A mum has given birth to one of Britain’s biggest babies, weighing a whopping 11lbs 55oz.
Jade Bayer, 33, welcomed Ronny-Jay Fewtrell on April 5th this year, explaining her bump was so big that people thought she was expecting twins, but after the birth of the child, everyone was surprised. Ronny-Jay arrived weighing the same as a bowling ball or a small dog – and midwives at Worcestershire Royal Hospital were stunned, even having to weigh the newborn twice.
Mum-of-four Jade naturally gave birth to Ronny-Jay at 5.49am despite almost opting for a C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ during the lengthy 16-hour labour. “We had an inkling at the very beginning that Ronny was going to be big,” she said. “I was big straight away, there was no hiding my pregnancy from the beginning. A lot of people were joking that it was twins again because I carried bigger with Ronny than with the twins. When he was born we had to ask to double check the weight.
“He went completely off the growth charts where they put the estimated weight and length – I think he was about the size of a four-month-old baby. He didn’t fit into any of the newborn or 0-3 month baby clothes, he went straight into three to six months.”
Ronny-Jay was originally due on the April 9th and Jade was booked in to be induced on the April 1st because of his size. She added: “My waters broke and I was rushed to delivery so he was born four days before his due date. I was in labour for all of 16 hours and he actually got stuck as you can imagine due to his size. They had to increase the hormones in the drip but I wanted a C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ because I had been in labour so long and was tired.”
“So I did that and he came about half an hour after they gave me the increased hormone, it was quite a relief. They estimated him at 10lbs 6oz so they knew he was going to be big but his dad weighed 10lbs 4oz and I had twins before which were also a good weight.”
Jade’s nine-year-old twins Vinny and Shilo weighed 7lbs 10z and 7lbs 6oz while Analise, 14, was born weighing 9lbs 13.5oz. “I was in that much ᴘᴀɪɴ towards the end of the pregnancy I kind of had to beg the consultant to be induced because I couldn’t physically move or breathe,” said Jade. “I’ve had big babies before but I could tell Ronny was different.”
Jade and partner Scott Fewtrell, 29, said Ronny would probably be their final child. “By the looks of it, they keep getting bigger and four is enough for anyone,” she said. “I’ve done my fair share for the population and if they get any bigger then you are looking at a stone baby. He’s doing really well now, I haven’t been able to weigh him recently because it’s tricky getting a space in the clinics.”
“Now people can see him though and a lot of them say he’s big and really heavy baby. But he is so chilled out, so happy, very content and I get good sleep with him.”
“Milk formula-wise I had to put him straight on the hungry baby formula because he was constantly hungry and wasn’t satisfied enough. I did breast feed at the beginning but I wasn’t able to produce as much as he was demanding. Then we combined and I could only breast feed for three weeks, it was just too much strain. He wanted to feed constantly so the midwives did recommend I switch entirely to formula feeding because I just couldn’t produce what he needed.”
Jade couldn’t stop praising the staff at the hospital where she gave birth, and said she received “phenomenal care” from the moment she arrived at Worcestershire Royal Hospital to the moment she left. Scott was allowed to visit at certain hours, but once Jade’s water broke he could stay by her side for the birth.
Jade said: “He was very shocked and taken back by the whole thing, although we expected a big baby, neither of us expected this. I was quite shocked to learn he could be one of Britain’s biggest babies but the midwife did say he was the biggest ever on her scales. He’s absolutely fine now and gets on great with his siblings, they dote on him. I can’t thank the midwives enough for their continued support and work with me and the baby through my traumatic labour.”
