Nervous about underweight baby

ooolalauren

So we had our anatomy ultrasound today (I'm 19wks) and found out we're having a girl! We're ecstatic, but the doctor told us that she's a little underweight for what they'd like to see at this point. She's about 9oz and she should be between 10-12oz. Our doctor said she could be just a small baby, but they're bringing us back in 4 wks from now for another ultrasound to get an update on whether or not we need to see a specialist to make sure everything's developing alright.

My family is very petite, so I'm hoping she's just a little thing, but good grief I'm terrified that something's wrong. I haven't been gaining weight either (although I had a nasty stomach virus yesterday, so they're attributing part of that to the purging). My doctor doesn't seem to be too concerned right now about it.

Anyone else experience this?

jencook25

Do people in your family typically have small babies?
Personally, I havent had this, but my sister has. She has 3 kids, all of which were small for size. What she had is pretty rare, so Im certainly not meaning to suggest that you also have it. But just wanting to let you know that after three very small for age babies (the first of which was born premmie), she has three healthy kids. Chances are your bub is just a 'healthy' small due to genetics/every pregnancy and bub being different, not a 'something is going wrong' small. But even if it is a 'something is going wrong' small, lots of mums and bubs have been through this and come out well in the end

CaraBoonie

It seems she's only an ounce underweight, so it's likely she's just small...as for you gaining weight, I haven't gained any yet either, and my mom said that although she gained earlier with my brother and sister, with me she didn't gain until much later. I wouldn't stress out yet, which I know is easier said than done

ooolalauren

Thanks ladies. I know I'm stressing over what ifs. Honestly, even if everything was perfectly normal and on schedule, I'd probably still find something to worry about. Prep for motherhood!

NenaB54

Strange because the bump app says at 19 weeks the baby would be about 8.5 ounces ??

mamaclownface

I went Monday for my A/S and was at 19w too. My Dr. Told me my baby was measuring large at 10 oz. I don't know your medical history or if there is a reason they want your baby bigger but from what my Dr. Told me it was slightly above average weight and nothing to be concerned about.

willashbaby

Sounds like your doc just wants to bill for another scan possibly. I'm sure you don't mind as it gives you another chance to see baby but that's certainly a possibility.

UptownPearl

At 18w3d my baby was 9 oz. the tech said he was in the 50% and exactly where he should be. I think your doctor is probably making you worry over nothing, babies grow at different rates

skfg

Hugs and I can appreciate your concern. My last pregnancy my MFM was always harping on how small DS was and he was smaller yet very healthy. The main concern is if there is a pattern of baby measuring smaller and smaller percentile wise as preg continues. I found concentrating on my diet and eating a lot of protein often helped.

SummerOH

Those scans are notorious for being off. My doctor doesn't estimate weight because of it.

Beverly0628

At 19w our baby was 9oz as well. I haven't gained very much weight at this point either. My doctor hasn't said a word to me about anything being abnormal for me at this point. I agree that maybe your doctor just wants to do another scan. It seems a little silly to me that they would even bring up possibly going to a specialist at this point.

ohbaby714

Kind of lurking from Feb 16... We ran into this same issue with my daughter. At 18 weeks for the anatomy scan she was only measuring 16 weeks. We had another growth scan in two weeks where she was then measuring three weeks behind. They diagnosed me with IUGR but I gave birth to a perfectly healthy 5lb baby at 37 weeks. Turns out she was normal small. Hoping for the best for you!

NillaWafers

Those estimations are notoriously off. When I gave birth to my second, we had an U/S right before deliver to confirm weight and size. We were expecting a 4 lb baby and got a 2 lb one. I had IUGR which was undiagnosed (due to pre-e). I wouldn't worry, especially this early in the game. 

jtk4life

I had my scan at 18w5d and the tech said he weighed 8 oz and she wasn't concerned.  Neither was the doctor when I saw her later the same day.  Plus reading that the bump says he should be about 8.5 oz at 19w, I didn't even think about him being small.  I agree with PPs - babies grow at different rates and 9 oz seems just fine at this point. 

ooolalauren

Thanks for the input ladies. It definitely makes me feel better seeing that this is probably normal and nothing to stress about. The more research I do, the more I see the vast range of babies' sizes at this stage. I am going to focus more on my diet over the next few weeks and try to get in a bit more protein.

bishoplmb

My DD measured small my entire pregnancy. The last 8 weeks I had to go in for ultrasounds every week to make sure she was growing because she was so behind. However my doc reassured me that she was ok and that I just make small babies (which isn't bad when it comes time to deliver). She ended up coming a week past her due date weighing 7lbs 5oz which was great and she was totally healthy. Some people just make smaller babies...this one is already measuring small as well. Try not to worry about the actual number of oz as long as they are growing. 

Cejiml

We had our a/s last week and DS was 9 oz and they said he was perfect. I'm 20 weeks Saturday. They can grow and change so much between now and themen's. Plus they always tell me not to worry about the weight at this point.