What do you consider a "big baby"?

yelah250 · December 2014

my OB expressed mild concern and took note of the fact that my first two babies were "big". At 8'2"'and 8'10" respectively, I consider them on the bigger side of average but not alarmingly so. I'm 5'9 and had no issues so I think I'd be fine with a 9+ lb baby (which is probably what it will end up as). It was a passing convo but it's stuck with me and I'm going to talk with her again about it because I want to clarify her concerns and express that I don't want an induction due to baby size...

Anyways, what do you consider "really big"?

Mamamads · December 2014

Those seem very average to me maybe slightly above. What was her point exactly? She wants to Induce because of this?

Edited to add: in my unprofessional opinion I consider 10 big

SoonToBeGenao · December 2014

A friend of mine from church delivered at the same birth center I did. She had a completely unmedicated and unassisted birth with an 11lb4oz baby. She didn't even tear. Our bodies are created to birth our babies and it's amazing

yelah250 · December 2014

I'm not exactly sure what the OBs point was of making a note and expressing some concern - I'm going to bring it up at my next appointment. Not really worth calling or anything - it's pretty far off. It got my feelers up since the appointment, though.

c-elizabethf · December 2014

Maybe 9 lbs and above for me.

yelah250 · December 2014

Flashy- yes it's early- I brought it up due to my OBs comment at my appointment yesterday. I'm not "worried" my baby will be big - chances are I will have a big baby.

TeresaWE · December 2014

I think 10+ is big, FWIW, my brother was 11.2, Mom had him naturally and she's 5'6".

chelsea13elyse · December 2014

I'm approximately 5'1"! And my first was 8 pounds 11 oz and WEEKS early. If he had come at my EDD they said he would have been a 10 pound baby. Scares the hell out of me haha especially if they get bigger with each pregnancy. My husband was also over 11 pound when he was born so I guess I've got that working against me. DS was big so anything over 9 pounds is really big IMO

Bodoni · December 2014

9lbs + but I'm only 5'2...

Rose0825 · December 2014

About nine pounds is big and ten or better is really big. I was eight pounds and five ounce and my first two babies were six and change my third was seven and change and he looked so juicy lol

foreverMorgan · December 2014

I'll say anything over 10 lbs.

All of my babies were over 9 lbs. 2 of them were 10+ days overdue but the last one was 3 weeks early.
I'm more concerned about having a big baby than my OB is!

bim38106 · December 2014

My DD1 was 8.1 and I was told that is pretty average for our hospital/area.

My DD2 was 9.5 and I got a ton of comments from doctors, nurses, friends...about how big she was. My OB actually thought she was going to be smaller than my first and was shocked when she came out.

I do think she was a bigger baby and plan on bringing it up to my (new) OB to get insight on this one... That said, I know that ultrasound measurements can be off by a lb or so, so I don't know what I would do until I get to that point... But I can say that birthing my 9.5 lb baby was actually easier and a WAY easier recovery for me than with my 8.1 one.

Eta to add that I'm 5'6" and both my girls were induced at 40w 6d.

yelah250 · December 2014

My 8#10oz baby was 22 inches and looked skinnier than my 8#2oz 19 inch baby. She was so chubby and juicy.

sschwege · December 2014

I would say 10 or more is 'big' in my mind. DS was my second and at 8lb12oz I had him out in two pushes, so I don't consider that big. A little bigger than average, but not big.

wineandcake · December 2014

DS was 10lbs9oz born on his edd. He was a pretty huge boy and I had some complications delivering. I knew I would have a big baby and told the midwife, they assured me I wouldn't have a baby bigger than I could handle..... Not true at all. For this baby, I'm going to talk about monitoring his size better and inducing a week early if necessary. I don't want to put my body through delivering another beast. I would love to have a little 9lb8ox baby lol, that would be the perfect size.

And just to add, the beast was 16lbs at his 2m appt. he started out huge and stayed huge.

ELauren88 · December 2014

My DD was over 9 lbs. No medical professional said anything about her being "big". I'd consider anything over 11 big.
Still not a reason to induce or have a c section. Our bodies are made for this.

yelah250 · December 2014

10lb9oz is no joke. Especially for your first!

I'm guessing this Bebe will be in the 9-9.5 lb range but who knows...

Edited out some exclamation points. 3 for 3 sentences is simply too many.

Mamamads · December 2014

Flashy said:
10 lbs + but I think it's a little to soon for any of us to worry about this yet.

Definitely not too soon especially when brought up by her ob meaning she may be implying she's considering unnecessary interventions.

wineandcake · December 2014

ELauren88 said:
My DD was over 9 lbs. No medical professional said anything about her being "big". I'd consider anything over 11 big.
Still not a reason to induce or have a c section. Our bodies are made for this.

Bodies are made for it, but if complications can be avoided I'm all for it. I know my baby was big, everyone in the hospital made comments about how they haven't seen a baby that big before and couldn't believe I only had IV meds.

His heart rate dropped when pushing because he was stuck, his shoulder was stuck, and in the end (not related to his size) I retained the placenta. It was overall an awful experience and I would love to avoid that if possible. I wouldn't ask for a c-section, but I don't believe inducing at 39wks would be a big issue.

Mamamads · December 2014

yelah250 said:
I'm not exactly sure what the OBs point was of making a note and expressing some concern - I'm going to bring it up at my next appointment. Not really worth calling or anything - it's pretty far off. It got my feelers up since the appointment, though.

Ya definitely good to discuss what she meant by this, if you've had two healthy babies before that were on the "big" side that shouldn't effect anything with this baby if everything is going well etc. Hopefully she was just thinking out loud!
Hate the ob's that just assume you can't birth a big baby without assistance, everyone should be given the chance regardless how big the baby is.

Xandrakeller · December 2014

I'd say 9-10 would be 'big', mine were 8lbs and 8.2, and I'm 5'8" but people have made comments about me having big babies. Those seem like perfectly reasonable sized babies to me. I'd definitely make it clear to her that you're comfortable with your previous births and babies weights. Edited to add: I don't believe it's ever too soon to make your position known to your OB. Making sure you're on the same page now will prevent problems later.

soccsm13 · December 2014

My son was 9lb15.6oz, so close to 10. He was also 22.25", so he wasn't extremely chubby or anything. I would definitely say he was a big baby. Maybe anything over 9lbs. But I don't think it's a bad thing to have a big baby. He ate like a pro and slept 5+ hours at night from the start. He's still big now at 20 months: 35lbs4oz and 3 ft tall.

PrairieGirl45 · December 2014

10lbs or more IMO is a big baby.

JennyJensing · December 2014

I have to say, I think I'm the oddball here. Anytime I've heard of ladies having complications (i.e. shoulder having to be dislocated to deliver, horrible tears, etc.) the babies have been 8+lbs. So, to me, that's what I consider on the big side. Some of you ladies are my heroes for having 10+lb babies!!

My doc (with 30+ years of experience) induced me 3 days before my EDD due to large babies in my family. I'm thankful he did, because I was able to vaginally deliver a beautiful, healthy baby. I trust my doc. But I totally get the other side of the argument too, especially if you don't know your doc well!

yelah250 · December 2014

For me, it's the right time to know my OBs philosophy on big babies and a woman's ability to birth a bigger baby. I will switch practices if i think that my OB and I don't align with our belief system. She has been my gynecologist for 5 years and we weren't planning on having a 3rd, so this is new territory for me with her. I do think it will be okay, though. She's fairly hands off - that's a reason why I've loved her personality.

Mamamads · December 2014

Flashy said:

Mamamads said:

Flashy said:
10 lbs + but I think it's a little to soon for any of us to worry about this yet.
Definitely not too soon especially when brought up by her ob meaning she may be implying she's considering unnecessary interventions.
I'm mobile so I can't see if op has a ticker but I'm pretty sure all of us here in July are still in the 1st trimester. Which seems way too early to worry about having a big baby. Yes her ob made a comment, but so what. Just because you have had a "big" baby before does not guarantee that you will have another. Obviously if op has questions about what her doctor said then she should address them with her doctor, maybe they will monitor growth with this lo. With dd I was told 1 week prior to her delivery that she would be approximately 6.3 lbs and she was 8.2, so even ultrasounds aren't always accurate in late pregnancy. My point is 1st tri seems too early to worry about something that might not even be an issue down the road.

Eta words

The reason it matters now is because you want to know your doctors philosophies on birth. If she's the type of doctor who will want to do interventions ie: c section, inductions because the baby is "big" that would be something to know now so op could switch to an ob she is comfortable with who doesn't care about the size of the baby and will let her labor normally without interventions. Even though we have 7 or more months left now is the time to be thinking about what you want your labor and delivery to be like and find a doctor whose beliefs match up with yours.

UTMissy · December 2014

wineandcake said:

My DD was over 9 lbs. No medical professional said anything about her being "big". I'd consider anything over 11 big. Still not a reason to induce or have a c section. Our bodies are made for this.
Bodies are made for it, but if complications can be avoided I'm all for it. I know my baby was big, everyone in the hospital made comments about how they haven't seen a baby that big before and couldn't believe I only had IV meds. His heart rate dropped when pushing because he was stuck, his shoulder was stuck, and in the end (not related to his size) I retained the placenta. It was overall an awful experience and I would love to avoid that if possible. I wouldn't ask for a c-section, but I don't believe inducing at 39wks would be a big issue.

I'm right there with you. My youngest had shoulder dystocia and while he was considered "big" he was only 8 lbs at 3 weeks early. I've already been informed that this one can not be 8 lbs or larger to have a vaginal birth as this puts me in the high risk category. My dr is not willing to risk the babies health for me to have the delivery I desire should it come down to it.
Yes, women are made to birth babies and I'm not petite (5'7") but my body has shown that I am not capable of birthing large babies. I'm relieved that my dr is discussing this now as I have plenty of time to think about thisv and really digest what it means. I know how serious it could've been with my youngest and no mother wants to have that many drs in a room when she delivers! Praying this one stays small so we don't have to discuss option in the third trimester!

Prior to this, I considered myself to be a big baby as I was just shy of 10lbs. I have a really petite friend that had a 12 lbs baby perfectly fine too!

ELauren88 · December 2014

UTMissy said:

wineandcake said:

ELauren88 said:
My DD was over 9 lbs. No medical professional said anything about her being "big". I'd consider anything over 11 big.
Still not a reason to induce or have a c section. Our bodies are made for this.
Bodies are made for it, but if complications can be avoided I'm all for it. I know my baby was big, everyone in the hospital made comments about how they haven't seen a baby that big before and couldn't believe I only had IV meds.

His heart rate dropped when pushing because he was stuck, his shoulder was stuck, and in the end (not related to his size) I retained the placenta. It was overall an awful experience and I would love to avoid that if possible. I wouldn't ask for a c-section, but I don't believe inducing at 39wks would be a big issue.

I'm right there with you. My youngest had shoulder dystocia and while he was considered "big" he was only 8 lbs at 3 weeks early. I've already been informed that this one can not be 8 lbs or larger to have a vaginal birth as this puts me in the high risk category. My dr is not willing to risk the babies health for me to have the delivery I desire should it come down to it.
Yes, women are made to birth babies and I'm not petite (5'7") but my body has shown that I am not capable of birthing large babies. I'm relieved that my dr is discussing this now as I have plenty of time to think about thisv and really digest what it means. I know how serious it could've been with my youngest and no mother wants to have that many drs in a room when she delivers! Praying this one stays small so we don't have to discuss option in the third trimester!

Prior to this, I considered myself to be a big baby as I was just shy of 10lbs. I have a really petite friend that had a 12 lbs baby perfectly fine too!

Obviously, my comment bars any medically necessary interventions. Obviously, everyone will/should do what is best for baby.
But to go in as a ftm, or simply uneducated, wanting an induction or c section because you're told you're having a "big baby" is ridiculous.

jr0310 · December 2014

I was 10# 11 1/2 oz when I was born. My mother is 5 foot 2.

Mamamads · December 2014

Flashy said:

Mamamads said:

Flashy said:

Mamamads said:

Flashy said:
10 lbs + but I think it's a little to soon for any of us to worry about this yet.
Definitely not too soon especially when brought up by her ob meaning she may be implying she's considering unnecessary interventions.
I'm mobile so I can't see if op has a ticker but I'm pretty sure all of us here in July are still in the 1st trimester. Which seems way too early to worry about having a big baby. Yes her ob made a comment, but so what. Just because you have had a "big" baby before does not guarantee that you will have another. Obviously if op has questions about what her doctor said then she should address them with her doctor, maybe they will monitor growth with this lo. With dd I was told 1 week prior to her delivery that she would be approximately 6.3 lbs and she was 8.2, so even ultrasounds aren't always accurate in late pregnancy. My point is 1st tri seems too early to worry about something that might not even be an issue down the road.

Eta words

The reason it matters now is because you want to know your doctors philosophies on birth. If she's the type of doctor who will want to do interventions ie: c section, inductions because the baby is "big" that would be something to know now so op could switch to an ob she is comfortable with who doesn't care about the size of the baby and will let her labor normally without interventions. Even though we have 7 or more months left now is the time to be thinking about what you want your labor and delivery to be like and find a doctor whose beliefs match up with yours.

Yep, which she said she is doing she was just asking for our opinions on what we considered a big baby. Not sure you're understanding this.

getnauti · December 2014

I consider 10+lbs big. Try not to get worked up about big babies and the delivery process. My daughter was 10 1/2 lbs and she came out in 4 pushes with minimal tearing. Recently, my Dr. told me something interesting though. She said I had the "right shaped uterus" to birth a big baby. Apparently there are different shapes that a uterus can be and some of those shapes just will not cooperate with birthing a big baby. That really blew my mind.

yelah250 · December 2014

No, this is a different OB than for my previous children (6&8 years ago). She has been my gynecologist for about 5 years so I do know her but I haven't talked to her about birth til yesterday at my first appointment.

yelah250 · December 2014

I do care the most about a healthy baby but I do also strongly believe in my ability to vaginally birth my baby and want to be given the chance regardless of the projected size. I also believe that I deserve to have a provider who agrees w/ me on that.

yelah250 · December 2014

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think we are mostly on the same page- 9+ is big. 10+ gets a little scary but still possible. 11+ you get a medal. Lolol

JennyJensing · December 2014

Once again, @Mamamads is being argumentative. This seems to be a trend, so I'm assuming you get a thrill out of it and that's why you're still here.

yelah250 · December 2014

@ELauren88‌ - that's so scary! Glad your OB is on it. Definitely not a good experience.

UTMissy · December 2014

ELauren88 said:

Obviously, my comment bars any medically necessary interventions. Obviously, everyone will/should do what is best for baby. But to go in as a ftm, or simply uneducated, wanting an induction or c section because you're told you're having a "big baby" is ridiculous.

My comment was directed more at wineandcake (I clearly got lazy and didn't remove anything else irrelevant... sorry about that) but yes, I definitely agree that there is no reason to induce or go c-section because of a predicted big baby without a history to go off of. However, even at 8 lbs, my last was considered large for his gestational age and was required to have his blood sugar monitored for 24 hours. People acted like he was like a 15lb baby!

Mamamads · December 2014

Really @sassycassieb‌ ? I wasn't starting an argument in the slightest, I actually felt flashy was being argumentative for no reason and really felt she didn't understand the question or why it matters now to discuss this with her ob on baby size etc. Didn't realize I needed a 10 year bump badge to talk, seriously get over yourself.

Mamamads · December 2014

Flashy said:

Yep, which she said she is doing she was just asking for our opinions on what we considered a big baby. Not sure you're understanding this.

----another quote fail---

Really? That's mature. Just because I have a different opinion then you "I'm not understanding this" I gave my opinion , which I will repeat since you seem to not understand. Obviously if there are concerns OP about what your doctor said regarding big babies, talk to your doctor about what they meant by it. From what I understand you said that you have had the same ob for your last 2 pregnancies (maybe I read that wrong) so you should have a good understanding of how they like to do things.

I trust my ob completely and whatever he thought would be best for me and delivering a healthy baby is what I would agree to. At the end of this experience I think we would all agree that what matters most is not how our LO'S are born, but they are born healthy.

Anyone that disagrees with me is free to do so, but don't tell me I don't understand. I understand my opinion just fine.

Mmkay. Wasn't saying you didn't understand your opinion, I was saying you didn't understand the ops question and why it's important but that's fine.

yelah250 · December 2014

@Flashy‌ thanks

I'm actually not worried about having a big baby (although anything over 10 lbs is slightly disconcerting lol). I probably will given my 2 babies and my family history. I agree there is lots of time and a woman probably shouldn't be stressing over baby size at birth when we are only 8-12 weeks. That wasn't where the intention of my post was coming from but I could see how it might be read that way.

Mamamads · December 2014

sassycassieb said:

Mamamads said:

Really @sassycassieb‌ ? I wasn't starting an argument in the slightest, I actually felt flashy was being argumentative for no reason and really felt she didn't understand the question or why it matters now to discuss this with her ob on baby size etc. Didn't realize I needed a 10 year bump badge to talk, seriously get over yourself.

No, you are and have been condescending and argumentative on multiple threads since you joined. You don't need a "10 year bump badge" to talk, but starting fights with everyone in this community is not working for you. Either you are not conveying yourself through the internet as you think you are, or you really are just condescending and argumentative for no reason. Either way it's irritating. Everyone was doing just fine in this thread until you started telling Flashyy that she doesn't understand the conversation.

Also, it is you who needs to get over yourself.

This was hardly an argument so I think you need to take a huge chill. This thread was actually just fine till YOU came in saying I'm starting an argument which I wasn't. I've had plenty of constructive conversations on here and maybe two "arguments" so stop acting like I'm coming in pissing all over everyone and stop seeking out drama that isn't there.

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