37 week update (long)

[mike and dena]

Almost done, almost done. Ready to meet baby! Had an ultrasound yesterday to
verify baby has turned(had been breech for weeks and weeks), and surprise,
they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off by a
pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2 lbs.
I am only 37 wks! I tool the report to my doc's office myself and dropped it
off, and of course had to spy at it as i dont see my doc till tomorrow, and
they had put on there that they suspect "macrosomia" in baby. I dont have
gst.diabeties, and all the info i found is either related to gd or post term
pgcy. They also said I am measuring 39w6d, and the other doc said 40w1d. I
have to throw in a mention of weight gain at this point. I was overwieght
before i got pg, and have gone from 204 at my first visit to 207&1/2 at my
most recent. I havent tried to keep from gaining weight, and obviously baby
has grown well. So is this macrosomia thing something i should be concerned
about? All the info I found said they will induce or csection to avoid baby
getting stuck. This is my fourth, and my babies have been 6&8oz, 5&12oz, and
7lbs. I dont want to let them induce, but i dont want to put baby at risk
either. I know this is all premature and i will know more when i see my doc
tomorrow, but cant help but worry.
This is all on top of the fact that I have been having painful contractions
every day for the last 9 days. They always stop at night when i go to sleep.
And my pelvic bones are so sore i can barely walk. I just keep telling
myself one of these days will be real labor, but I sure would not enjoy
another three weeks(or more) of this! Lost my mucous plug, but I know that
isnt really a sign of impending labor. Was a "stretchy" 3 cm at 36w5d, so
surely..... Anyway, thanks to all who made it this far. Any
advise/experience/etc on the macrosomia would be greatly appreciated.
Waiting impatiently for "D--Day".....
Dena, mommy to
Melissa 6-9-94,
^Matthew^ 4-23thru4-27-99,
Hailey 6-11-01, and
edd 8-31-03 (Zachary Thomas)

[mike and dena]

Thanks so much for your reassurances. All stuff I should know, but nice to
hear other's opinions. The mention of csection was from reading up on
macrosomia, not my doc office, although my doc was overly ready to section
for breech. The best thing from yesterday was the confirmation that that
worry was gone! Well, that and they rechecked baby's heart, just for my own
reassurance(son died from underdeveloped heart chamber). Saw lots of good
healthy baby, just bigger than expected! By the way, I love your birth
stories site, and check it out alot! Thanks again for the reassuring words!
Dena

[Circe]

"mike and dena" > wrote in message
...
> they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off by
a
> pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2
lbs.
> I am only 37 wks!

Please don't flip out. Even if the estimate is dead accurate, your baby
mightn't gain much weight between now and when you deliver. While it's
supposedly typical for babies to gain a half a pound a week in the final
weeks of pregnancy, I don't believe it *always* happens. My third baby was
estimated by u/s to be 7 lb. 3 oz. at 37 weeks (there was some concern about
intrauterine growth restriction) and was born 24 days later weighing a mere
7 lb. 15 oz. I believe the 37 week estimate was fairly accurate--he felt to
me to be roughly the same size as my first two (who were 8 lb. even and 7
lb. 5 oz. at birth)--so I believe he just didn't put on much weight in those
final three weeks.

And I agree with everything else Stephanie (Elfanie) said.

> All the info I found said they will induce or csection to avoid baby
> getting stuck. This is my fourth, and my babies have been 6&8oz, 5&12oz,
and
> 7lbs. I dont want to let them induce, but i dont want to put baby at risk
> either.

There's no real "risk" to your baby from macrosomia. If he really *is* so
big that he can't get out, they'll have to do a c-section, but that by
itself doesn't represent any problem for your baby (it's a bigger problem
for *you*, frankly, since you'll be the one recovering from major surgery
while taking care of a newborn and three other kids). But all the research
shows quite clearly that inducing labor for suspected macrosomia doesn't
decrease the likelihood of an eventual c-section. It *also* shows that women
whose doctors believe they're having large babies are several times more
likely to wind up having c-section than those who actually *have* large
babies; IOW, your practitioner's expectations regarding the size of your
baby have *much* more to do with how you're treated during birth than how
big your baby actually is.

So, bottom line: both you and your baby are better served by waiting for
labor to begin spontaneously. Doing so gives you the best chance of a
vaginal delivery regardless of baby's size because both your body and your
baby are ready for birth. There's still a chance you'll need a c-section, of
course, but that chance exists *regardless* of your baby's size.

Good luck and HTH!
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [17mo] mom)
"Nobody died when Clinton lied." -- freeway sign

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"They walk with an unsteady, shambling gate." -- Article in the San Diego
Union Tribune

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

[H Schinske]

wrote:

>Almost done, almost done. Ready to meet baby! Had an ultrasound yesterday to
>verify baby has turned(had been breech for weeks and weeks), and surprise,
>they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off by a
>pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2 lbs.
>I am only 37 wks!

That's just about where my twins were supposed to be at 36.5 weeks (8 pounds
and 8.75 pounds). They were born over three weeks later, and the one who had
supposedly been 8.75 pounds at 36.5 weeks was half an ounce under 8 pounds,
while the one who had supposedly been 8 pounds was 8 pounds 11 ounces. Totally
healthy, they for sure had not been losing weight in there!

It *really* gets tough estimating weight by ultrasound towards the end. I think
they go a lot by length and such. One of my daughters was said to have a "41
week" femur length at 36.5 weeks. Well, duh, all that means is that she has
rather long legs. Not a darned thing wrong with that.

--Helen

[Iseult]

I thought:
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3279.htm
was quite extensive on macrosomia (warning: death mentioned).
8 1/4 or 1/2 sounds well below the 9.93 (4500g) birthweight that they
say is officially 'macrosomia'. At a guess they are just covering
their asses by mentioning to you at all (totally uninformed opinion
there).
Good luck with all,
Iseult

"mike and dena" > wrote in message >...
> Almost done, almost done. Ready to meet baby! Had an ultrasound yesterday to
> verify baby has turned(had been breech for weeks and weeks), and surprise,
> they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off by a
> pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2 lbs.
> I am only 37 wks! I tool the report to my doc's office myself and dropped it
> off, and of course had to spy at it as i dont see my doc till tomorrow, and
> they had put on there that they suspect "macrosomia" in baby. I dont have
> gst.diabeties, and all the info i found is either related to gd or post term
> pgcy. They also said I am measuring 39w6d, and the other doc said 40w1d. I
> have to throw in a mention of weight gain at this point. I was overwieght
> before i got pg, and have gone from 204 at my first visit to 207&1/2 at my
> most recent. I havent tried to keep from gaining weight, and obviously baby
> has grown well. So is this macrosomia thing something i should be concerned
> about? All the info I found said they will induce or csection to avoid baby
> getting stuck. This is my fourth, and my babies have been 6&8oz, 5&12oz, and
> 7lbs. I dont want to let them induce, but i dont want to put baby at risk
> either. I know this is all premature and i will know more when i see my doc
> tomorrow, but cant help but worry.
> This is all on top of the fact that I have been having painful contractions
> every day for the last 9 days. They always stop at night when i go to sleep.
> And my pelvic bones are so sore i can barely walk. I just keep telling
> myself one of these days will be real labor, but I sure would not enjoy
> another three weeks(or more) of this! Lost my mucous plug, but I know that
> isnt really a sign of impending labor. Was a "stretchy" 3 cm at 36w5d, so
> surely..... Anyway, thanks to all who made it this far. Any
> advise/experience/etc on the macrosomia would be greatly appreciated.
> Waiting impatiently for "D--Day".....
> Dena, mommy to
> Melissa 6-9-94,
> ^Matthew^ 4-23thru4-27-99,
> Hailey 6-11-01, and
> edd 8-31-03 (Zachary Thomas)

[Nina]

I agre. My kids were both near the 9 lb mark, I literally begged for
induction with the 2nd one. The Dr didnt seem at all concerned by her size
during my pregnancy, she'd have probably been even larger if he'd had his
way and let me go anopther week. so I dont really think a 9 pounder is much
toworry about. Its when they get to be the size of 3 months old that its a
problem.
I had both kids with no tearing and no cutting, didnt even have an epidural
with the 2nd. Its not really THAT bad.
"Ericka Kammerer" > wrote in message
...
> mike and dena wrote:
>
> > Almost done, almost done. Ready to meet baby! Had an ultrasound
yesterday to
> > verify baby has turned(had been breech for weeks and weeks), and
surprise,
> > they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off
by a
> > pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2
lbs.
> > I am only 37 wks! I tool the report to my doc's office myself and
dropped it
> > off, and of course had to spy at it as i dont see my doc till tomorrow,
and
> > they had put on there that they suspect "macrosomia" in baby. I dont
have
> > gst.diabeties, and all the info i found is either related to gd or post
term
> > pgcy. They also said I am measuring 39w6d, and the other doc said 40w1d.
I
> > have to throw in a mention of weight gain at this point. I was
overwieght
> > before i got pg, and have gone from 204 at my first visit to 207&1/2 at
my
> > most recent. I havent tried to keep from gaining weight, and obviously
baby
> > has grown well. So is this macrosomia thing something i should be
concerned
> > about? All the info I found said they will induce or csection to avoid
baby
> > getting stuck. This is my fourth, and my babies have been 6&8oz, 5&12oz,
and
> > 7lbs. I dont want to let them induce, but i dont want to put baby at
risk
> > either. I know this is all premature and i will know more when i see my
doc
> > tomorrow, but cant help but worry.
>
> Good heavens, *NO* you don't need to worry about
> macrosomia, and you *certainly* don't need to induce just
> for suspected large baby, and it would be *outrageous* to
> go straight to a c-section under these circumstances. A
> couple of points:
>
> 1) Late term ultrasounds are *very* inaccurate for estimating
> weight. The margin of error is over 1.5 *pounds* in either
> direction. That's way too wide a margin of error to base
> a decision like induction on, absent other information.
>
> 2) Even if you *could* know for sure that the baby was going
> to be larger than average, it still wouldn't make sense
> to induce or c-section over it. There's no medical evidence
> to say that it's safer or better to do that, and ample
> reason to avoid the c-section or an induction (which might
> lead to a more painful labor or a c-section).
>
> Unless they can come up with some problem other than
> suspected macrosomia, I believe you're *reducing* risk,
> not increasing it, by avoiding induction or elective
> c-section. The only problem is that some doctors, once
> they suspect macrosomia, get all induction/c-section
> happy and will see every little thing as an indication
> that you *must* have a c-section. Heaven forbid that
> you don't dilate fast enough, or that you can't push
> the baby out fast enough, or there's even the smallest
> blip that doesn't look perfect on the monitor tracings.
> Hopefully your doctor won't be that way, but some are.
> If yours gets pushy, you might want to get a second
> opinion if you still want to avoid induction or
> c-section.
>
> For all that some go on and on about how the baby's big
> and it'll cause problems, the truth of the matter is that
> they don't know that. Many women have given birth to
> large babies without any trouble whatsoever. I'm just
> 5'2-3" and my second baby was 9lbs 6oz (with a 15"
> head circumference!) and he was born in only 2.5 hours
> without even any tears. I'm not saying that no women
> have trouble birthing larger babies, but many women
> have no problems at all (and some who do have problems
> owe their difficulty more to poor labor management than
> to physiology). You can certainly improve your odds
> by staying mobile during labor and staying off your
> tailbone while pushing. Odds are you'll have plenty
> of room to birth whatever size baby you're growing.
>
> Best wishes,
> Ericka
>

[Ericka Kammerer]

mike and dena wrote:

> Almost done, almost done. Ready to meet baby! Had an ultrasound yesterday to
> verify baby has turned(had been breech for weeks and weeks), and surprise,
> they say baby is really big. I know late us are infamous for being off by a
> pound or two, but the radiologists(two diff ones) said 8&1/4 and 8&1/2 lbs.
> I am only 37 wks! I tool the report to my doc's office myself and dropped it
> off, and of course had to spy at it as i dont see my doc till tomorrow, and
> they had put on there that they suspect "macrosomia" in baby. I dont have
> gst.diabeties, and all the info i found is either related to gd or post term
> pgcy. They also said I am measuring 39w6d, and the other doc said 40w1d. I
> have to throw in a mention of weight gain at this point. I was overwieght
> before i got pg, and have gone from 204 at my first visit to 207&1/2 at my
> most recent. I havent tried to keep from gaining weight, and obviously baby
> has grown well. So is this macrosomia thing something i should be concerned
> about? All the info I found said they will induce or csection to avoid baby
> getting stuck. This is my fourth, and my babies have been 6&8oz, 5&12oz, and
> 7lbs. I dont want to let them induce, but i dont want to put baby at risk
> either. I know this is all premature and i will know more when i see my doc
> tomorrow, but cant help but worry.

Good heavens, *NO* you don't need to worry about
macrosomia, and you *certainly* don't need to induce just
for suspected large baby, and it would be *outrageous* to
go straight to a c-section under these circumstances. A
couple of points:

1) Late term ultrasounds are *very* inaccurate for estimating
weight. The margin of error is over 1.5 *pounds* in either
direction. That's way too wide a margin of error to base
a decision like induction on, absent other information.

2) Even if you *could* know for sure that the baby was going
to be larger than average, it still wouldn't make sense
to induce or c-section over it. There's no medical evidence
to say that it's safer or better to do that, and ample
reason to avoid the c-section or an induction (which might
lead to a more painful labor or a c-section).

Unless they can come up with some problem other than
suspected macrosomia, I believe you're *reducing* risk,
not increasing it, by avoiding induction or elective
c-section. The only problem is that some doctors, once
they suspect macrosomia, get all induction/c-section
happy and will see every little thing as an indication
that you *must* have a c-section. Heaven forbid that
you don't dilate fast enough, or that you can't push
the baby out fast enough, or there's even the smallest
blip that doesn't look perfect on the monitor tracings.
Hopefully your doctor won't be that way, but some are.
If yours gets pushy, you might want to get a second
opinion if you still want to avoid induction or
c-section.

For all that some go on and on about how the baby's big
and it'll cause problems, the truth of the matter is that
they don't know that. Many women have given birth to
large babies without any trouble whatsoever. I'm just
5'2-3" and my second baby was 9lbs 6oz (with a 15"
head circumference!) and he was born in only 2.5 hours
without even any tears. I'm not saying that no women
have trouble birthing larger babies, but many women
have no problems at all (and some who do have problems
owe their difficulty more to poor labor management than
to physiology). You can certainly improve your odds
by staying mobile during labor and staying off your
tailbone while pushing. Odds are you'll have plenty
of room to birth whatever size baby you're growing.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Shannon]

I know how you feel, i am ready to meet baby too, i myself am at 35 weeks
and 5 days.
Don't worry about baby being much bigger then now if you only have a couple
weeks to go then your baby shouldn't gain too much more. My youngest was 9
pounds and 9 ounces. This time i will gladly take an 8 pounder. My doctor
says 8-9 pounds for this one and he is usually very close.

Not sure why anyone would think baby would get stuck. Unless you have
special circumstances it wont be just because baby is around 8-9 pounds.
Maybe it has to do with the macrosomia, i don't know i don't even know what
that is.

I wouldn't let them do a c-section just because they *think* the baby may
get stuck as they can do that if the baby *is* stuck when you are in labor.
As for inducing... well i have been induced with my youngest right on my due
date(to make sure it was my own doctor who delivered as i have serious
problems with one doctor who was going to be on call and mine was going on
vacation and we were both worried i would have the baby at home on my own as
my labor with my baby before was only 1-2 hours), it was no big deal. The
labor went just as fast, my water actually broke on its own for once and i
delivered Paige shortly after. The only thing i didn't care for was the IV
the entire time.
I myself am actually considering induction this time. I would love to just
go when i go but i don't want to have that a$$ of a doctor delivering me
instead of my own. In fact i wont allow him anywhere near me or my baby,
which could mean trying to get to another hospital in time and costing more
for a cab, and my husband not being able to come after work to see me and
baby. I also don't want my husband to have to miss any work to be with me
during labor and delivery as he just started this job not long ago.

As for the pain that goes away when you sleep, well i'm there too. Feels
like contractions just not very strong ones. But sometimes i actually have
to breath deep and slow to help. Seems to go away during sleep(which isn't
that often) or maybe its just I'm sleeping so i don't feel it. Mostly i
think mine are happening because the babies head is moving and he is head
down and it hurts sometimes. So maybe that is why you are having those
pains. Also mine are Braxton hicks contractions, maybe yours are too. They
are suppose to get worse(more painful) with every child. This is my 5th baby
and it is the first time i have ever felt them. They started around 6 months
maybe a bit sooner and as time passes they get worse. I always thought
Braxton hicks were suppose to be across the belly but mine are not they are
in my back but of course that is where i feel my labor as well.

As for your mucus plug as far as i know they are a sign that labor is
shortly to follow. But i couldn't tell you from my experience i only ever
noticed losing mine from my first and it was 1 or 2 days before my labor
started. Good luck!

Shannon
4weeks 2 days to go