometimes. Plus his hospital is the ONLY one I'd want to deliver in where I live. I drive 45m one way to get there and to his office. That's how committed I am to this hospital! LOL

I am terrified of a c-section so of course the more I feel hungry the guiltier I feel.

Please just reassure me that boy babies make you hungrier and burn off more calories or something similar! :)

 

P.S. Most of this is tongue in cheek, but it is a worry I carry around in the back of my head.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I was like that with both DD#2 and DS.....both were 8lbs 2oz - hoping that holds true for you too!!

[KungFuPanda]

I carried both of my babies very small. Even when I went overdue I just had that whole basketball thief look going. Both were full term. One weighed 5 1/2 lbs and one weighed 9.

 

You really cannot tell from looking at the packaging, or measuring it with a tape measure, how big the baby will be. They both measured "about seven pounds."

[happypamama]

I think you'll be fine. Maybe you need to add more good fats to your diet? But I agree -- as long as you're not living on french fries and Mountain Dew, it'll probably be okay, especially since your numbers are good.

 

I am disinclined to pay attention to any estimates about baby weight, other than from the mother herself. Late ultrasounds can be off by two pounds in either direction; I've heard so many stories about mothers who were sectioned for supposedly 9-pound babies, only to find that the baby only weighed 7 pounds. My midwives always estimated my babies to be on the smaller side; after DD was 8 lbs. 11 oz., the MW for #2 said he felt "small to average." I thought he felt substantially bigger than DD, and I was right -- he was 9 lbs. 10 oz. (and easy to birth naturally). Estimates of size are only guesstimates; as long as you're eating mostly healthily, and your numbers are good, I would not worry about it.

[OrdinaryTime]

I am disinclined to pay attention to any estimates about baby weight, other than from the mother herself.

 

 

I agree. My OB always asks moms right before they give birth what they think their baby will weigh. He says the moms (except maybe first time moms) are almost always closer than the doctors or radiologists. I have always guessed right within 2 oz.

[Hypatia.]

I was constantly hungry and craving protein during this last pregnancy. The Caboose was born at home weighing a nice, chunky 10 lb 6 oz, but I have a history of having good-sized (10 lb) babies. ;) I was ~9.5 lbs at birth, so was my brother, DH and his brothers were all over 10 lbs so it wasn't surprising.

[AndyJoy]

DH was nearly 10 lbs, I was 8 lbs, 5 oz. so I was expecting a big baby. The estimate from my ultrasound was at least 9 lbs. DS was 7 lbs, 10 oz!

[Jerico]

With my last baby (boy) I was starving the whole second half of the pregnancy. I'd get up and have a snack in the middle of the night- never did that before. I gained a whopping 70 pounds! My baby was 8 pounds 7 ounces. My biggest was my middle child- he was 9 pounds 6 ounces (born at 41w1d). I gave birth to him vaginally and completely natural. I didn't know how big he was but I knew he was bigger than my first (8-7). My midwives never said anything about size with the first. I thought they'd be small since I was (4-9 full term, lol right!?!?). My midwife guessed between 9 and 9 1/2 pounds with the second. She was right on! And then with the third my doctor knew I'd had big babies so she wasn't concerned. Ironically, the third got stuck and broke his collar bone coming out. But I was on my back because I got an epidural that time (best decision ever). So hugs and good luck.

[Jerico]

Obviously my definition of ginormous is different than you. I don't consider my 8-7 babies to be ginormous. The 9-6 chunker? Absolutely :)

[happyhomemaker25]

Mmm... french fries. LOL No, I am not living on FF and Mt. Dew, thank God! I won't say I haven't had a Happy Meal or two during this pregnancy. Lots of whole grains though because this kid wants carbs. I have never had to so diligently count my carbs as I do every single day with him. I will eat a huge salad, some fruit, and an egg and he'll be like, "Mom, where's the bread??" Silly baby! :)

I don't trust u/s measurements either, I was just giving a little reference. My OB knows me a little better now than he did with my Lily and he seems to be trusting me more. He swore sweet Lily would be over 8 pounds and actually dropped something when they announced her weight. In his defense that baby was covered with fat rolls when she came out. LOL She really did look bigger than she was. At 6m she weighed 14 pounds and was so roly poly that the pediatrician laughed. She was in the 3rd percentile, but crawling and babbling and just so chubby that no one seemed to care.

I guess with having diabetes I just feel guilty when I think I'm over eating. I haven't gained a lot of weight. I look big though, but I think it's because he likes to sit in the very middle of my belly. They are having a hard time with my u/s because he likes to curl up right behind my belly button.

Thanks for reassuring me though. I appreciate that.

[Impish]

Well, my OB was having fits, worrying about Boo being huge. Several 3rd trimester u/s, blah blah blah. Induced a wk early.

 

He was 7 lbs.

[AK_Mom4]

With kid #4, I developed gestational diabetes early in pregnancy. I went on the carb-counting regime starting at 18 weeks. And, yeah.... I was hungry all the time. It was miserable. I was exercising and not gaining much weight, but oooooooo the cravings were bad. Eventually I ended up on insulin and that made the cravings even worse (though it worked miracles with my blood sugar!).

 

Peanut butter helped - probably because of the fat content along with the protein. Sugar-free popsicles also worked and it helped to drink tons of water (though I hated running to the bathroom all the time).

 

But it all worked, because DD was about 8 pounds when she was born and very healthy. She was a c-section due to being transverse, not from the diabetes and I found that the recovery was easier than with my 3rd kid since I was in better shape before delivery.

[twoxcell]

I think it would be impossible to know at this point. I gained the least weight with my biggest baby. She was 10lbs 7oz induced early. I think your Dr. Is loony if he starts talking c section at 9 lbs. I don't even consider that to be huge. A bit big maybe. ;)

[Karen in CO]

My sil had 3 boys that each weighed more than 10lbs. Her boys are BIG and delivered naturally. The woman is a superstar, but she didn't eat much more when pregnant than she normally does. She gained almost exactly 30 pounds with each. I gained almost exactly 50lbs with each of my kids who varied from 7 to almost 10 pounds. My OBs were also VERY spot-on accurate at estimating their size. I was always hungry which is probably why I gained 50 pounds. :) My sister had morning sickness for the whole nine months (or 7 months with the liitle one) she was pregnant with all three of her kids. She lost weight with each pregnancy and each baby weighed between 4 and 8 pounds.

[WistfulRidge]

Like the others have said... as long as you're not eating junk you are probably fine. Don't feel guilty. I say this, but if I'd probably be paranoid too...

 

I've always heard that with boys you tend to have that 'always hungry' feeling. It will be interesting to see if it holds true for me. With both DS1 and 2 I was hungry pretty much all the time. DS1 was 7lbs13 oz (induced at 37.5 weeks) and I gained about 35lbs with him. DS2 was 8lbs 14 oz (at 6 days past his due date) and I gained 30lbs while pg with him. Baby #3 (gender unknown) has been different. With the occasional, random, never the same day-to-day exception all food sounds pretty icky, even now at 38w 5 days. Gained 26lbs so far. Big babies run in my family (my dad was 10lbs 15oz and 23.5 inches long!! Whole new level of respect for my grandma, lol!) and DH's family (he was was 9.5lbs).

[I.Dup.]

I always crave carbs and pure sugar with my boys. None of them have been over 7 pounds.

[Susan in TN]

Well, my OB was having fits, worrying about Boo being huge. Several 3rd trimester u/s, blah blah blah. Induced a wk early.

 

He was 7 lbs.

 

 

:glare:

 

For my 5th baby, OB insisted that I be induced 2 weeks early due to GD, despite the fact that all the weekly ultrasounds indicated that she was not at all large, my glucose testing levels were never high regardless of what I ate - the only thing that seemed to raise it was the disgusting orange drink.

 

So long story short, after questioning the necessity of induction at my regular appointments my OB decided to strip my membranes at my 37 week exam (without getting my consent, of course.) Water broke that night. I was livid.

[I.Dup.]

My sil had 3 boys that each weighed more than 10lbs. Her boys are BIG and delivered naturally. The woman is a superstar, but she didn't eat much more when pregnant than she normally does. She gained almost exactly 30 pounds with each. I gained almost exactly 50lbs with each of my kids who varied from 7 to almost 10 pounds.

 

It's interesting, I do think a lot of it has to do with how the mother processes food to the baby. Some women just seem to have bigger babies. It takes a lot of work to get mine just to 7 pounds (and I gain an average of 35 pounds) and a friend of mine just gained 6 pounds during her last pregnancy (she's not overweight) and her baby was over 8 pounds. But it's also hard for me to get my babies to put on weight when breastfeeding.