- Britteney and Chase Ayres, from Ontario, Canada , welcomed their fifth child, Sonny born via Caesarean at Cambridge Memorial Hospital October 23
- Sonny weighed 14 pounds and eight ounces, the largest since 2010
- The average weight of a newborn at full term is 7.6 pounds
A family from Canada is celebrating the arrival of their son who weighed 14 pounds and eight ounces at birth, nearly twice the size of the average baby and the largest born on record in Ontario since 2010.
Britteney and Chase Ayres welcomed their fifth child, Sonny, on October 23 via Caesarean at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge in Ontario.
The baby boy was delivered weighing 14 pounds and eight ounces, and was 21.6 inches long. The average weight and length of a newborn at full term are 7.6 pounds and 19.5 inches, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘It was dumbfounding,’ father Chance told Fox News Digital. ‘It was a mind-blowing experience.’
‘The way the doctors and nurses were cheering, it was like the [Toronto] Maple Leafs had won the Stanley Cup. It was insane. Everybody was jumping and screaming. It was fun,’ he added.
Sonny has the right mix of genetics that can lead to his size – two of his siblings were born at over 13 pounds and his dad Chance weighed nine pounds and nine ounces when he was born.
‘Chance is very tall and he has tall family members. My dad’s tall. My brother’s tall. So yeah, I guess it just runs in the family,’ Britteney said.
Sonny’s birth has no doubt surprised and cheered the hospital staff, including Dr. Asa Ahimbisibwe, an obstetrician who delivered Britteney’s last three children.
‘She previously had a big baby that was 13 pounds, 14 ounces. We knew that this baby would also be a big one, but we did not expect that he would be this big,’ he said.
‘When the baby tipped the scales, it became real that he was indeed a big baby.’ He said the operating room cheered when Sonny was born.
‘I have not delivered such a big baby before and have not seen one delivered even throughout my training,’ Ahimbisibwe said.
The surprise emerged when Britteney’s ultrasound, conducted just one week prior to the birth, estimated the baby’s weight at 6,000 grams.
‘So even if we knew it was going to be a big baby,’ Ahimbisibwe said, ‘the surprise was more that he was bigger than all her previous babies.’
The doctor said factors that could contribute to a large-sized baby include ‘genetics, post dates and poorly controlled diabetes’ in general.
‘But to be sure, Britteney did not have any diabetes during this pregnancy,’ said the doctor. ‘I think she simply makes big babies.’
The Ayres family has now settled into their home in good health.
‘He is a dream,’ said Chance. ‘He is very inquisitive. He opens his eyes and he looks around and you see him staring around and seeing faces and putting names or putting the voices to faces.
‘But he’s so young that he just eats and sleeps for the most part,’ the proud father added.
The older kids in the family are happy to have Sonny home, although they are not aware of their new brother’s exceptional size.
‘For the time that Britteney was pregnant, we kept saying, ”Oh, Sonny’s coming, Sonny’s coming.” So when he finally did come, they were all just over the moon jumping around, going crazy.’
However, the eldest child, Little Chance, had clearly noticed their younger brother’s unusual size.
‘At the hospital, we got to FaceTime and Chancy was like, ”That’s a fat baby,” Britteney said. ‘But, oh my goodness, he is right.’
The heaviest baby, according to the Guinness World Records, was born weighing 22 pounds and measuring 28 inches in Seville, Ohio, in 1879.
This baby, who was not officially named but only referred to as ‘Babe,’ unfortunately died just 11 hours after birth.
