A Linebacker in the Making?

I feel like I cried wolf while bragging about Bennett's size. After hearing that Rocky's dad was twelve pounds at birth, I knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that we'd have a big kid. It didn't help that I was sporting a true belly pretty early in my pregnancy. In my fourth month, my male boss even commented.

From the beginning, the doctors and nurses were telling me he was measuring at least a week or two ahead, with his last sonogram indicating he would be 8-10 pounds at birth. Even the lead doctor told me that the sonographer took so many different measurements, she was never wrong. We started discussing induction dates, c-sections, and my physical ability to birth a ten pounder. I was convinced we had a linebacker on our hands and yet somehow I came home with a pint-sized punter.

We had our first doctor's visit when Bennett was five days old to take measurements, get his first vaccination and double check for any jaundice. The poor thing measured in at 51% head circumference and just 50 percentile height. When the nurse said he was just 15th percentile for his weight I cried, big nasty tears. I felt like I had failed him already. How could he be so below average? Where had things gone wrong?

Yesterday, we found vindication. The kid gained a whole pound in nine days. He's a whopping seven pounds, eleven ounces and grew an entire inch! Bennett and I are obviously both doing something right. It helps ease the pain of those every other hour feedings in the middle of the night.