My Baby is Gigantic!

antsmarching41 · January 2012

I went for my anatomy scan today. I'm 18 weeks. When the scan was over, the ultrasound technician said, "Wow! He is 11 oz!" Her reaction was that of a genuinely shocked person. She said he should be only about 7 or 8 oz. Otherwise, everything else was perfect though. Should I be worried that I'm going to birth a giant monster baby? Is this something that I'm doing? I have only gained 6 pounds so far! Anyone have any experience with something like this?

hhollis0828 · January 2012

Oh me! I had a u/s done at 16 weeks and they said that she should only be about 5-8oz and she was 10. I was like what!?! They said that it is fine that I would probably "grow" into size with her.. I guess like a growth spurt.

katmacwv · January 2012

No one told me DD was measuring big until later in my pregnancy (around 32 weeks or so), but she was born perfectly healthy at 8 lbs, 12 oz, 11 days early. That being said, the tech was really close the day she was born but was still 3 oz off. Some techs are way off, so I wouldn't worry about those 3-4 oz. at this point. If it were me, I would ask my OB about it in case he or she wants to keep an eye on your LO's growth.

seansgirl2006 · January 2012

Yay for a healthy baby! I would not worry about that in the least. I have always been told that those are guesses and they can't really tell how big they are until they are here. I have heard of so many people being told their baby would be huge only for them to be average. Even if the baby were on the bigger side right now, could just be a growth spurt. They are just comparing to other babies and the averages and not everyone grows the same. I have to remind myself of this too when they get out the growth charts at the pedi.

chouli77 · January 2012

There is a margin of error on those u/s weight/length measurements. Don't panic.

cchill01 · January 2012

chouli77:
There is a margin of error on those u/s weight/length measurements. Don't panic.

THIS!!! There is a 15-20% margin of error in either direction. And also babies grow at different speeds and times...in and out of the womb. Chances are your baby will be in a perfectly normal range.

sammyk12 · January 2012

I had the same thing happen to me! The tech said "she is probably close to 12oz already." I thought WHWHAAT?!!? All the update emails have been saying they are supposed to be closer to 7-8oz. I have a appointment next week with the OB and I'm going to talk to her about the variance on this. My husband was a 10lb baby, and with me being only 5ft tall, I'm a little bit petrified that I will have a huge child!

Daisy22 · January 2012

seansgirl2006:
Yay for a healthy baby! I would not worry about that in the least. I have always been told that those are guesses and they can't really tell how big they are until they are here. I have heard of so many people being told their baby would be huge only for them to be average. Even if the baby were on the bigger side right now, could just be a growth spurt. They are just comparing to other babies and the averages and not everyone grows the same. I have to remind myself of this too when they get out the growth charts at the pedi.

I have to always remember this too! Bailey is my 99%tiler while Bryce is my barely 30%tiler. I try not to worry about either but it's hard.

OP: try not to worry. At this point it really could just be a growth spurt and he'll slow down for a few weeks then have another one. I have mixed feelings about growth u/s. All the doctors told me not to worry about DS1 that he wouldn't be big even through he was measuring big and he ended up being 9lbs 12oz. Then with DS2 they kept saying that he was going to be big too and he was 7lbs 4oz. I would just rather not know! A lot of women have no problem birthing 9lbers. With DS1 he was only the 3rd biggest on my floor. There were 2 - 10lbers born while I was there both vaginally.

tsuredraider · January 2012

I learned in the ER at 18.5 weeks that I'm measuring 2 days ahead, but since I'm type 1 diabetic, they are hesitant to move the due date since it's really not uncommon for diabetic women to measure ahead. They said I'm actually on the right track because it's not unheard of for a diabetic woman at 20 weeks to be measuring almost a week ahead. They said 2 days is great and means that I'm doing everything right in regards to blood sugar levels and diet. They said don't worry at all. If I am measuring way ahead at my a/s on the 30th, we might discuss moving the due date. Don't worry about things like size. Sounds like you're LO is healthy!

antsmarching41 · January 2012

Thanks for your responses. I was freaking out over this! Now I feel much better.

SugarhillHnA · January 2012

I wouldn't worry. Once you're in the 2nd tri babies grow at different rates...yours may have just had an early growth spurt and will have a slow week coming up. Also, u/s are notorious for being "off" with measurements. It's just a formula and there's room for error. FWIW, this LO measured at 10oz at 18w5d. I have no concerns about having a big baby. My son was 9lb 4oz and DD was 8lb 6oz, so ya they are bigger than average, but not anything my body couldn't handle.

AndromedaEclipse · January 2012

We were measuring at 10 oz at 19 weeks even, and they didn't seem surprised at all. It'll all turn out okay.

patriciahomol · January 2012

I had an ultrasound when I was 17 weeks and he was already 10 and a half oz!!

bogus123 · January 2012

I never believe those "guesses". They told me the entire time that I was pregnant with Gus that he would probably be one of the smallest babies in the nursery....yeah, he was 9 lbs even!

mkflower3000 · January 2012

Our LO was in the 50th percentile, but the tech said that the real determining changes don't happen until the third tri. That's also when your habits have more of an impact on the baby in terms of weight... At least to the extent that you can help it (of course, they matter all along, but I guess the effects are strongest then).

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