Birthweight

Unless the baby is a preemie, I think newborn size stuff is kind of a waste because they grow so ridiculously fast at that age. If you get newborn onesies, chances are they'll only use them for a couple of weeks before they outgrow them. Maybe just 1 pack of newborn size diapers and the rest in size 1. I tend to buy bigger sizes because cotton stuff shrinks and because I like buying everything big so they can grow into it. I don't think the mom's weight gain necessarily predicts the baby's weight. 25 lbs. is the low end of the range of recommended healthy weight gain but I knew someone who exercised throughout her pregnancy, only gained 12 lbs.(!) but delivered an average weight baby.

Also, clothing sizes are sooo inconsistent these days, even at the same store things that have the same size on the tag can be cut much bigger or smaller depending on the item. So you kind of have to eyeball it.

I don't know if birth weight can be determined like that...but none the less, I would just do as she wishes...if she needs newborn clothes and diapers she will buy them herself.

Some OBs like to plant the "big baby" seed early to encourage moms to set an induction or c-section date early. Any chance hers is one of those?

I think it's all up in the air until the baby is born.
I was normal 7ish pounds. My husband was aroun 6 1/2.
My daughter was 10lbs9oz. God help me.
L.

Well my son was nearly 8lbs at birth and wore his nb outfits for a week or so and went through 1 small package of newborn diapers before outrowing them so it couldnt hurt. just get gift receipts she can always exchange for a larger size. You just never know till they come out

I really wouldn't worry about it. I mean, suppose she has the baby and she's a 5 pound preemie. While she and the baby are still in the hospital, her husband can run to Walmart and pickup a pack of newborn diapers and a Gerber 6 pack of onesies.

Our oldest was about 3 1/2 weeks early and weighed 6 lbs 7 oz. My MIL came to the hospital the next day with a bunch of Carter's brand, preemie size onesies for us.

When we were due with our second, I knew I would probably use the Gerber sleepers for the first month or two, but we didn't know what size. I showed my husband which ones I wanted and he bought them while I was in the hospital. We didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, so I told him to get one in either blue or pink and one pack of the yellow/green sleepers.

Bottom line, she'll have plenty of time if she's wrong.

Predicting birth weight is difficult - which is why weight is great fun to guess at for betting pools.

Factors are:

gestational age (preemie or not)
multiple births (twins, triplets or more)
health of the mother
how well the placenta develops
genetics to a certain degree
environmental factors, including (but not limited to) exposure of the mother to secondhand smoke (and smoking and alcohol consumption of the mother)
economic status (ability to get prenatal care, prenatal vitamins, and access to access to adequate nutrition)

Seeing as any of this could have affected the parents birth weights as well as their child's birth weight - I'm not sure there is a way anyone can make a correlation from one generation to the next.
I've heard of a 4'10" tall woman giving birth to an 8 lb baby vaginally (the mother's height doesn't matter much as if whether she has a narrow or wide pelvis).

Wait till the child is born then see what she needs.

Well she's right on some things. Whether her baby is 11 lbs or 5 lbs, newborn size clothes are going to fit for like a half hour. So sure, she'll get more use out of the next size up and the next size up after that.

:)

I was 7# 13oz at birth, full term. My husband was 6#10oz at birth, full term.
My kids were:
first child 8# 10oz, born at 42 weeks
second child 8# 5oz, born at 39 weeks
third child 9# 10oz, born at 38 week.
no drinking or smoking on my part. my hb does drink but is a non smoker.
took prenatal vitamins all the way up until due date, got monthly checkups.

Studies have shown that a mother's first baby will be closer to her own birth weight as a baby than to the father's. Subsequent babies tend to larger than the first, in general.

I say it's up in the air. I was 8.15 and my hubby was 6.9. Our first was 7.1, second was 8.13, and the last was 9.4. Both of my parents were thin when I was growing up, while my dad was tall. I'm not sure of their birth weights, but I'm one of 5 kids and we range from just about 8 pounds to almost 11!

No. I was 11 lbs 4 oz at birth. My husband thinks he was about 8 lbs. My biggest baby was 8 lbs 5 oz--a week late. My others were 6 week premies at 3 15, 4 4 and 4 6, and my last was 7 1/2 lb. My mom's smallest baby was just over 8 lbs so does not always match up. I think I used newborn diapers for at least a month for the last 2 (premie for the first babies). It is definitely a good idea to have newborn diapers on hand, even if just a regular package.

The amount gained does not really make that much of a difference in the weight of the baby unless unhealthy. The most I gained was 8 pounds.

I was 9 lbs. 4 oz. when I was born, and my two children were 9 lbs. 3 oz., and 9 lbs. 1 oz., so in my case there seems to have been a strong correlation between my birthweight and that of my kids.

I also insisted on bigger baby clothes, and needed them, but having a package of newborn diapers on hand is a good idea, they are the ones that have the cut-out for the cord. Buy her the newborn stuff if you want and leave the tags on so you can exchange the sizes if you need to. She could have a big or a small baby, it is nice of you to make sure she has what she needs.

I have no idea if that's true or not. I was a preemie so I don't think I can even compare with mine. I was born 2 months early and was only 4 pounds. My husband was full term and my MIL said he was 6 pounds and some ounces. My daughter was 6 pounds 9 ounces and my son was 6 pounds 6 ounces.

There is no way to tell how big the baby will be from the parents birth weights. They may have measured her so done a sonogram and told her the baby is big. And even then there is no way to know for sure. I think it would be a good idea to have at least a few things newborn even if you don't take tags and stuff off till you know for sure that way they can be taken back if needed.

The formula you described certainly didn't work for our family. My husband and I were both a little more than 6lbs. at birth. Our first child was 8lb. 11oz. and our second was 10lb. 1oz.

I believe that the doctors really don't know the size of the babies before they are born, they seem to be off so many times. For instance with our second child the doctor kept saying that this baby was smaller than my first. Even during the delivery she kept saying this baby is smaller..... until he got stuck. Then when he weighed in over 10 pounds she was eating her words.

In my experience the sizing has more to do with length than with weight. My second child was 8lbs but was tiny. Super short. She had to wear newborn/preemie sizes for quite some time.

If you want to get the smaller stuff, go right ahead. If she doesn't use it, oh well. She can donate it to Goodwill.

I've read that a baby's birthweight most closely corresponds to his/her maternal grandmother. So ask your friend how much her mom weighed at birth! Or maybe she ready has.

Not at all. I was 8lbs 15.5oz 22in at birth. My son was 5lbs 11oz 19 in at birth. If I remember, his father's Mom said he was a pretty good sized baby too. Both the Midwife and OB both pegged my son as being about 6-8lbs and about 22-24 in had he been full-term.

My sister was I think 7lbs 8oz 22in and her hubby was standard sized baby. My niece was 10lbs 13 oz and 22 in, so HUGE difference.

Weight gain is normal and should be encouraged, but often so many women do not take care of themselves and eat spartan so they can look good after the baby is born.
I looked like Mama Cass Elliot and Margaret Cho's hybrid clone I gained so much(over 70lbs). I took all of it and then some off by the time he was nine months old(exercise, nursing baby, and healthy living), then put some back on as lean muscle. Just the tummy to go(it wants to stay)!

I'd give her the onesie's and a gift receipt, that way if she's right, she can exchange them. If she's wrong, she's got it covered. Most hospitals give you a first pack of newborn diapers, but some diaper manufacturers have gift cards so you can gift them for error free choices.

I'm curious to learn what she ends up having.

Hope this helps.

Most of my kids were close to the same weight, but first was a preemie. The others were from 6 lbs. 12 oz. to 7 lbs. 14 oz. But I will say one had such big feet he didn't fit in the little baby shoes. I'd think it has to with build, etc. too. I would have newborn diapers ready for a newborn. I would also be prepared to run out and buy some smaller clothes than 3 mo. if needed because you just never know.

Let it be. I never used newborn clothes or diapers for my kids. I was around 7 lbs when I was born, my kids were 9.2, 8.12 and 7.8. If she does have a smaller baby than she expects then her husband can pick up a few things before she comes home from the hospital. Someone got me a few of those things for my first baby and they were a waste. My siblings and I ranged from under 7 to over 10 lbs at birth and we have the same parents, so there's really no way to predict.

I weighed 9.5 and my ex weighed 5 and both our kids were 11#. So no, it has nothing to do with what the parents weighed and I don't think that is something you can go by to try to figure out the baby's weight. lol

Well I was around 6 pounds my husband was a premie at around 3 pounds, my son was a premie and my full term daughter was over 10 pounds. So yea didnt correlate here at all