Weight Worries

When my daughter was born she was 8 lbs 11 oz. and 21 inches long. My doctor induced me almost three weeks early due to concerns about her size. Although to some an 8 lb baby might not seem that big, I'm approximately 5'4", normally weigh around 125 lbs and am by no means a big person. I have even been classified as petite though I don't know that I will ever be that again. Two babies in two years is probably wreaking havoc on my metabolism and figure. Needless to say, my doctor wasn't sure that I'd be able to deliver Evie and throughout labor he kept telling me I could continue to try until one of us was in distress or I was exhausted. After 18 hours of labor and an hour of pushing, Evie was out the traditional way. No surgery required.

Now I find myself pregnant again and once more the baby is measuring big. But I haven't had an ultrasound to measure her since 19 weeks. The doctor is going by the measurement of my stomach. I have seen women measure big when the doctor is just going by what's on the outside. Then they have a small baby. Most women would be concerned about having a big baby. I'm prepared for that. What I'm worried about is having a little baby. Partially because I'm huge and I've worked hard this time to watch what I eat and try and stay active. I've gotten to be rather large despite my efforts. I don't want to be one of those people who becomes a monstrous size and then has all this non-baby weight to lose afterward. Second, I don't know what to do with a little baby. All the babies from my family were big chunky babies. My daughter was in 3 months clothes at one month and 6 month clothes at 2 months. With an older sister, Elly needs to grow up quick to survive the possible physical assaults that toddlers can entail.

Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled for an ultrasound to measure the baby and check the placenta. So far I have been measuring about 3 weeks further along than I am so the doctor wants to see about how big Elly is so far. I'm praying she measures just as big as my belly does, meaning that I"m not just fat, dang it I'm having another monster baby. I'm also praying that if she does measure big that my doctor will go ahead and commit to an induction and possibly set a date. Last time I went through so much stress worrying about whether or not he would go ahead and induce me and I just don't want to deal with that again. I am so incredibly against having a C-section, especially since I have a toddler who will be waiting for me when I get out of the hospital. This whole new sibling situation is going to be hard enough on her without her also dealing with the fact that Mommy can't pick her up for a couple of weeks. It brings tears to my eyes to think of how heartbroken she'll be that I'm not taking care of her like I'm supposed to be. I know having a second child will mean that I will get to spend less time one-on-one with Evie, but I don't want to spend weeks laid up on the couch recovering from abdominal surgery. So, I'm nervous about what tomorrow's appointment will hold. My husband looked at my stomach and said he thinks the baby is at least 5 lbs and ordered me to stop worrying about it. Easy for him to say. But it does seem odd to be so worried about the baby's weight...not mine. I guess I get to start freaking about my weight again AFTER she comes. Ugh, I hate dieting.