Moms of several children...?

Question

For those of you who have delivered several babies...were there big differences in your babies weight at birth, if so, do you feel your larger babies were more difficult to deliver than your smaller or was there really no difference to you? I had one small baby (6lbs 5oz) and 3 large (9-12, 9-13 and 10-5) and I don't recall there being any more pain or difficulty delivering my large babies as my small daughter...(all were natural vaginal deliveries) Any difference to you?

Answer 1

I don't know if there is any truth to it, but I've heard that if there is a difference that bigger babies are easier to deliver.  There is more for your body to contract around.  

Answer 2

no difference because of weight it seems the more i had the quicker the popped out

Answer 3

I've had 4 of varying sizes:

#1: 6lbs 1oz, labour induced, had an epidural

#2: 9lbs 11oz, all natural, no epidural or drugs

#3: 7lbs 11oz, all natural, no epidural or drugs

#4: 8lbs 2oz, had an epidural



I could feel my contractions at the end despite the epidurals and I didn't find any significant difference in the amount of pain based on size, and I had no trouble delivering.  

Answer 4

i have three babies, avery (6 yrs old) was 5lbs 6 ozs and was born at 33 weeks. very difficult. next was Benjamin (2 yrs old) and he was 5 lbs 9 ozs, not as hard, but still very painful. last is katelyn (1 yr old) most wonderful deliverey in the world, and she was 8 lbs 1/2 an ounces! so, i would have to say that my big baby was the easiest. although, i did have the first two premature and it was a scary situation, katelyn was induced because i had pre-eclampsia and i had a different dr and i think that helped alot too.  

Answer 5

My two were the same weight basically 8lbs and 8lbs 2oz.  But the 8lbs 2oz had an abnormally large head with and THAT made a difference.

Anecdotally from my homebirthing group from moms that have more than 5 babies that weigh more than 9lbs are easier to birth than babies weighing less then 6/7lbs.  There are theories on this, one is that heavier babies have more gravity helping, bigger babies have more to push on.  However one thing that is commonly overlooked is that babies may actively assist in their own delivery (this is the explanation for certain infant reflexes that do not seem to help survival outside the womb).  And a baby that is small for gestational age or early may just not be as ready to help.

Answer 6

Actually, my smallest(she was 18 3/4 inches) hurt alot worse and more painful than my son who was a week early and weighed 9 7.4 ounces and was almost 23 inches long. I thought my daughter would never get here. I thought I was dying and told my mother to call my family in lol.I told the doctor something was not right because I had been in labor so long. She finally gave me a C-Section, I felt like a failure because I didnt have her vaginally, however, the doctor said its a good thing I didnt the cord was wrapped around her three times and if I had pushed, it more than likely, would have killed her! The doctor asked me how did  I know something was wrong, I simply told her, "It's that special connection every month has with her child".

EDIT: FORGOT TO MENTION: she was almost seven pounds three weeks early.

Answer 7

i had a 6lb4oz and an 8lb15oz both were csection but it seemed that the littler one was harder for the dr. to get out.....he had to make my incision bigger......but the bigger one took much longer and there was more of a relief sensation when she came out....

Answer 8

My first was the hardest delivery.  She was 8.3, but she has a gorgeous egyptian shaped head, and it measured over the 100th percentile. :)

My next was 9.11, and he was easy compared to his sister.  All things being equal, it's usually the birth order that indicates difficulty more than weight.  

Answer 9

Hello.I have had 6 babies-7lb,7lb,9lb,8lb,6lb and 8lb.

If a mother has a baby that is getting pretty big,she should check her blood sugar,as a big baby is sometimes an indication of diabetes in the mother.None of the big babies I have birthed were of diabetic mothers;some people just tend to have big babies.One mother had 3 babies:the first boy weighed 10lb 8oz,the second boy weighed 9lb 8oz,and her girl weighed 10lb 6oz.There is enough room to get the baby out.These mothers had no problem as they were very relaxed and not drugged.Check out the website Bornfree!

Answer 10

my bigger baby was easier to deliver then my smaller one

Answer 11

Baby #1- 6lb 8oz

Baby #2-9lb 8oz

Baby #3-7lb 3oz

Baby #4-8lb 14 oz

Yeah. They all felt the same to me :)

Answer 12

My first was 8lbs 15oz.  Since he was my first, it was a pretty intense labor.  Not "hard" though.  I had to push for about half an hour or so.

My second was 8lbs 10oz.  My labor progressed VERY quickly.  I went from dilated to 4cm to delivered in under an hour and a half.  She was literally only a couple pushes and was delivered (naturally by the way because the epidural didn't work in time).

My third was a whopping 11lb 1oz.  I wish I would have gone naturally with him, because it was SO easy.  I was screaming for an epidural at 5 cm with my first and second.  I got all the way to 7cm with him.  I was still doing OK, but figured I better get one before it started really hurting.  Only 45 minutes later I was delivering.  I feel like I could have handled it "au natural".  Only a couple pushes and he was out.  He was by far my easiest.  I didn't tear or anything.

Answer 13

Nope, no difference for me either. What did make a difference was my stress, anxiety, and fear level: when I was calmer (babies # 2 & 3) labor and birth were far easier and faster.  And being on my feet for as much of labor and birth (babies #2 and 3 again) also made a big difference (baby 3 was born suddenly at home I was so calm and relaxed I didn't realize how far along labor really was).  

Answer 14

for me, dd1 was 8 lbs 1 oz, 20 1/2 inches long and dd2 was 7lbs, 19 3/4 inches long.

labor with both were short and very fast (dd1 was 5 hrs and dd2 was 4)

dd1 was harder, but i don't think it had anything to do with weight/ length...i think it was just that i wasn't prepared enough, didn't know what to expect ( the birthing classes helped, but i still had never actually gone through anything like that...no matter how many classes you take, there's nothing like the actual experience, LOL)

dd2 i was more in control. i think i felt like i had to be b/c my dd1 was there w/ me...she nursed all through my labor (which made my contractions more intense, but also more effective)

i tore w/ dd1, but not w/ dd2. their heads were about the same size, so i think the difference once again was how much i was able to stay in control. (i actually listened when they said BREATHE through it and SLOWLY push w/ dd2)

Answer 15

It is normal for second (and third and so on...) babies to be bigger than the first one.  My second baby was certainly larger than the first.  The reason it's not harder to deliver is because your body has already delivered a baby and knows what to do next time, and the muscles have loosened as well  :)