Bump Size!

[eeb123]

Hi everyone,
I suppose I’m just looking for a bit of reassurance. I feel like I have quite a large bump but I’m not sure that’s just because it is what everyone has been telling me...much to my annoyance!
“Oh you’re diabetic, you’ll have a big baby” “oh diabetic women always have big babies”
My sugars are *touch wood* under control, apart from the occasional high, but will I just have a bigger baby anyway, does the insulin I am giving myself effect the baby?
Thank you in advance,
Xx

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @eeb123, you query is best answered by your doctors who can monitor you and your baby with tests like ultrasound to check on his/her progress. Yes, there are writings about big babies and diabetic mothers but please talk with your doctors and listen to them.

 

[eeb123]

Thanks @kitedoc I do talk to my doctors regularly it was just getting some thoughts and reassurance from other Mothers/expectant Mothers with the same experience on here which I thought was what the forum was for?

 

[Smallbrit]

I'm writing this as someone who had gestational diabetes, so our situations aren't exactly the same, so this is just an example to show diabetics don't necessarily have big babies. I wasn't on insulin or any meds, so I have no idea about insulin.

My first child, it wasn't diagnosed till the normal 24/28 week tests, but when GD was diagnosed my blood sugars were way out of control and likely had been for a very long time. My daughter was premature. But not particularly big or small for her gestational age.

Second child, I kept my blood sugars under tight control, through carb counting and testing before/after every meal. I actually passed my GD tests. I had a full term boy, 7lbs 3oz, so in the totally normal range. Certainly not big.

I did, once, however, have a midwife who made me cry because I dared to eat a banana at 33 weeks. "Why would you do that? Don't you know that spikes your blood sugar? You're still at risk! Do you want a big baby?"

In both cases, I looked very round from the get go. But according to my doctors, measurements were fine.

My only actual experience of insulin is that I am a daughter of a type 1 diabetic. I wasn't particularly big when I was born. (And I'm not particularly big now...!) I'm fairly sure that diabetic treatment for pregnant women has advanced in the last 40 years or so.

 

[eeb123]

@Smallbrit thank you for your reply, it’s nice to hear other people talk from experience.
I keep on trying to remind myself that Pippa Middleton looked small and just had a nearly 9lb baby so you can never tell! X

 

[Ellie_Wilko]

I’m type 1 and have just had my second baby... with my first I never got referred to the community midwife so didn’t have any of the normal baby checks etc but my son was 6lb 6oz when he was born at 37+4!

I did see the community midwife with my daughter and towards the end of my pregnancy I was referred for a couple of extra growth scans as my belly was measuring a couple of weeks ahead but it was never mentioned that could be down to size of baby but more excess waters! Both times I went they said everything was fine... she was born at 7lb 3oz at 37+2.

I think it’s abit of an old thing now that diabetics will have big babies because we’re usually induced early and have such close monitoring that if anything was detected the medical professionals would more than likely act on it!

They’ll be keeping a close eye on you and everyone likes to give their opinion but I wouldn’t listen to anything that is said unless it comes from your docs or midwife!

 

[eeb123]

Thank you @Ellie_Wilko that makes so much sense. Nice to hear that both of your babies were a healthy weight and things went well. X

 

[myarnton1]

My daughter was born at 36 weeks and weighed 7lbs 8oz so for the gestation she was big, but unfortunately I did suffer with post meal spikes after every meal with her, I’m hoping it won’t be as bad with this preganancy. Although now I have a CGM, which is a god send to be fair. How far along are you? Xx

 

[eeb123]

@myarnton1 apologies I’ve only just seen your reply. I’m now 30 weeks and at my growth scan they said he was a normal size, so that was a relief.
How many weeks are you? Xx

 

[Dandilion]

I think bump sizes are just different to every woman - diabetes or not! Ive known people to have massive bumps and 6lb babies, and tiny bumps and 10lb babies; we all carry differently unfortunately (me and my sister seemed to have synced two of our pregnancies and she always looks like shes shoved a football under her top whereas I balloon out like a whale - despite us both being the same height and weight pre-pregnancy and eating healthy etc).

Ive had two boys - my first I put on 3 stone, he was born at 38 weeks weighing 8lb 6.5oz (but I did develop HELLP syndrome with him). My second i put on 5 stone, he was born at 36 weeks and weighed 6lb 12oz. So both a little larger than average for their gestation but nothing horrendous.

Im currently 33 weeks with baby no.3 and she is unfortunately measuring large, yet ive only put on 2 stone...

Not sure if its diabetes or genetics or just pot luck!

 

[Guzzler]

I think bump sizes are just different to every woman - diabetes or not! Ive known people to have massive bumps and 6lb babies, and tiny bumps and 10lb babies; we all carry differently unfortunately (me and my sister seemed to have synced two of our pregnancies and she always looks like shes shoved a football under her top whereas I balloon out like a whale - despite us both being the same height and weight pre-pregnancy and eating healthy etc).

Ive had two boys - my first I put on 3 stone, he was born at 38 weeks weighing 8lb 6.5oz (but I did develop HELLP syndrome with him). My second i put on 5 stone, he was born at 36 weeks and weighed 6lb 12oz. So both a little larger than average for their gestation but nothing horrendous.

Im currently 33 weeks with baby no.3 and she is unfortunately measuring large, yet ive only put on 2 stone...

Not sure if its diabetes or genetics or just pot luck!

This is so true. I was not Diabetic when I had children, my first and third children were a good average size after carrying them with 'normal' sized bumps. My second pregnancy during which I was Hewge! produced my smallest baby. Sometimes we have bodys that refuse to conform to the text books.

 

[HSSS]

And a little reassurance that big babies aren’t always a huge problem. I wasn’t diagnosed at the time but I had two 9lb’ers both at 40wks and then a 10lb’er at 37’4 wks. I was admitted huge with all three. The 10lb was by far the easiest birth. He was predicted to be up to 13lb at a late scan. Several midwife assured me bigger babies often help themselves out!

 

[EllieM]

t
They’ll be keeping a close eye on you and everyone likes to give their opinion but I wouldn’t listen to anything that is said unless it comes from your docs or midwife!

This. Everyone likes to comment on a pregnancy and will often repeat old platitudes with zero knowledge. Your medical team know better, and if they're not worried, you certainly shouldn't be. T1 medical care is so much better than it was 25 years ago (when I had two T1 pregnancies with my two healthy adult children) or 60 years ago (when my T1 mother had a difficult time with her pregnancies pre glucometers). They're really very very good at managing T1 pregnancies now. FWIW, mine were both 8lbs, though my son was and still is extremely tall, and I certainly had a the odd high reading. Good luck.