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Michaela
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Just wondering....how much do you think what we eat influences our newborn's birthweight? Can factors such as heredity be a major factor in birthweight?
My babies are always "tiny". UGH!
Nicholas was 5lbs 8oz -- full term -- I always thought it was partly because we just arrived in Italy & I just didn't have a good grasp on Italian products on shelves. (I did eat fresh fruits & veggies all the time and ate out often to taste the best food.  )
I couldn't stand meat while pregnant w/ Nicholas. Wouldn't touch it. Some people have cravings, but I seem to have an aversion to meat.
Nathan (twin) was so tiny -- 38 weeks -- 3lbs 14oz. The doctors told me he was 5lbs at 30 weeks, but lost weight.   Olivia (his twin) was 6lbs14oz. I ate VERY healthy with them. Lots of protein. Aware of every single bite that went into my mouth.
Now, with this baby, I don't want to eat. I have that aversion again to meat, but just don't feel like eating except maybe one large meal a day with lots & lots of fruits & salads throughout the day.
Am I setting myself up for another "tiny" baby?
Then I remember that I was "only" 6lbs at birth.
Do you think it's a combo of both what we eat & heredity?
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Michaela
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folklaur
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Michaela wrote:
Just wondering....how much do you think what we eat influences our newborn's birthweight? Can factors such as heredity be a major factor in birthweight?
Do you think it's a combo of both what we eat & heredity?
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For me, I would have to say heredity.
My babies were 9.1, 8.8, and 9.8
And I pretty much don't eat during pregnancy. Well, some rice or some farina, on good days. But that is about it. And not much of that  , as I am quite ill the whole time.
My dad was over 13 pounds at birth.
I was a month early, and I weighed 6.6
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Elizabeth
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Michaela,
I ate the way you are eating with my latest baby. I gained 17 pounds total. She was ten days late, but she weighed 8 lbs 3 ounces and appears to be every bit as healthy as the babies for whom ate perfectly...go figure
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Kathryn UK
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I think heredity is far more of a factor than diet. I was 7lb 7oz at birth, dd1 was 8lb 2oz, dd2, was 7lb 11oz. DD3 was tiny at 5lb 7oz (at 38 weeks), yet I ate as well with her as I had with dd2 and better than with dd1. I think her birthweight was down to some combination of poor health during pregnancy (asthma / breathlessness) and age (45).
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PDyer
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I was a light six pounder at birth. All my siblings were under seven pounds. My kids were 9.1 and 8.14 respectively. I ate like crazy with my first child and gained a ton of weight. With my second child I grew so large and gained so much weight (despite not being able to eat more than a few bites at a time) the doctor ordered an ultrasound to make sure she wasn't going to be too big too pass through my pelvis. He was truly concerned despite the size of my first child and the fact I am, shall I say, a strapping lass. 
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doris
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I've read something somewhere which says that birthweight has to do with your uterus whereas the baby's weight thereafter has to do with his or her 'natural' weight -- which explains why some breastfed babies are born fairly big, then drop down the centiles but follow 'their' centile.
Sorry, I don't think that answers your question! I was 6 lb something at birth, my children have been 7lb 4, 8lb 3, 7lb 2. I was sickest with the middle one and lost about 12 lb in the first trimester.
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almamater
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My midwife says, and it seems to be quite true, that eating a lot of dairy in the final trimester will really fatten a baby. That certainly isn't the only factor. In fact, when she sees someone's baby is getting pretty big early in the 3rd trimester, she might suggest they cut back (not cut out) on the dairy.
During my third pregnancy, I had cravings for vanilla milkshakes during the final weeks of pregnancy. Really uncontrollable cravings. I had a 9lb 8oz baby. Fourth pregnancy I really watched the dairy as I headed into the final three months and had a 7 pounder. That is just one bit of anecdotal evidence, of course. But I have seen much more evidence of it and it really makes sense in so many ways.
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JodieLyn
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I don't think that I've had any great difference in how I eat for any of my pregnancies and yet I've had babies at 7lb 11oz, 10lb 2 oz, 8lb 4oz, 8lb 8 oz, 8lbs, 9lb 6 oz.
Which also blows the "each baby gets larger (or smaller) than the last" theory.
Oh and no problems birthing any of them. In some ways because the babies do cooperate in the birthing process, larger babies can be a bit easier (within limits)
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hylabrook1
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I was told the same thing as Elizabeth/Doris -- that birthweight has to do with the size/shape of the uterus and intrauterine conditions in general. My lightest child was lying at a weird angle, so that I always measured 8 weeks or so small for dates. She wasn't teeny at 7 lb.10oz, but still small for me. With the biggest of the lot, at 8/15 and 9/3, the OB commented that the placenta was unusually large, the cord quite long, and the vessels in the cord had a large diameter. So he said "no wonder they were that size; they had extremely good nutrition in utero."
And also, I had heard the same thing as Elizabeth/Doris (to distinguish which Elizabeth): that around 3 months the child's own natural weight *takes over* in determining the child's size/weight. Which explains why my bigger babiess didn't remain high on the growth chart after about 3 months of age, and actually had several months in infancy where they gained very little weight -- they themselves are not naturally big people.
Peace,
Nancy
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Angel
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When I was pregnant with my twins, I was told that protein had something to do with it as well... although at 5'3, I sure don't think that all the protein in the world could build a 9 lb baby for me!!! .
My babies have all been little, although I traditionally gain a lot of weight. My first was 6lb14oz at 39 wks; my second -- 7lb3oz at 38 wks; my third -- 6lbs12oz at 37.5 wks; and the twins 5lb8oz and 5lb4oz at 35.5 wks. (I've always wondered if my babies would be bigger if I went all the way to 40 wks or over.)
I do think I was able to affect the twins weight a little bit with extra protein -- mostly taken through supplements, and not through meat or milk or beans (which would not have actually made it all the way down )-- because when my doctors put me on an insane diet for gestational diabetes and I kept complaining that I was hungry, ultrasound confirmed that the babies' weight did not continue upward on the curve it had been following. When I started loading up on protein the last few weeks of my pregnancy, the babies weight came up. (The key here, though, I think, is that I was *hungry*.) But a lot of factors can affect the weight of twins (as I'm sure you know.) My smaller baby (Baby A) had an incorrect implantation of the cord, and was therefore at risk for retarded growth. Fortunately that didn't happen, but it was a possibility.
OTOH, all my babies have been ENORMOUS eaters after birth. They've all shot way up the growth charts for the first 6 months, then their weight gain has leveled off. So just because my babies were little at birth didn't mean they stayed small!! I think it all mainly has to do with genetic programming.
--Angela
Mom to 3+2 
Three Plus Two
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Bridget
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It must be genetics mostly. My best/strictest nutrition in pregnancy was with my 4th. And he was nearly 10 pounds and 2 weeks early. (Thank goodness.)
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ladybugs
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It must be genetics.
I'm 5'4" and my smallest baby was my first - 8lbs, 14oz.
Then came 10lbs, 2oz; 9lbs,8oz; 9lbs, 10.5oz. The most overdue baby was my first who was 5 days late. Everyone else was 2 days late.
I have a friend here who is 5'2". She gave birth to a 10lbs, 9oz boy....
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kristina
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I have pondered birthweights, too.
DH was 7lbs 12 oz, I was 5lbs 5oz.
Our children were
7lbs 8oz - 22 inches long - 1 week overdue (difficult delivery)
8lbs 6oz - 20.5 inches - 3 days early
8lbs 8oz - 20.5 oz - induced w/ pitocin at 2 weeks overdue
8lbs 5oz - 22 inches long - induced ontime
8lbs 7oz - 21 inches - 1 day late --I took castor oil on my due date  .. it worked.
The subsequent four were much easier deliveries than the first, despite being one pound bigger.
Looking at this pattern. I think I am just supposed to have eight and a half pound babies. I gained nearly 40lbs with my first child (I worked on my feet and had much water retention - my ankles looked like an elephant's). The rest of the pregnancies were stay-at-home and I gained probably 30lbs each. I did not let them weigh me since the third delivery. Those numbers are just too much.. it is quite evident that the baby was growing and me, too.
I was a vegetarian for the first five months of my first pregancy. Then I only ate a little bit of meat. Since then, meat is a few times a week. So maybe the protein did have something to do with it?
Blessings,
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stacykay
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I agree that is has to be the genes.
Each of my pregnancies was slightly different:one I had huge problem with salads (I loved them, but they wouldn't stay down,) another was turkey, and the last three was any meat of any kind (couldn't stand to cook it or smell it  .) My babies were 9/3, 9/7, 10, 10/5, 10/2, and 8/15 (the last, smallest, and of course, the only c sxn!) The closest to my due date was 8 days, with the rest 3 weeks early. They have all continued, to this day, to be "off the charts" in height, and from 90-95th for weight. My 2nd son is 6'5" at 15 yo.
I would guess that you probably ate well before pregnancy, and yes, baby will take from you, leaving you lacking in some nutritional areas.
It sounds like what you are eating is quite healthy! 
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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saintanneshs
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I think the genes have it, at least here in my house. I'm 5'11 and dh is 6'6 and all of our babies have been BIG (or tall like us, anyway)! (All induced 2 weeks early and STILL bigger than most!)
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Sarah
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This may have been already mentioned, but they say that the baby's birthweight is usually within a pound of the MOTHER'S birthweight.
I was 9lbs 1oz but am petite now
My kids were:
10 lbs 9oz @ 40 weeks
9 lbs 14 oz @ 40 weeks
8 lbs 10 oz @ 39 weeks
10 lbs 7oz. @ 40 weeks
9 lbs even at 37 weeks- an induction to avoid the 10 pounder.
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MaryMary
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I was 7lbs, 6oz myself at birth. I'm 5'3. My first daughter was 7lbs, 6oz. I gained 45lbs for that pregnancy. My second daughter was 9lbs, 9oz,(born a week early, I gained 25 lbs in pgncy) my third baby was 10lbs, 9oz (born a week late, gained 20lbs in pgncy).
I read a study at the O.B's office (last pgncy)that a woman's weight LOSS in the first trimester could contribute to a larger baby (higher birthweight). I'm not certain of the science or logics behind this. This is consistent with my second two pregnancies where I had some 5-10 pound weight loss in the first trimester.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
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JodieLyn
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My largest was also the one I had no morning sickness at all. So I didn't lose any weight at all.. I felt great. But he was also my longest pregnancy.
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hylabrook1
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Interesting thought that the mother's birthweight is determining of her children's birthweights. I weighed 6/12, dh 6/15, and the average of our 6 dc is 8/10, regardless of my weight gain while pg, which varied between 27 and 35 lbs. (that may not be much of a variation really). This is a really interesting topic; I don't think we've actually figured out what makes things tick!
Peace,
Nancy
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Alice R
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All close to 10 pound babies here. It has to be genetic. I lost 20 pound with each pregnancy. Iate very little because I was so sick and there was just no room in my body to fit in food.
I was a light 6 pounder and my husband was an 8 pounder.
We are of Scandinavian heritage. Perhaps that matters? They are generally tall, big people. I'm only 5'5" though.
Alice R
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: control birthweight
