“deviation from a narrowly-defined average” =/= “a pathology”

So glad we could clear that up for you!

I got the opposite. Medical professionals so shocked that my daughter was 7lbs, even though I needed insulin to control my GD for most of the pregnancy. Not every “GD baby” is 10 lbs and not every 10 lb baby is a “GD baby!”

Mine was 9lbs 12oz and the last half of my pregnancy was ‘unassisted’ by medical professionals (as was her birth). When I brought her into the pediatrician’s office, they asked all about my pregnancy and I just wonder if I would have gotten a comment like this had we gone to a less supportive office. I told them I monitored my sugars a few times and they were always fine… and my daughter’s blood sugars were good after she was born as well (we xferred and they checked).

She was 2+ pounds bigger than my other two kids and to this day is just off the charts. At 2y8m she is 37lbs and 37″ tall, just a big kid!

I had GD with both pregnancies and none of my kids were huge. With my oldest I was on Metformin through the entire pregnancy and used insulin nightly from 30 weeks through delivery and he was 6 lbs 11 oz at 39w1d. With my twins I wasn’t on any meds and I didn’t use any insulin (was diet controlled) and they were 6 lbs 4 oz and 7 lbs 12 oz at 37w2d.

Someone should tell that LC not to ASSume bc we all know what that does.

While I really like the midwife I’m working with this pregnancy, something she said took me aback during my last visit. My first child was 9 lb, 12 oz – big baby. BEFORE LOOKING AT MY FILE, she said “Oh, you must have had undiagnosed gestational diabetes during your last pregnancy.”

I said, “Ummm. no. Look at my file. I failed the 1 hour, but passed the three hour with no problem.” She then flipped through my file and goes “Oh, yes, I see. Numbers on the three hour looked good.” It bothered me how quick she was to JUMP to an assumption.

When I explained that my husband is 6′ 4″ and 300# (not fat, just HUGE) and she could see that I’m not a petite person, I guess she understood that we just make big babies together. I fully expect the baby I’m currently carrying to be over 10 lbs. It is what it is.

My sister, who DID have GD, had a 8 ob, 13 oz child at 41 weeks. You just can’t tell by weight alone.

Is this what passes for chit chat now days? Light hearted conversation? Small talk? Next time comment on the weather. You obviously weren’t asking a question since you assumed you knew the answer.

Ugh, I hate this assumption. Ever heard of genetics? I had two 9+ lb babies & passed the 1-hour both pregnancies. Guess what? My husband and I both weighed 9+ lbs at birth too. Our moms both had big babies, so I was pretty darn sure I’d have big babies too.

I hate the near cousin to this comment, which is when big babies, even when you tested fine, are classified as ‘missed GD’. My 1st was 9lb 2 oz, I passed 3 separate GD tests (because I have wonky blood sugar levels usually we wanted to monitor closely, I was ok with it) during that pregnancy, the last about 6 weeks before birth, and I still have gotten docts who, upon hearing his weight + passed GD tests just shrug and say ‘the tests must have missed it, you must have had gd’. Grr.

Two women I know personally who had GD had normal or small babies- one was induced early for her suspected “huge” baby who was less that 6 POUNDS, and the other went 41 weeks and 5 days and had a 7 pound, 14 ounce baby after a long augmented/epidural labor that probably put some ounces on that baby. But definitely not a huge baby.

I don’t get what determines range and how they decide what is big and what is small. I was told my first baby was “huge” at 7lbs2oz. Then I had an eight pounder, who was decidedly “average” according to the nurses. Who decides what is big and what is small? And why do the babies that fall outside of the norm have to be large or small because they have a problem? What ever happened to diversity and celebrating the idea that we are all unique?
Oh yeah, that doesn’t apply to medicine.

By the same logic, one might assume that being a doctor automatically means the OB is above average intelligence, since they SHOULD go hand in hand.

However THAT obviously isn’t true around here.

Oh, wait, THAT actually SHOULD be true, but the assumption that a big baby = GD isn’t.

~sigh~

See, I got that too, but my daughter was 8 pounds, 11 ounces. Geez. “You defintely had it cause she was more than 8 pounds.” How does she explain my first child who was exactly one pound less and I was diagnosed with it?

I’m 5’10″ and roughly 150lb, I was 7lb5oz at birth. My mother’s biggest baby was 8lb12oz.

My husband is 5’11″ and about 250lb, and weighed 6lb8oz at birth, he’s an only child.

My first, and currently only, child was 9lbs8oz at birth and weighs 20lbs at nine months. I gained 30lbs with the pregnancy, and fit in my skinny (size 12) jeans 2 days after giving birth. I did not have GD, I’m actually hypoglycemic. My doctor had “no idea” that my son was going to be “that big” and was amazed that I didn’t need a section. I just figured that my son was a nice sized baby. Perfectly proportional. So what was the big deal anyways?

I’m refusing the GD test next time. I think I’ll just test myself at home if I feel the need.

This right here is an example of why I call the midwifery model evidence-based care. Because the other kind is full of crap like this!

I was diagnosed with GD although monitoring my sugars at home showed them to be fine. I even went to the diabetes educator who told me se didn’t understand why I they sent me to her. I actually had the opposite problem when she took my sugars because they were low. I never spilled ketones or protein and my 4 hour glucose was a “borderline fail” which means still normal but they’ll call it GD anyway. I didn’t need any medication so the diagnosis was totally moot. We knew from the start my baby was going to be big (all babies on my side are big) he was 10lbs and 3 oz at birth his glucose level was perfect and he’s exceptionally healthy today at 1. I really think I’m one of those cases where they tossed out the diagnosis to bully me into an induction. But I held my ground l. My ob said that he’d never seen a 10 lb baby delivered vaginally before and calls it a “personal best” I thought that was cool.

My SIL was told her boys (all three of them) would be “big” too. They were all over ten pounds, and she did au natural. Which is a pretty good feat seeing as she had all three in a hospital. Having a mom there to advocate for you is wonderful. Having your marine husband threaten to throw out the doctor is better.