By Sheree Hoddinett
Newborn, Oliver, is already setting records and he’s only just one-month-old. The not-so-tiny tot has taken the title of the biggest baby born at Caboolture Hospital so far this year. Weighing in at 5.395kg (or 11 pound 8 ounces on the old scale), Oliver made his grand entrance into the world on Thursday August 18 and has continued to move forward in leaps and bounds.
You would think giving birth to the biggest baby born at Caboolture Hospital so far this year would come as a bit of shock to some, but for Oliver’s mum Shania, she’s taken it all in her stride.
“He is my second baby, his sister Hannah is now three and she was actually 4.3kg (9 pound 5 ounces),” Shania said. “I was surprised by her size, so had to shop for new clothes for her. But I was more prepared with Oliver and didn’t bother buying any newborn clothes. He went straight into clothes usually for a three-month-old and size two nappies. At two weeks old, he moved into three to six-month clothes.”
Although prepared for a big baby, Shania admits she wasn’t expecting Oliver to weigh more than five kilos. With the initial shock now wearing off, Shania is settling into life as a mum of two.
“I’m loving being a mum of two, it’s been a very easy transformation, especially with all the help my mum has been giving me,” Shania said. “I’m very lucky to have her help. But Oliver is such a good baby anyway, I’ve actually been very lucky with both of my babies.”
In a nod to Shania’s dad, Andrew, who has sadly passed away, Oliver’s middle name is Drew. It seems he is capturing all the attention of onlookers, wherever he goes.
“All the reactions are amazing, everyone loves his chubby cheeks and thinks he is just absolutely adorable,” Shania said.
Oliver’s birth also caused a lot of excitement for staff at Caboolture Hospital. Oliver didn’t fit in newborn nappies, so staff had to source a bigger size from the paediatrics department. Clinical Midwifery Consultant at Caboolture Hospital, Michelle Hall, said the average size of a baby was usually between 3-4kg. So how does Oliver stack up to other babies born at Caboolture Hospital in terms of size?
“He’s the biggest baby born at Caboolture hospital so far for this year!” Michelle said. “It’s pretty rare to have a baby this size.”
When it comes to contributing factors for those carrying and delivering a baby on the larger end of the scale, Michelle said things like genetics and predisposed medical conditions could contribute to having a bigger baby. As for the staff involved in the delivery, they also have to take a number of things into consideration.
“There are many factors to consider,” Michelle said. “In this case, Mum, Shania, had a C-section to deliver Oliver because he was so big. Then there are things like gestational diabetes, genetics, size of mum’s pelvis, size of baby, if mum has had big babies before, if this is the first or second baby, etc.”
Although pretty chuffed with Oliver being the biggest baby at the hospital this year, Shania said that’s where the record will end for her because of her own health.
“I won’t be having any more babies as I had my tubes tied due to my medical problems,” she said. “I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome along with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Sinus Tachycardia and Ulcerative Colitis, so I think that’s enough for me.”
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