QuestionHi:
My first daughter was 9 lbs 5 oz. and I was 4 days late. Can I expect my second daughter to be about the same size?
AnswerAll things being equal, yes, it's likely your next daughter will be roughly the same size.
However, diet can affect your baby's growth. If there is any possibility that you were even borderline diabetic in your last pregnancy, controlling your diet a little better this time could help keep your baby's weight down a little. See the Brewer diet (www.blueribbonbaby.org) for recommendations on pregnancy diet. This diet can help prevent and treat both gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
Keep in mind, though, that even if you can change your next baby's weight with diet, the frame, or skeleton size, will still likely be the same. This is because most of the weight put on by diabetic babies is fat, not bone. As an example, my fourth baby, born at 4 days late when I had borderline blood sugars, weighed 10 lbs 6 oz, was 22 inches long, and had a 15-inch head. My fifth baby, born 12 days late with perfect-to-low sugars throughout on the Brewer diet, weighed only 8 lbs 10 oz, but was still 21.5 inches long and had a 14.5-inch head.
