According to University of Michigan Health, the average newborn baby weighs around 7.5 pounds.
So what's it like giving birth to a really, REALLY large baby? Well, we recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us, and they didn't hold anything back. Here are some of their most interesting and eyebrow-raising stories:
1. "I recently gave birth to a giant. He was 11 pounds and 5 ounces. 22 inches long. I had him via C-section. We knew he would be big, but he was estimated to be 10 pounds, so everyone was surprised. Nurses kept popping into my room to get a gander at the 'toddler.' Recovery was awful. You aren't supposed to lift more than 10 pounds after major abdominal surgery, but my baby was 12 pounds by the time he was a week old. My incision opened up twice before it finally healed. Not being able to pick up my baby by myself along with postpartum hormones really wrecked me for a while, but I finally healed, and my chunky baby is thriving. He's now 3 months old, weighs 18 pounds, wears size 6 months clothes, and is hitting milestones of a 5-month-old."
2. "My third daughter was 12 pounds when she was born. I was due to have her at home but was measuring the same size as someone who was pregnant with twins. Scans suggested 'maybe around 10 pounds,' so I decided on a C-section, which was good because I found out after she was born that her head was too big to fit through my pelvis! When they lifted her out, the surgical team audibly gasped, prompting me to ask, 'What's wrong with my baby?!' to which they replied, 'She's just really big!' She was the talk of the hospital and is now a very normal, 5'8"-sized 17-year-old!"
3. "My first child was 11 pounds, 10 ounces. He was only one day past his due date. I gave birth in a birthing center, so it was without an epidural and all vaginally. For his size, it was pretty shocking that nothing went wrong and I had a smooth labor and delivery. I did have a fourth-degree tear and had to be taken to the hospital, but all he needed were some bigger clothes and diapers. I healed without any problems, and now I’m pregnant with my second. My docs are keeping a watchful eye on me, and I’m considered high risk, so I’ll be delivering in the hospital with an epidural this time!"
"My son is 3 now and has remained at the top of the growth charts, but he’s starting to level out a bit. He was such an easy baby who ate a lot and slept through the night from the very beginning."
4. "In my third trimester, they scheduled a last-minute ultrasound because I hadn't gained much weight, and the doctors were concerned my baby was going to be small. After the growth scan, the doctors were shocked that she was measuring around 10 pounds and scheduled me for a C-section 10 days later. That sure as shit never happened. About a week later, I mildly felt contractions and woke my husband up. We peacefully made our way to the hospital, which was on a military base. Right as we approached the gate to get our IDs checked, I turned into a demon. I swear my head did a full 360. I began screaming and cursing at my husband to hurry the f*ck up."
5. "My first was 9 pounds, 12 ounces. We had no idea he would be that big! But my belly was quite large, especially for my frame. I had him vaginally, and delivery was honestly the easiest part of pregnancy. I pushed for 15 minutes. He did break his collarbone coming out, but it healed naturally very quickly. The first thing I said after birth was, 'Wow, I can breathe again!' He took up a lot of space in my short torso. I liked having a big baby. He was much sturdier to hold and change, etc. My second born was 8 pounds, 15 ounces!"
6. "I had a 10.1-pound baby boy. No one believed that I was having a big baby because I didn't have gestational diabetes, had normal weight gain, and my belly was big but measuring normal. I kept saying the baby felt big inside of me — his movements were more painful than the contractions! When I gave birth, he had shoulder dystocia (his shoulders were too big and got stuck). Fortunately, the OB and nurses were on top of it and got him out safe and sound in what could have been a very scary situation. Everyone thinks I would have a difficult recovery after that, but I got him out in under 10 minutes, 4 pushes, and no tearing or stitches! I owe that in large part to my wonderful OB and the nurses at the hospital."
7. "My youngest son was 10 pounds, 10 ounces when he was born. He was the biggest vaginal birth the hospital had seen in a very long time. I finally understand Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire,' because it feels like there's one inside your vagina once that baby starts coming out. I felt my episiotomy, everything."
8. "My eldest son was 11 pounds, 11 ounces — the biggest baby the hospital had seen in some time. I carried a lot of water as well, and physically I found the last month or so very difficult. People would ask when 'they' were due, and I'd have to tell them that it's just one really big baby! The hospital was adamant I try for a normal birth, but he was overdue and making no signs he wanted to exit, so after being in hospital for over a week, I had a C-section. I had to send my mum out for some bigger baby clothes because none of the newborn things I'd brought to hospital fit him! Breastfeeding was very difficult, and I was disappointed to have to bottle feed in the end, but he's nearly 11 now and almost as tall as me, so he's doing OK.
"His brother was 9 pounds and 2 weeks early, so big babies are just my thing. I blame their dad, who is 6'7"."
9. "My son was 3 ounces shy of 11 pounds. I had no time for meds. I woke up at 1:30 a.m, with a harsh contraction, so I took a shower (poor decision). The drive to the hospital was like a movie; my husband ran every red light. My son was born at 2:48 a.m.! So, less than an hour and a half of labor. Worst pain of my life, I just remember screaming, 'Help me!!!' Meanwhile, my previous birth of my daughter (9 pounds) was 24 hours, medicated, and 2 hours of pushing. I actually prefer the quick and painful 11-pounder over the drawn-out exhaustion of a 9-pounder!"
10. "My son was born four weeks early at 9 pounds, 11 ounces. I had him via C-section and hemorrhaged afterward. I had to get two blood transfusions, and he was in the NICU for 15 days. He is 2 months old now and healthy, but my recovery was rough. Not only was I recovering from a major abdominal surgery and taking care of a newborn, but my body needed extra time because I had lost nearly half of my blood volume. My doctor said if we have another baby, they will have maternal fetal specialists monitor my pregnancy closely."
11. "My daughter — who was estimated to be around 8 pounds — was over 9.5 pounds. I am 5’11”. My obstetrician said tall women hide big babies well. I pushed for three hours and then had the vacuum to assist. Her shoulders got stuck on my pelvis, and the doctor had to pull her out one arm at a time. I ripped through my butthole (nurse referred to it as a vaginal C-section) and had a horrible recovery. My daughter had nerve damage on her right arm and couldn’t move it for a couple of weeks. She is now fine and the tallest kid in her preschool class."
12. "My daughter was 10 pounds, 3 ounces — and she came a month early. They knew she would be a big baby. There was a C-section because I was not ready to give birth. She is now 5'10" and about 300 pounds at age 26. All my friends said I should have gone to full term to try and go for a state record."
13. "I had a 10 pound, 10 ounce baby 5 months ago via C-section. Just before the doctor pulled him out, the nurse yelled, 'Oh my god, it’s a second-grader!' He is a very happy baby and slept through the night very early on, which was nice."
14. "My first child weighed 10 pounds, 8 ounces. We knew he’d be big, but thought from the ultrasounds leading up to my due date that he’d be closer to 9 pounds. The labor itself wasn’t that bad. We had a home birth, so no pain meds or anything, but it was fairly fast (less than two hours of active labor). While it was REALLY painful and exhausting, I knew childbirth was hard, so I just figured that was normal. The hardest part was I had bad and deep second-degree tears that required me to go to the hospital for stitches. The stitches hurt so badly going in, and everything down there was so sore and swollen for weeks. Standing, sitting, breathing, everything hurt, but I thought it was just what every mum went through."
"Two years later, my second child was born three weeks early, and was 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Everything from labor (also a home birth — I had 20 minutes of active labor) to recovery was so much easier. It was such a blessing to just be able to sit at the dinner table with my family without being in pain. And I only needed four stitches this time and didn’t need to go to the hospital, so that was a huge relief!"
—mh2
15. "My youngest daughter was 12 pounds, 1 ounce. She was supposed to be a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), and my stomach was massive. However, they said it was just the way she was laying, and she was maybe 9 pounds. Nope. After three days of stalled labor, her heart rate and mine started dropping, and I was taken in for an emergency C-section. As the the doctor pulled her out, he said, 'OMG! How big is this baby?!' They tested her for diabetes as she was so big, but she was negative. She was perfectly healthy, just big. Now she is 11, and she’s very healthy and active and surprisingly smaller than a lot of her classmates."
16. "I had two boys, both over 9 pounds (9.1 and 9.2) and born two weeks early. Both were C-sections: one due to preeclampsia and high blood pressure, and the other due to an amniotic fluid leak. Everything was fairly normal, but I CANNOT imagine carrying either of them another two weeks and having 11-ish pound babies. They did stretch my stomach out to the point where it'll never be the same without plastic surgery."
17. "My baby was 9 pounds, 12 ounces, which is big but not gigantic compared to some...but his head was the size of the average 4-month-old's. In my final weeks of pregnancy, my OB would feel where he was and just look at me with a pained expression and say, 'His head is REALLY big.' His shoulders were broad AF too. I chose my doctor based on her very low C-section rates, and when she recommended scheduling one, I took heed because...I did not want to be destroyed."
"When he was born, the pediatrician in the OR said she sees one with such a big head maybe once every couple of years, and my doula, who had been trying desperately to talk me out of the C-section, told me, 'You made the right decision. There's no f*cking way he would have come out.' His noggin actually stretched my hips so much I had to get PT afterward despite not having been in labor or given birth.
He continues to be a giant. He just turned 5 and is the size of an average 7–8-year-old, and he's amazing."
—sk85
18. "I had to be hospitalized at around 35 weeks, as my body was trying to get her out (I had my previous baby at 34 weeks, so they took it seriously). When measuring how big she was, they said she was already over 8 pounds — so they knew she was going to be large. Thankfully, she didn't come out on her own, and I had a C-section at 38 weeks. She was 10 pounds, 11 ounces. I went crazy worrying she wasn't going to fit into her going-home jammies...she did, but only wore them that one time! It suuuuucked recuperating after a C-section with a baby I was told I shouldn't be holding ('Don't carry anything over 10 pounds') and a toddler."
19. "Aha! Yes, I had a massive baby — 9 pounds, 12 ounces. He was in the 99th percentile, which means he was bigger than 99% of other babies born. The doctor thought he would be tiny — I was and still am 110 pounds, and they estimated him at 6 pounds. They said he would come right out, but after 3 hours of pushing, and 24 hours into induced labor, they decided to do a C-section. They held him up triumphantly, and later I was told the doctors took bets on his size before he was weighed. My newborn is still large for his age; he's 6’2”, but he's skinny like me at about 140 pounds. LMAO, he’s 17."
20. "My first baby weighed 12 pounds. I am only 5’3" with a small pelvis, and my stomach entered a room two minutes before the rest of me. The doctor was convinced he only weighed 9 pounds and that I could easily deliver him. My body, however, thought vaginal birth was not going to happen! After three agonizing days (and I was three weeks overdue) the doctor finally gave me a C-section. In the delivery room, my 12-pound baby pushed up on his hands and looked around. The best part of having a big baby? It was like being handed a 3-month-old. He slept through the night at two weeks!"
"He was the tallest and biggest in school until he hit high school and the others caught up."
21. "My first daughter was 11 pounds, 3 ounces and 23.5 inches long! My doctor estimated she'd be 9 pounds (😒). After about 23 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, they took her via C-section. She’s now 26 and 6’2”."
22. "My pelvis was spread apart so much that I could hardly walk or even stand up straight for the first five days postpartum. And going to the bathroom was an absolute nightmare."
23. "I gave birth to an almost 11-pounder. I had natural, drug-free labor for seven hours, but they finally realized that this baby wasn’t moving, so I had a C-section. She had to stay in the NICU a few days because of a few minor issues, but she’s a super-healthy 18-year-old now. My body recovered quickly — I was up and walking around 12 hours after the birth. It helps that I was only 28. Youth is on your side when it comes to pregnancy and birth!"
24. "My first baby was born two weeks ago weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces. He was already projected to be above 90th percentile in size, so we induced right at 40 weeks. I was so set on not using pain medication, but after 30 HOURS and slow progress, I needed an epidural to be able to rest a few hours to regain the strength to push because I felt like I was withering away. I narrowly avoided a C-section, and my tears were surprisingly minor, though. My body has also healed surprisingly quickly. Overall, a shocking experience."
25. "My first child was 12 pounds, 5 ounces, and my second was 11 pounds, 6 ounces. Both were a week early, and both were C-sections. I did not have gestational diabetes either. The doctor was off by 2 pounds on both kids. The funniest part was baby items. We went straight to 6-month clothes and big diapers. Baby bathtub slings and bassinets only hold up to 10 pounds. I didn't produce enough milk and had to supplement with formula. Both kids, a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, are now average in size."
26. "My second baby was 11 pounds. He was two weeks late, and I was told he would be close to 10 pounds. Vaginal delivery, with epidural and I think local anesthesia, too. They had the operating room prepped to do a C-section, but it was too late. He was born with a fractured clavicle and a burst blood vessel in his eye. All the other babies in the hospital nursery at the time were 5–6-pounders, making him look gargantuan. He wore size 3–6 months clothes as a newborn. He is tall and skinny as an adult, and had a baby of his own this year, a teeny 5-pounder."
27. "My youngest came out 9 pounds, 11 ounces and 22 inches long — with no epidural. I also had an extremely short labor and no breaks in between contractions from the moment they started until she was out. I definitely felt every single pound of her. Sometimes when you have a large baby, doctors worry about their blood sugar levels and have to run additional tests, which can be pretty scary. I also had a lot of complications in the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy from the size of my daughter. My uterus stretched so large that it was pressing against my rib cage. It also stretched out the cartilage between my ribs and caused a lot of hip and nerve pain. That was almost more painful than the delivery itself."
"She is now 7 and tiny for her age. About the size of a 5-year-old 🤣"
Did you give birth to a jumbo-sized baby too? Let us know about it in the comments below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.