A woman who gave birth to a 13-pound baby has recalled what it was like giving birth to her huge son.
Shelby Martin, 30, and her partner Joshua Thomas, 27, welcomed baby Cassian earlier this year; however, things didn't go according to the mom's original plan.
Shelby, who is from Tennessee, told People that she'd created the 'perfect birth plan' before the birth of her fourth child, which included
immediate skin-to-skin contact and delayed cord clamping.
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But those plans were quickly thrown out the window after healthcare experts told Shelby and Joshua they would be having a larger-than-usual baby.
The couple were told that delivery via C-section was going to be the safest option because there was 'a real risk he could get stuck during delivery'.
On July 29, Shelby welcomed her newborn son, who weighed a whopping 12 pounds and 14 ounces, to be precise.
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Cassian was so big, in fact, that he is the biggest baby Tristar Centennial Women’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, has delivered in years.
"We had a heads up that he was going to be big, but I would have never guessed almost 13 pounds. Looking back on bump pictures, I probably should have known," Shelby said.
Although everything ended up going smoothly, she revealed that she was concerned for her life at one point.
"I didn’t think I was going to survive!" she told Today.com. "My physical therapist later explained that he was essentially popping my hip joint out of socket."
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The mom-of-four said that she doesn't like to imagine what may have happened if she had attempted to deliver her son vaginally, with the 'shocked' reaction in the operating theatre being enough to suggest that it wouldn't have been easy.
"As soon as they pulled him out, everyone in the operating room collectively gasped," she said. "They were absolutely shocked at his size."
And while hospital staff expected Cassian to be massive, even some of them were left shocked by what came up on the weighing scales after he was born.
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"Everyone was amazed by his size! He made such a big impression that nurses and doctors from all over the hospital came by the NICU just to meet him," Shelby said.
"He quickly became a little celebrity during his stay. Every time we visited, someone from the care team was already snuggling him.
"They truly adored him, and as a first-time NICU mom, that meant everything to me. Knowing he was so loved and cared for brought me so much comfort."
The newborn was kept in the NICU for 10 days after his body was not producing enough insulin, while he also required oxygen. However, Cassian was later discharged to go home with his family.
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Shelby explained: "This was my first NICU experience, so having to ask permission to hold him and seeing him attached to tubes and monitors was all so new to me.
"Coming home without him was the hardest part of it all."
Callum Jones