16-pound Texas baby breaks hospital weight record

WASHINGTON—A newborn who tipped the scales at more than 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms) broke the local hospital’s weight records in Longview, Texas, press reported Monday.

The baby boy, named JaMichael, delivered by Cesarean section to parents Janet Johnson and Michael Brown early Friday, exceeded doctors’ weight predictions by some four pounds (1.8 kilos).

“We’re just amazed,” Johnson told the Longview News-Journal.

“I can’t believe he’s that big. A lot of the baby clothes we bought for him will have to be returned. They’re already too small for him to wear.”

The hospital also had trouble outfitting such a large baby: the newborn nursery did not have diapers big enough to fit him, the mother said.

According to local news reports, Johnson suffered from gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, which contributed to her baby’s large size.

The condition causes a pregnant woman to become resistant to her body’s own insulin and to pass higher than normal amount of sugar to her baby, who stores the extra calories as fat.

JaMichael reportedly will be spending his first few days of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to regulate his blood sugar.