Freaking out... Anyone have a girl that measured ahead?

[LilithWiser1979]

I had my ultrasound today and I should have measured 8w 4d. I measured 9w 1d. I know this is well within the margin of error, but I recently read that girls tend to develop slower, so if this is a girl, it should be measuring exact or behind, right??!! Augh, I'm freaking out that this is another boy. Anyone have a girl that measured big this early on?

[Rosie85]

I am sure it is fine! I am sure there are ladies that have had girls that measured ahead. I doubt your measurements would make you out of the running for a girl.

[angielorna]

Please stop freaking out, Lilith! The baby is who s/he will be. I'm confident that babies of BOTH sexes may measure ahead, behind or exactly on track. Take a deep breath...I hope everything else was well at your U/S and you got to see your baby's hearbeat :)
Angie

[sugarNspice]

With my current pregnacy (a girl) I was measuring two days ahead at my 8 week ultrasound, though at 22 weeks and one day (my last u/s so far) I was measuring 22 weeks and one day.

With my last pregnancy for which I knew gender (I had one chromosomally abnormal bean in between) I was measuring 5 days ahead at my CVS (done at 12 weeks). I lost the baby sometime between then and 18 weeks, possibly due to severe IUGR or to placental problems caused by the CVS. The baby was a girl, confirmed by CVS and karyotype done by pathology after the loss.

I have also had two boys, both chromosomally abnormal (again confirmed by karyotype) who measured significantly behind.

And my DD#1, who is a *peanut* and always has been (first percentile for weight now at age 7) measured a couple of days ahead at a 6 week ultrasound. By late pregnancy, she had fallen into the lower percentiles for growth, not because she was unhealthy or had a poor placenta (necessarily) but because she is genetically petite. (Though I really didn't know this about her until years of development showed her to be growing well and consistently, but lightweight and not terribly tall).

I have spent so much time worrying about fetal growth rates when pregnant, and I am very certain that measuring a few days ahead has NOTHING to do with gender.

First of all, early ultrasound is said to have a margin of error of 4 days--the babies they are looking at are MILLIMETERS long, and a tiny slip of the tech's hand while clicking the mouse can change the measurements by a couple of days.

Second of all, healthy female embryos that are metabolically strong can and DO measure ahead on early ultrasounds. Measuring ahead means your baby is more likely to have well-formed chorionic villi, to be well-supplied with nutrients by the developing placenta, to be chromosomally normal, and to be free of major birth defects. It does NOT mean you are having a boy.

Girls do tend to measure smaller than boys at birth, but these differences (like genetic differences in body size) don't really become apparent until much later on--like the third trimester. All embryos start out the same size--a single cell--and those that grow more quickly early on are simply more likely to be healthy and metabollically robust.

I so encourage you to celebrate rather than worry about what you learned from today's ultrasound.

[LilithWiser1979]

Thanks for the replies. I'm sure I sound like a crazy lady. Sigh... pregnancy hormones make me a little insane. I do feel better hearing that other women carrying girls have measured ahead. I SHOULD be happy that the ultrasound was good. So many ladies have walked away from their early ultrasounds with tears, and I'm freaking out at GOOD news. I just need to be put out of my gender-limbo misery. Then I can focus on the pregnancy itself and the future one way or another.

[Rosie85]

lilith don't feel bad, we have all been there!! Hormones make us crazy and so does the unknown! I bet you anything you have a little girl in there! We had very similar sways so I am extra pulling for you, haha!

[dloui128]

Both of my girls measured ahead, and they were both 9 pounders, don't worry

[Adia]

Breath in, breath out...everything is going to be ok and you will know the gender in no time at all!

[Jany1025]

I had my ultrasound today and I should have measured 8w 4d. I measured 9w 1d. I know this is well within the margin of error, but I recently read that girls tend to develop slower, so if this is a girl, it should be measuring exact or behind, right??!! Augh, I'm freaking out that this is another boy. Anyone have a girl that measured big this early on?

I don't know about measuring ahead as with DS1 I didn't pay attention to those things back then lol, but I will tell you I had him at 40 weeks 1 day and he was 6 pounds 11 oz, I had HT DD at 39 weeks (via planned Csection) and she was 8 pounds 3 oz!!

I really hope you get your girl!

[angielorna]

I just want you to breath and relax a little. It'll be better for you and better for the baby. I know, I know, easier said than done....and I didn't mean anything negative at all by my response. You are absolutely entitled to feel whatever you are feeling. I'm just wish you could have some peace. blood test is Monday, right? Less than a week away....
Angie

[sugarNspice]

I, too, did not mean to imply in the slightest that you were crazy or neurotic or anything like that just because you were worrying/wondering... I've had the same thoughts/wonderings/worries as you at various times, and wanted to share my experiences.
:fx: that your bean is a pink one, and I am so glad that s/he seems healthy so far!

[carmella_marie]

I wouldn't read into dates being a bit off, as these ladies have said. Just take it as a sign that this is a strong healthy baby and try yo relax!

[hotdogz&boyz]

All three of my babies have measured ahead at every stage. I have two boys and a girl. I've had the margin be as much at 3-4 days with each of them. But I agree, sometimes it's a slip of the hand or a slightly off cursor that adds a day or two, since most of mine bounced around a lot in the early days of measuring (4 days ahead one week, only 2 days the next week, etc). I wouldn't be concerned that its not a girl based on measurements. My girl always measured a bit ahead too. (She is a decent sized kid too).

[atomic sagebrush]

my daughter was my second largest baby at 8 lb 6 oz

[ratcliffe1811]

Don't worry about growth, my boys were all different in measurements and birth weights, my youngest who measured slightly smaller ended up 10lbs! His brothers were 8lbs