Do Big Babies Come Early?

My third baby was big 9'11", and 22 inches long. He was two weeks late just like my first two, so for me size wasn't a factor. I simply deliver all my children at 42 weeks. I had a homebirth, and had no problems with delivering although he was my third.

M.,
Unfortunately, babies will come whenever they decide to come, regardless of their size! My first boy (now 6), who weighed in at 9lb 4 oz, was 10 days late. I was a big as a house. On my due date I was so miserable I told my Dr. that I wanted to have cervical gel to maybe speed the process up. Well it did...but only made my water break. I never did naturally start contracting on my own after my water broke, so they gave me putocin. I delivered him naturally and he's still as healthy as a horse! My second son (now 3) was 3 days early and was 8lb 12oz. With him my contractions started naturally, the Dr. had to break my water, and his delivery went a bit slower (6 hrs).
They may tell you that your baby is bigger now, but things can change. It is more accurate to wait until much closer to your due date for a better estimate of size. Even then they can still be 20% off in their estimate.
Yes, big babies can be a challenge. Not to scare you but there is a bigger risk of you tearing if the delivery goes quickly. Mine first son came fast (pushed for 15 minutes) because I developed pre-eclampcia so my Dr. made things progress very quickly with putocin. Unfortunately, I tore extensively with my first son, but recovered quickly. Some women that have large babies also develop urine leakage problems after delivery, especially when sneezing or coughing hard. This is because big babies tend to stretch the pelvic and abdominal muscles which help control your bladder functions. I have this problem, but am having an outpatient procedure to correct this in the fall.
Best of luck with your little boy! You will be amazed at the inner strength you have when the time comes.
L.

Congrats M.,

I just had to respond because my baby was in the 75 percentile at 34 weeks and they said he would be huge....10lbs. Well, he ended up being only 7lbs 1oz. I wouldn't worry just yet!! :)

I had a baby that was 11 pounds 4 ounces in 2005. We induced him a few days early, because even though I had contractions, he was not coming any time soon! I also had a natural birth, but when I was at 7 cm, I really needed an epidural!! I know people that are shorter that had large babies with no problem! My sister is 5'9" and could not deliver her 7-pound baby. So, you're probably right! It just depends on how big that pelvic area is. Good luck to you and hope your delivery goes well!

Hello, I definitely have experience with large babies. First of all I would like to tell you what my doctor told me: That tall women with boyish figures usually fair well during labor, but there is no way to know for sure if a baby will fit through any women's pelvic region. Therefore, I figured all would be well since I am very tall and have a boyish figure. My doctor estimated my baby to weigh in the high 8s. Well I went in to labor on my due day, but did not deliver until the next day. After over three hours of continuous pushing, the doctor finally deemed me in distress. The baby was fine, but I was not going to get her out. A c-section ended up being my only option and so my 9 pound 2 ounce daughter arrived 45 minutes later. She was 22 inches!! She barely fit into the bassinets at the hospital!! Even though I didn't have my dream delivery, all went well and my daughter is wonderful!! She is now 15 weeks old. Good luck and hang in there. The last couple of weeks are tough!

At 30 wks with my 1st child my ultrasound predicted he was almost 4 pounds. He was born 2 days late and only ended up weight 7 lbs 13 oz. My 2nd child was almost 2 weeks early and he never measured huge, but he came out weighing 9 lbs. He was an all natural birth which was nearly painless even though I had NO meds. My 3rd child was late by a week and weighed 7 lbs 8 oz.

You cannot always go by ultrasounds because they can be off by a pound. Make sure you are eating healthy, low glycemic foods and my dr even told me to avoid non-organic dairy to avoid hormones in them...that actually made a difference between my 2nd and 3rd child.

Both my 2nd and 3rd were all natural births and the most amazing thing ever! Good luck with your delivery. I had a doula by my side to help when my hubby needed a break....it was beyond worth the added expense. Labor and delivery never goes exactly as planned so just plan to be flexible, but I hope it goes well for you. It will definitly give you an experience you will never forget! Natural births are SOOOOO empowering.

B. :)

Congratulations on your little one!

My son was born 9lbs 0oz 23 in long and he was born on his due date.

Recently, I had my daughter on July 1st, she was 8lbs 13oz and 22 in long born a week late.

Size doesn't appear to matter when it comes to when they like to make their debut.

M.,

I am so happy for you! You sound to be in the same shoes as I was when I was told my baby was "NOT small!" haha... It turned out that at around 33 weeks I found out I had gestational diabetes, whether or not that effected his rapid growth until that point is really anyone's guess. I was able to control my diabetes with diet so all was well there, thankfully. I had weekly ultrasounds at the end b/c of the diabetes and at my last one about a week before he was born they decided he weighed about 8 pounds 14 ounces, so they scheduled me to be induced a week later. I had the option of going straight into c-section, but I HAD to try to deliver him for myself. Well, needless to say I was induced and in very heavy -heavy labor for 23 hours, I dialated to 8 finally and the nurses got me and the room all prepped fro his appaerance in about an hour, they thought. Well, when they checked again I was dialated to 6, which they said meant that his head had probably pinched my cervix or something liek that and caused it swell, which means he was not fitting through, so my only option at that point was a c-section. It lasted about 6 minutes and I was perfectly fine with it. I had tried my best for 23 hours, and things happened that were beyond my control and I had a healthy baby boy and it didn;t matter how he got out at the end. Oh, incidentilly, they were a little off on his weight, he only weighed 8 pounds 0 ounces! They say those ultrasound guesses can be a full pound off either way and I guess thats true. From my experience, it doesn't matter how he gets here, as long as you and him are both safe and healthy. I know for me, and it sounds liek for you too, I had to at least try to deliver vaginally and w/o drugs fro as long as I could stand it. It was just something I HAD to do, and it was mostly for me. I dont think it made any difference what so ever to the baby. So, do what is best for you and your baby, but keep an open mind that what you have planned might not be what happens. I had a vision of waking up in the night and laboring at home for several hours before going to the hospital... ya, that wasn't even close to what happened! haha... But, now I have a healthy amazing 17 month old running around and like I said, it didn;t matter how he made his entrance! :o) Good luck!

I agree that there is no correlation between the size of the baby and when the baby is born in relation to the due date. My child was small, 7lb. 2oz., but my mother's children, were all large babies. I was the smallest at 9lb 4oz, I was a day early, my brother was 9lb 8oz, he was two weeks late, my other brother was 9lb 10oz, he was a couple days late, and my sister was 10lb, and she was 10 days late. After a certain point in gestation, generally the due date, the baby actually loses some weight, so it makes sense that large babies might come a little late, at least that's what they told me in nursing scool (the losing weight part.) My daughter was born four weeks after her due date.
I also have to agree with the other peolpe that as your due date approaches the percentile may change, also, being in the 70's percentile, isn't that far off normal.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, and the birth of your baby.

M.,
My first child was a boy and he weighed almost 9lbs. I don't believe big babies always come early he was a week late and that was being induced who knows when I would of had him if I had'nt been induced.But congradulations and hopefully everything goes well for you and your little one.

T.

I don't think there is any rule on if they come early...but i usually hear about the big babies being late...don't worry if there is any risk to you or the baby the doctor will induce a bit early only if he/she is certain the baby is in no danger...for some reason i don't have the ability to carry to term...my son was born at 30 weeks at 4lb.5oz...he would've been a big baby...good luck with the single mothering...it is a tough road but very rewarding...some days i think it was easier than being married...i am married now but went it on my own for years before that. Hopefully your family will help you with support and babysitting help otherwise seek out some mommy groups so you know u r not alone.

M.,
i was 17 when i had my first child and they told my whole preg that he was doing great growing great and fast. i gained 50 lbs with him and they told me he was 10 lbs and 8 1/2 months. i cried because i was haveing a toddler not a baby. he went 1 week over due. and he was 8lb 5oz 21" long 2 hr delivery i was 5'4 and 180 lbs at 9 months. so no big babys do not always come early. i have not seen any evidence in the nursing to show that fact but i have never worked in OB. good luck. i was a single mother at the time but had great support from my family. we are doing great now and he will be graduating from hs this year. seems like yesterday. LOL dont let the years slip by. good luck.

Both my boys were around 9 lbs, which isn't huge but big enough for me. #1 came 2 days after his due date after a day of labor, no epi. #2 came 1 day after his due date, 4 hours after arriving at the hospital with an epi. I'm 5'8", my husband is 6'4". I wanted a water birth, but neither hospital offered that. I would say go for it! The water should make it easier.
I have a friend that just had a 5 lb. baby and I was appreciative that mine were a little bigger. They seemed more sturdy.

I had gestational diabetes, which causes babies to be larger than usual. My daughter ended up being 8 lbs. 7 oz., and I gave birth exactly a week before my due date. With larger babies, I think docs tend to think about inducing earlier-after I delivered, my doctor told me that he would have wanted to induce if I had not gone into labor by my due date. I tend to think that babies are a pretty good judge of when they're ready to come on out, but I sure was thankful that my daughter decided to come early. I planned on not having an epidural, and then changed my mind at the last minute, mostly because I got scared and didn't know how I was going to manage to push with the level of pain I was having--I might've been just fine, but my husband and doctor were encouraging the epidural, so I decided to go with it. Congratulations, and enjoy it!
T.

I don't think so.. I am currently 33 weeks and my baby was measured at 6lbs 13oz at my 32 weeks appt... So I defintly know what you mean about a big baby! I am scared to death! lol.. My mom had all big babies above 9lbs and we all came 1-2 weeks late... My doc sadly won't take the baby any earlier than 39weeks unless I go into labor first, which I am hoping for! But you can always try doing some extra walking, sex and eating spicey food, those are said to help induce labor naturally, I'll probably be trying it sometime soon.. lol