Hi moms- So, this is my third pregnancy and I'm going on 32 weeks. With my other two, I was much smaller at this point and did not feel pressure on my pelvis until the last month. I've also experience many more Braxton Hicks contractions with this one from about 20 weeks and much more movement from as early as 13 weeks. I've literally been as large as I was at delivery with my other two for the last month now. I asked my OB if she thought there was a chance of premature delivery, but she said the chances would be low considering I had the other two at 40 weeks and 4 days. Other moms too said the uterus was like an elastic band and that was why I appear much larger with this child because I'm all stretched out. Also, I began this pregnancy heavier than with the other two. So, I'm thinking all this could make a difference in how I appear. However, I still feel like I'm at the very end of the pregnancy and don't have two months left. Has anyone else had an earlier delivery with their third baby or higher than with the first or second? Do you think there's a stronger possibility of early delivery with a later baby?
Sorry to say, but I felt like you describe with my second pregnancy. I did not deliver early and had a large, healthy baby. Both pregnancies were 41 weeks. The Braxton Hicks with the second pregnancy were so strong that I would have to stop, sit and breath through them. (yes, even in the grocery store, with a toddler...)
Good luck...and hang in there through the heat of summer!
Are you measuring large for your gestational age? I was, and it turned out I had gestational diabetes.
As for delivering early, I was CERTAIN my third would be the earliest. My second was at 37 weeks and I never thought my third would go longer than him, especially since I had GD and premature labor starting at 32 weeks. I was in the hospital 4 times before I was actually in labor and ready to deliver. He ended up hanging in there until 38 weeks!
It goes to show that you just never know!
My third came 4 days earlier than my other 2. My other 2 I actually did the math and I carried one only hours more than the other one. The exact date you deliver is more related to when you actually conceived. Not everyone conceives on day 14 of a 28 day cycle like the spinny wheel says. It's just that doctors need something to work with so they use an average.
So, it is possible you may deliver earlier than your other two if you conceived earlier in your cycle then with the other 2.
When I was pregnant with my third I felt "done" earlier than with my other 2. I was absolutely huge with my third, maternity clothes that fit with my other two didn't fit with her in some cases. Granted, in my case, it didn't help that she was sideways a large amount of the third trimester and I was dealing with a nightmare that started with the house flooding while I was pregnant (Found out I was pregnant with her while living in the hotel while our house was being reconstructed) which made me very short.
There is no way to guess when baby will come though, even looking at when your other ones came. There are so many factors involved. Your doctor will keep checking and keep measuring. If doctor isn't worried, you shouldn't be either.
I remember when I was pregnant with my first and my husband's step sister was pregnant with her third. She and I were due within weeks of each other (and indeed, she had her baby about 2 weeks before I had mine) but by the time we were in our second trimester, I was barely showing and she was passing along all of her clothes she was wearing in the third trimester with her other babies because she had already outgrown them. She delivered on time and had a normal baby.
I don't know if there's anything underlying going on with your pregnancy, but in my experience it sounds about right.
Third babies are very different. I have four girls...the first pregnancy I had identical twin girls. That was a learning curve as it was my first time being pregnant and having multiples makes everything large! I looked a lot bigger earlier and had a lot of pressure in the pelvis early on. I did carry the girls to 40 weeks though.... 5-2 and 5-5 pounds. 28 hours of labor start to finish, with an epidural and a natural birth.
The second pregnancy was a single baby, another girl, and I swore up and down it was a boy for sure. The first time with the twins, I was very rounded and carried weight everywhere. I had weight on the sides of my belly and just thickened up everywhere. I looked more chunky than ever before. This second pregnancy looked like I swallowed a basketball and that was it! Thin all over except for the basketball belly. I had another girl and she was 6.5 pounds and was delivered on her due date! This was a breeze at 6 hours of labor and a drug-free natural birth.
Now....the last one....yet another girl but I went back to the chunky monkey look that I had with the twins. Everything was big again and I felt like a total blob. Braxton HIcks started at six months and I was a bit worried about that. It never went into pre-term labor but I swore this baby would never see 40 weeks. Major pelvic pressure and I actually felt little electric shock sensations all the time deep in the pelvic floor from the baby's head resting so low in there. This baby was a mover and a roller as well. I felt her move at around 15 weeks....like fluttery bubbles and she never stopped after that. So, our final girl, #4, was also quite big! She was 7 pounds 10 ounces and get this.....23 1/2 inches long! Major tallness! She was an agonizing two weeks overdue. Ugh. That was drastic. Labor was another success with a drug-free natural birth in 8 hours. Hard on the pushing because she was bigger than the others but I managed to get it done. When she was born, she looked like she was three months old because all my other babies were so much smaller! It was very noticeable. Each pregnancy was very different and so were the labors. I will say that I don't think there's any rhyme or reason as to when nature kicks in and decides it is time to start labor. What I did notice was the ease of labor with each successive baby. Much shorter duration and when it was time to push...they flew out. Probably because I also knew what I was doing and experience really serves you well during delivery. Congrats on your third bundle of joy and enjoy every moment of it! You are a total pro now so just relish in your experience as a mom. Each baby is different and so is the pregnancy. It's totally normal to feel many different things this time around.
My third came two weeks early. My second on his due date, and the first came 4 days early.
I was the same way w/ my 3rd. At 6 months people starting saying "You'll never carry to term. You are so big and the baby is so low"
I was miserable. There was so much pressure when I got up from bed it felt like my legs were going pop out of socket. The baby was in position for WEEKS. When my OB would do the exam she could literally feel his head!
I would think so many days "This was it" because of the contractions getting stronger. But then I'd wake up the next morning disappointed they had stopped.
For me personally, I did not deliver early. I was convinced I would but didn't. My neighbors even laughed after he was born about how they saw me walking the dogs 5-6 times a day trying to speed up the process.
Hang in there momma. It WILL be over soon enough and it will all be a memory :)
Best of luck for healthy baby and easy delivery!
I don't have an answer for your specific question, but wanted to say I'm the opposite. I started this pregnancy 10-15 lbs lighter than my first and second...and consequently, I'm 15 lbs lighter right now (35) weeks than when I delivered my son at 37 weeks. Baby was measuring a week ahead at 20 weeks but now my uterus is right on target.
I would say it's a combination of your uterus being stretched and you heavier when you started. That being said, if you aren't 100% sure of your last period, it's possible that you are further along. How are you measuring at your appts? On target? I heard that your measurement from pelvic bone to the top of the uterus goes hand in hand with the number of weeks - so if you are 32 weeks, you should measure 32 (cm?)....that would be a good way of knowing, too!
One more thing to note, if you did deliver both your kids at 40 weeks, 4 days, you could go that long with your third or you could go early. I delivered 1 week early with my daughter and 3 weeks early with my son and I was 100% sure of my last menstrual cycle with both of them.
Good luck!!
I was bigger with my 2nd than my 3rd. However, I did have terrible Braxton hicks, and really bad pelvic pressure with my 3rd much earlier than the other two.
A friend of mine just had her fifth baby. She was the largest she's ever been. She thought she looked 9 months pregnant at 7 months. It didn't help that the ultra-sound techs kept telling her that baby was measuring more than a month ahead. A couple of days before they decided to perform an emergency c-section due to borderline pre-e, a tech told her the baby was CURRENTLY almost 11 lbs. at 38 weeks
The baby was 8 lbs 2 oz. She was just carrying a lot of amniotic fluid. And because the baby was actually 2 weeks early, he needed help with his lungs because they weren't quite developed enough.
Is your baby large too, or are you just filled with amniotic fluid? I was very small with my first baby, and very large with my next two pregnancies. Basically, I was eating too many carbs during my last two pregnancies, and I was borderline diabetic.
My first baby came 10 days early. For my second baby, I was so uncomfortable and huge that I asked to be induced at 39 weeks. For my third pregnancy, I went into labor on my own right at 39 weeks.
If you know when you conceived, then you should have a fairly accurate due date. Talk to your OB about your diet and blood pressure and see if there is anything to be concerned about. I looked 9 months pregnant at 6 months. But then after I stopped eating so many carbs and switched to a higher protein diet, I didn't get TOO much bigger for those last three months. Hang in there!
Was huge with my fourth. First three, I did not look pregnant until six months!!!!! Normal.
