WHEN Ruth Marr got pregnant with her first child in 2018, nothing could have prepared her for the size of her baby boy.
The expectant mum, now 32, was left stunned after having a five kilo baby the same size as a mini microwave. Her son was so large, she vowed she’d never give birth again.
Ruth lives in Swindon with her partner John and their two children Jacob, three, and one-year-old Freddie.
Recalling her pregnancy, Ruth says: “Everyone who saw me pregnant would ask if I was having twins and I started getting worried. How big was this baby? Would I be able to give birth naturally?
“But the doctors brushed it off. They said my unborn son would be about eight pounds, not too big at all. But they were so wrong.”
In April 2019, Ruth was overdue and uncomfortable, cradling a baby bump bigger than any of her pregnant friends.
Ruth lives in Swindon with her partner John and their two children Jacob, three, and one-year-old Freddie.
Recalling her pregnancy, Ruth says: “Everyone who saw me pregnant would ask if I was having twins and I started getting worried. How big was this baby? Would I be able to give birth naturally?
“But the doctors brushed it off. They said my unborn son would be about eight pounds, not too big at all. But they were so wrong.”
In April 2019, Ruth was overdue and uncomfortable, cradling a baby bump bigger than any of her pregnant friends.
“I was practically falling over my bump and I felt like I was going to birth a yoga ball,” she reveals.
Ruth went into labour naturally but it was no easy ride. After 12 long hours, the doctor pulled out his forceps to unstick her unborn baby.
When the midwife saw Jacob, her jaw dropped to the floor.
“She told me he was the biggest baby she’d ever delivered and he really did look massive – at 10lb 14oz, he weighed the same as a mini microwave.”
Pushing an almost 11 pound baby out naturally was an ordeal for Ruth, who says she basically birthed a three-month-old.
“We’d spent hundreds of pounds on gorgeous newborn clothing but there was no way he was getting into it. We’d washed it all and ripped the tags off, so that was a pricey mistake.
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“Thankfully I’d packed a 0-3 month outfit but the poor boy was bursting out of it. He went straight into 3-6 month clothes.”
Midwives seemed to be queuing up to get a glimpse of Jacob, the famously giant baby. And when friends and family came to visit, they were completely stunned by his size.
“Everyone would joke, ‘Is he walking yet?’ and by the time he was three weeks old, Jacob was the same size as my friend’s two-year-old,” she reveals.
As a first time mum Ruth didn’t know any different, but Jacob’s size did prove challenging. She’d struggle to cuddle or carry him for too long because he was so heavy.
“If he wanted milk in the night, John had to lift him onto my chest because I wasn’t strong enough.
“He drank so much milk I was quite literally drained. Nursing put such a strain on my back and I couldn’t produce enough milk for him, so we had bottles as well pretty early on.”
No one believed how old Jacob was, especially strangers.
“Other mums would coo at him but when they realised his age – and his weight at birth – they’d chant: ‘Oh my gosh, poor you’. They weren’t jealous at all.
“I worried that I’d get judged for having a fat baby, but I was lucky. All anyone wanted to do was squish his rolls – he had 12 on one arm!”
After having Jacob, Ruth swore she’d never have another child but she soon changed her mind.
“Freddie was born in 2021 and I demanded an elective c-section. I flat out refused natural labour. No one was making me do that again!
“I was monitored regularly and delivered a week early just in case Freddie was a big boy too. I was so frightened but thankfully he was only nine pounds. Compared to my robust first born, Freddie was like a little bird.”
Jacob will celebrate his fourth birthday in April and Ruth says people still mistake her tall boy’s age.
“At the age of two he’d chat away with adults who assumed he was four,” she claims. “I’ve never worried about him being bullied – I knew he’d slim down as he grew. He’s levelled out with his nursery friends now and has this story to look forward to when he’s 18!”
Source: thesun.co.uk
