I have no medical opinions for you, but I will tell you I had 2 9+lb children, and tested negative for diabetes both times. Dh was over 7lbs when he was born - and he was a twin! We just have big babies in our family :)

Carrie

My mom gained 40-50 lbs. with each of us. She had a problem with swollen legs and feet, but isn't that fairly common? No diabetes issues until she was in her 90s. My brother was the smallest at 10 lbs. and I entered the world at 11 lb. 11 oz.

Wow Natal how tall are you?

I donÂt know about the rules where the mom might be, but here in Illinois a midwife cannot practice except under the auspices of a medical doctor. Moms receive all the same care they would get, unless they refuse, I suppose.

Around here, mid wives have been practicing since the mid 70s. Way before rules or licenses. We live in a new age community where most anything goes and the new mom is a true survivor of this environment. How she came out so intact has always amazed me. Her parents were heroin addicts and the broader rural community raised her. She is an absolute joy to be around. Steady as a rock. But there are times when I shudder. Like having a first baby at home, etc.

The best news for me tonight is the baby officially weighed in at 10 pounds exactly. She is 23 inches long. She is a big baby but not as big as I was initially told. This makes me feel better. Her 23" is longer than average, I'm sure. I was told 11 pounds by two people who witnessed the birth. Grandpa (my BIL) and great grandpa.

Interesting side note (gossip alert!) The new mom is a Renoir. Directly related to THE artist Renoir. She gets sizable checks every now and then, when a new museum wants to house the paintings, etc. Luckily the $$ comes very infrequently so they can't depend on it. Her parents, however, get more frequent checks and do depend on the $$. Which just goes to show that setting your kids up with $$ isn't always a good thing.

Luckily our new Mom has seen the dark side and stays way clear. She loves to cook, can jellies, grow gardens and host parties. She is a real treasure and as down to earth as they come. She looks very Nordic. When Nordic meets Italian, we'll see what they produce. This should be an interesting addition to our family. Can't wait to meet her.

I don't think I'll ever stop worrying.

Dr. Renoir was a well-loved professor at Cal when I was there. (I also once owned some property in Grass Valley and know well the the culture of which you speak.) Mom could have had gestational diabetes and/or pre-eclampsia or been very lucky and all was well with just a very large baby. Pretty risky, but what can ya' do? Best wishes to the entire family! This post really takes me back. (Even to the sans-drugs birth of my 9lb. 10 oz. second baby boy twenty-four years ago. And they say you forget the pain. . .)

Jane, 5.8 till I started shrinking.

Kitchen, Dr Renoir is the grandfather of our new mom, who was raised on the San Juan Ridge. Need I say more? All I can say is that we are extremely lucky to have a healthy baby and mom today. Vaccinations controversy, here we come!

Congrats--my son was 9.6 lbs and I was monitored for gestational diabetes, despite no family history. I'm fine, he's fine, but his ped. monitored him very closely through out his childhood for diabetes and signs of incipient obesity. He's 23, and stays away from the carbs, is very active, etc.

I know, ideefix! My sister in law was monitored very closely with her two babies. She had no family history either. With the new mom's Mother having type I diabetes, there's no denying the gene pool. Her foregoing science based medicine during her pregnancy kept me up at night.

The new father lost his 11 month old baby brother years ago because of alternative medicine. Fact Alert! Homeopathy can not cure Meningitis! Why they are so complacent after their personal experience drives me double insane!!

She hasn't been named yet...

Aunties, Dad and Grandpa. The baby looks like a present with a pink bow! She was only an hour old here.

Congrats on the new addition!!

Considering that type 1 diabetes and type 2 have different causes and gestational diabetes is linked to type 2. I don't think her mom having type 1 necessarily had anything to do with the baby being large. Not sure if she was monitored for gestational diabetes or not. Around here a Mid-wife would do that. Not sure what the requirements are in CA. Even if she was monitored for it doesn't mean that she took care of herself and ate like she should.

If she never had a dating u/s it is also possible she was due earlier than they thought and the baby was just born later than the 8 days they thought.

Thanks, lyfia. I knew someone could tell me something that would put me at ease. I'm sure she took care of herself and ate well. That I don't question for a minute.

Here is my professional opinion:

Most Nurse Mid-wives deliver excellent care to their patients. They have to be licensed to practice as any medical professional. They follow many of the same recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians. Here in NJ they have to have an Obstetrician who will be readily available should a problem arise that necessitates a C-section, even for home births. If there were no ultrasounds performed, there are a variety of maneuvers and ways to measure size of baby. It really was NOT that long ago that there were no ultrasounds available. I am sure that the mom of the baby was screened for Gestational DIabetes during the pregnancy since that is a standard of care. We have been seeing a trend of larger babies not related to Gestational Diabetes in recent years.

My personal opinion:
There are good doctors in the world, just as there are some bad ones. The same goes for midwives. Just because she chose the "non traditional" route of delivery for what we are used to these days, does not mean it was sub-standard care. The only person who can judge that would be the mother of the baby. Bravo to her for pushing out an 11 lb. baby without meds!! I work in NICU, my job specifically is to be on hand when things go wrong with the baby so if rescusitation is needed, there is no delay. I have attended thousands of births and it is rare that women deliver large babies vaginally. With all that said, I would never have a home birth, too much potential for disaster, and I've seen them in my career. But I would never judge someone who has, only commend them on doing something, I know I never could do. In medicine, we often say "ignorance is bliss!"

Beautiful baby by the way! Congrats :-)

What a perfectly beautiful baby! Congrats. Stop worrting and enjoy.

Congrats! I thought I replied when you 1st posted, I guess I never did.

Golddust- Congrats, she is a cutie. Glad to hear she is only 10lbs.

My neice was 10lbs but only 19". It was a horrible delivery, very bloody. She came out covered in that white creme. The doc said that with so much of that white stuff (forget what they call it) my neice was about two weeks early. Had she gone full term they estimated she would have been HUGE. My neice was always normal if not slim. She is 27, about 5'8" and probably 115. My sis gained normal weight during all pregnancies. Next baby was 9.5, the last was 8.5 and that was only because they monitored her and induced her out of fear of him getting big. The 9.5 fractured his collar bone during birth. The 9.5 is only 5'7" but very muscular. The 8.5 is 5'10" and average. Although he is super double jointed. Maybe that helped when he was born. lol

I second the comments on there being good practitioners and bad ones. I also commend anyone for taking the chance on home delivery. I would never do it. I worry too much. I know women have been doing it for centuries but I am just glad I was born in the modern age.

My first was 23" and 10.4 lb. (He then gained a pound a week, and was 16 lb at 6 wk old, I am not kidding.) He was face up, so delivery took a loooong time.

So for my next, I was monitored throughout the pregnancy for gestational diabetes, and the baby was induced 2 days before due date to ensure I didn't have another giant. She was 22" and 7.6 lb, go figure.

So, my son has always been on the tall side, 99th percentile through toddler and elementary years, but never heavy (except as an infant, which IMO doesn't count). He's 15 now, and 155 lb at 6 ft tall. (Hasn't really started puberty, though ... feet are about size 12. ) I was 5'9" and 130 lb both times I got pregnant.

So .... another reason not to worry.

Thanks everyone! It is nice to hear about large normal babies. My family has babies on the small side, I guess. 5 to 6 1/2 pounds. I have four sisters and we've yet to get a 7 pound baby, even counting the next generation! To me, 10 pounds sounds huge! 11 pounds? Unheard of!

They have yet to name her and she is 4 days old. Can't wait to hear what they finally decide on. Hope they don't wait until she can name herself. LOL!

How is the baby doing, have they named her yet? Congrats! You know how much I love little girls!

Mom and baby are doing well. No! They haven't named her yet! Everyone is dying to know what it's going to be... Her Grandpa said it will be french and something no one has ever heard of. That's his prediction, anyway.

I love little girls too! Of course I love my boys too.

Try to dissuade them from the Kr8tive and UkneeK names. Salon's Table Talk has a whole forum on naming.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby names - the good, the bad, the venereal-disease-sounding.

ideefix, I am right there with you. That said, there is no dissuading them. They are older parents who are set in doing what they want to do. All I would do is offend them and I do love these very loving people.

I live in the heart of the country where very strange names aren't that uncommon. We have lots of people with Dreadlocks and see names like 'River, Yuba, Canyon, Sierra or Tahoe'. (I can't even remember the *really* odd names I've heard!) In my experience, these kids often change their names when they hit their teens. I've seen it time and again. I know one 'Tahoe' who changed his name to 'Wyatt', his middle name.

Then again, my oldest sister's daughter named her girls 'Rocca and Yarrow'. I could see 'Yarrah' perhaps, but it appears they have an 'O' fetish. When she was pregnant, Aimee and I were hoping they would have a boy and name him 'Almond'. Then they would have an Almond and Rocca. LOL!

Congratulations on your lovely new great neice! With her Nordic and Italian heritage, I'll bet she'll be gorgeous!

What a beautiful family!

Okay, from reading what you've written so far, can I correctly assume she never saw a doctor during her pregnancy and she and the baby haven't been to the doctor yet?

If so, that really bothers me for the health of both mother and child.

Golddust, my daughter was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic this summer and we were told that it does not run in families and honestly, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are completely different animals. Type 1 is an autoimmune process whereas type 2 is a metabolic process. A relative with type 1 is probably nothing to worry about.

And we finally have a name! She is Pascale Jane. There, we have it!