baby

'I gave birth to a toddler.' 21 women on what it was like to have 'huge' babies.

When I first met my newborn cousin, I couldn't believe her size.

Her cheeks were round and her legs had so many adorable rolls that I refused to stop squeezing.

A solid 4kg amassed in that short, stout little body. 

Watch: Be a good mum. Post continues after video. 


Video via Mamamia.

To me, she was simply the cutest thing in the world. 

Of course, it hadn't clicked that my cousin had come from somewhere ...and that somewhere was my aunty's uterus. Her body grew and then squeezed out this baby. This massive baby. 

Which I think is incredible. 

Keen to know more about what it's really like to do this, I reached out to the wider Mamamia community to hear from women who have had their very own 'huge' babies.

Here's what they had to say.

Katie: "I’ve had three perfect chubby big babies two girls, 4.7kg and 4.8kg, and a 5kg son. They were super long, super big-cheeked babies. My pregnancies were hard, and they kept checking me for diabetes, but they were heavy and long. All around 60cms. 

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"I was often asked how long I had left to go when I was just six months pregnant, while others wondered whether I was having twins."

Image via Katie. 

Alicia: "My gorgeous boy was 4.3kg. He measured big the whole way, so they wanted to induce a couple of weeks early. I held out until 40 weeks but developed a horrendously itchy full body rash in the last few weeks – which is more common with larger baby boys. 

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"I couldn’t take it any longer, so I asked to be induced. Unfortunately further intervention followed, and he arrived via emergency C-section. He got lots of comments about his size. I loved how chubby he was. He’s almost three years old now, grown into his big head, and still the tallest in his daycare class."

Image via Alicia.  

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Leticia: "My beautiful boy was 4.3kg. I was incredibly lucky to have an easy pregnancy and birth. (I now realise how often this is not the case!) I was induced, given the epidural, and I delivered easily. One thing I found hard was learning to breastfeed (which is already hard!) a particularly long baby. He is now a gorgeous 10-year-old, and although he was very tall and heavy from a newborn to five years old, he is now average amongst his peers!"

Image via Leticia.  

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Lisa: "My MCDA (identical twins) were born at 36 weeks and were considered very big for 36 week identical twins. Baby A was 3.12kg and Baby B was 3.4kg – and both were 51cm long. None of the doctors or nurses could get over how chunky they were!"

Image via Lisa.  

Jasmin: "My baby was 4.080kgs. My whole labour I had obstetricians pop their head in to tell me she was too big to push out and would get stuck and that I needed an emergency C-section. My midwives (angels) advocated for me the whole time and she was delivered naturally. Every time I say 4kgs, I always think of holding a two litre milk bottle in each hand."

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Image via Jasmin. 

Ingrid: "My little munchkin was 10 pounds with a head like a bowling ball. We had no idea she was so big, and she was born drug-free in one hour and 45 minutes. By the time she was six months old, she was wearing size two clothes. 

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"Growing up, she was always the tallest kid in the class, but at 15 years old, she’s now average height. I, meanwhile, needed surgery later to have everything put back where it should be. Despite her size though, it was an easier birth than her much-smaller brother, who was an undiagnosed breech!"

Image via Ingrid. 

Brooke: "I had a 4.7kg chunk, which was a total shock. It was a vaginal birth (no epidural!) and he was very popular with the nurses who kept coming in to marvel at his size. The ankle ID bracelet you can see in the pic almost didn't fit his little (big) leg."

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Image via Brooke. 

Josie: My son Mandela was 5.33kg. He was 10 days late, hadn’t engaged, and had the cord under his head... so they scooped him out via a scheduled C-section. They didn’t have any clothes in the hospital that fit. Mum brought in some 00 clothes from home! He is now 13, 5'10 and 100kg. He will stop growing eventually... right? Mama here is 5'2!"

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Image via Josie. 

Kylie: "My chunky bub was either 4.68kgs or 4.86kgs. I’ve blocked it out... She was the result of gestational diabetes and COVID lockdowns meaning no one followed up on any of my concerns (previous gestational diabetes babies were 3.1 and 3.4kgs). 

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"Birth did not go great with this one, but man she’s a tough baby who is nearly two years old now! The saddest part of it all was that no one ever said, 'Oh look at your gorgeous baby'. Everyone always just commented on how big she was. It made me super emotional at an already emotional time."

Image via Kylie. 

Nina: "My boy was 4.75kg. I was induced at 39 weeks due to him measuring a little big on final scans. I didn’t look particularly large. On day three after the induction commenced, he got stuck and labour failed to progress past 8cm dilated and he was born via emergency C-section. He is 13 months now. 

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"Unfortunately, he was diagnosed at 10 months with hepatoblastoma (liver cancer) and is currently undergoing chemo and will be undergoing a liver resection in the near future. As part of the cancer diagnosis we are looking into any genetic causes and he is currently being tested for Beckwith Weideman Syndrome which is an overgrowth disorder. He has a fair few of the symptoms so if it comes back that he has it, then I guess it might explain his rather large birth size."

Image via Nina. 

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Meghann: "My daughter was 4.5kg, and I had a vaginal delivery with no epidural (not my choice, she came too quick!). Needless to say, she is my third and final baby. I got induced right on her due date as I couldn't walk anymore. She is five now and has blonde hair! All that beautiful dark hair she got from her Dad all fell out!"

Image via Meghann.  

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Caitlin: "I have Type 1 diabetes, so I had two chubby babies. My first baby was 5.1kg born at 38 weeks. She was measuring big during the pregnancy so I opted for an elective C-section. She didn’t fit into any of the 0000 clothes that I had bought. My second baby was 4.7kg born at 37 weeks and my husband had a lot of joy telling people she was our 'small' baby."

Image via Caitlin.  

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Jesse: "I was 4.5kg myself when I was born, and our middle child beat my record at a whopping 4.9kg. It was an epidural birth without too much drama – except for a small haemorrhage and a small tear. She is now nine years old and quite tall! This is her then and now."

Image via Jesse. 

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Joanne: "My big baby was 4.63kg and 54cm long. Despite measuring big on a growth scan, I was nearly 42 weeks before a failed induction led to a C-section. I was asked many times if I’d had gestational diabetes but I’d been tested for it twice during pregnancy. He’s still tracking at the top of all the charts at two months old with a very cheeky face."

Image via Joanne. 

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Katie: "My son was 4.66kg. I had no idea I was having such a big baby, and I'm very glad, because I think my labour would have been a lot harder if I knew. I laboured for eight hours with him. I meditated, did housework, did my hair, got to hospital when I was 8cm dilated and the midwives didn't believe I was in labour. He pretty much pushed himself out, and I had a drug-free, natural delivery. 

"The weird thing is, his two brothers were a LOT smaller, and I tore with both of them! I have to say, he was pretty funny-looking when he came out, and ended up with an eye infection as his face was so squished. Of course, he ended up being absolutely GORGEOUS (and seven years on, he still is)."

Image via Katie. 

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Karen: "I laboured for only four hours from start to finish – after a 15 hour 'false labour' two years earlier with child number two. She ended up being 4.6kgs and was born in a hurry, meaning no time for drugs! She’s now a very tall nine-year-old."

Image via Karen. 

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Karli: "Our second son Harper was born at a whopping 5.25kg. After 14 hours of trying for a natural birth, they called an emergency C-section (thank god) and when my obstetrician was pulling him out, I remember him saying: 'This baby is not having milk for dinner, it’ll be having steak and chips!' He was the biggest baby born at Freemasons Melbourne that year."

Image via Karli.  

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Allannah: "My baby boy was absolutely enormous! He was 5.22kg. C-section was only booked as I never went into labour and being 10 days over, they thought it was time to get him out. They had to use forceps for the C-section as he was so huge they couldn’t get him out of the incision they made."

Image via Allannah. 

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Jessica: "4.8kg here. Born on his due date and came out the sunroof, thank goodness! And 10 years later, I STILL have a permanently numb and tingly thumb and forefinger from a damaged nerve in my neck – all doctors and physios agree that 'your big baby did that'. Worth it."

Image via Jessica.  

Trudy: "My two-year-old was born 4.38kg. We were transferred to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) five hours from home a few days after birth. The nurses in the NICU were always commenting on chubby she was, especially when comparing her to the super preemie bubs next to her. When I would turn up in the morning to the hospital, the nurses would tell me they were always fighting over who could give her cuddles during the night."

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Image via Trudy. 

Lauren: "My girl was born 4.55kg. She’s just turned two years old and wears size five clothes! My girl is handing her shoes down to her cousin that’s 18 months older than her!" 

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Image via Lauren. 

Do you have a story about your birth experience? Let us know in the comments below!

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