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Bedford's biggest babies
Last week the Times & Citizen met big bouncing baby boy Oliver Moore and his family in Elstow. Oliver was 11lb 8oz when he was born, but in the past few days this newspaper has been inundated with calls from Bedford parents telling us their even bigger baby stories. Paul Fisher met them.
Babies born in Bedford Hospital's Cygnet Wing come in all shapes and sizes, but this bunch were certainly big bundles of joy for their parents.
George Phillips' parents Daniel and Carolyn Phillips were both bigger than your average baby when they were born, but even they were surprised when George was born a strapping 11lb 11oz.
Now nearing his third birthday he's growing fast and could soon be joining his dad playing rugby in Ampthill where they live.
Mr Phillips, of Russell Drive, said: "When he came out I had midwives either side of me and they both just said "bloody hell."
"He looked massive, none of the clothes fitted him and his baby hat did not even come close to the size of his head."
Mrs Phillips added: "Daniel was over 10lb and I was over 9lb when born so we knew he was probably going to be a big baby, but I think everyone was quite shocked when he came out.
"He was off the scales. They could not confirm his weight because of it and it had to be verified a day later.
"We got a big bundle of him."
Turn to the next page for more stories of Bedford's biggest babies.But Beds has got more than just big baby boys.
Olivia Damon, of Odell Road, Sharnbrook, is now 17 years old, but was a big baby when she was born at Bedford Hospital.
Her parents Hannah and Robert Damon were used to having children bigger than average, as Olivia's sisters Rachel, 26, and Charlotte, 24, weighed 9lb and 10lb at birth.
But Olivia beat both her sisters when she was born weighing 11lb 7oz.
Emma Stanbrook's not so little baby girl Sophie Lawrence was 11lb 10oz when she was born at Cygnet Wing.
The 27-year-old mum, who lives in Goldington with partner Christopher Lawrence, was another Bedford parent thrilled to have a big newborn to take home when Sophie arrived in February 2008.
Thomas Stewart from Flitton may not have been the heaviest baby we met this week, but he is probably the longest, measuring 64 centimetres and weighing 11lb 8oz.
Proud mum Lorraine Stewart said: "He was too big for the cot and that was after the midwife induced me early after 39 weeks.
"He was getting too big on the scans, if he had been kept in for a bit longer who knows how big he would have been.
"A mother does not forget that kind of day."
And like Oliver Moore, Thomas suffered from shoulder dystocia, a complication during birth that occurs after the head is delivered and the anterior shoulder becomes trapped, requiring severe manipulation.
But very few babies are born bigger than Doreen Cooper's nephew Graham Staughton, who was born to parents Dorothy and Geoffrey Staughton at Bedford Hospital in 1953 weighing an incredible 14lb 2oz.
The current world record for big babies stands at 23lb 12oz, born in Ohio, USA, in 1979.
More stories of big babies are on the next page.Mothers may be shocked when they find out they are giving birth to a big baby, but Bedford Hospital's midwives have seen it all before.
Midwife Marion Moore has been delivering babies for the past 23 years and has seen her fair share of large infants.
But she told the Times & Citizen that babies in Bedford are certainly getting bigger.
She said: "I have been a midwife since 1986 and we certainly do see more babies over 9lb 10oz.
"Babies are getting bigger but one predisposing factor of having a big baby is a big mother.
"A lady who has a big body mass index is more likely to have a big baby."
Children whose mother has diabetes or develops gestational diabetes during their pregnancy are also likely to be bigger than your average infant because of the sugary environment of the womb.
Babies whose mothers do have diabetes are then more susceptible to dropping blood sugar levels after their birth.
Mrs Moore added: "The problem with large babies is it is quite difficult to predict the women who will have a large baby.
"A big baby can mean a number of things, shoulder dystocia is becoming a common complication.
"The risk to the mum is not progressing in labour and can tear into the soft tissue. They are also more likely to need a blood transfusion."
Last year Bedford Hospital's Cygnet Wing welcomed around 3,200 little bundles of joy into the world and staff say the number is rising year on year.
Mrs Moore added: "We are a victim of our own success.
"Most women have a good experience delivering in Cygnet."Here's bubbly two-month-old baby Logan Chappel happy at home in Wootton.
He's already growing fast, but he had a head start on most babies as he was already more than 12lb when he was born at Bedford Hospital on November 25 last year.
Mum Cherise Berridge and dad Scott Chappel, of Manor Road, Wootton, were just as amazed as the midwives when not so little Logan weighed in at an impressive 12lb 0.8oz.
That's roughly the same as a standard bowling bowl or a small sack of potatoes.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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