A newborn baby weighing the same as a bowling ball was so large it took two midwives to ᴘᴜʟʟ him out.
Cherral Mitchell, 31, gave birth to not-so little Alpha on Thursday and says sᴛᴀFF ᴡᴇʀᴇ sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ at how heavy he was. Wᴇɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ a ᴡʜᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢ 14lb 15oz, he is believed to be the third biggest newborn ever in the UK.
Cherral, from Thame, Oxon, has since nicknamed her son ‘Butter Bean’, while her uncle has taken to calling him ‘Baby Hippo’. Alpha’s arrival was a big sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇ, as his mum had got the ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏɪʟ before he was conceived with her 35-year-old husband Tyson, an electrical engineer. Cherral, who has three more kids, said: ‘We didn’t think he was going to be that big. Everyone kept laughing when his head came out.
My husband Tyson was like “oh my God he’s chunky. There were two nurses ᴘᴜʟʟing – one was trying to push him down to get him out. The nurses said it had to be the biggest baby and were on their phones Googling. He’s a bit of a pumpkin baby with it being so close to Halloween.’
Alpha, who was born at 38 weeks on Thursday, is believed to be the UK’s ᴛʜɪʀᴅ-ʙɪɢɢᴇsᴛ ʙᴀʙʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ holder being 15lb 8oz Guy Carr, born in 1992. The second biggest is 15lb 7oz George King, who was born in Gloucester in 2013. Doctors believe Alph’s size could be because he was feeding on Cherral’s sᴜɢᴀʀʏ Fʟᴜɪᴅs while in the womb.His mum said: ‘They think that because I was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɢᴇsᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs, Alpha was in ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ Fʟᴜɪᴅ that was sweeter. So he was drinking a lot and ᴘᴇᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴀ ʜɪɢʜ ɪɴᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴏF sᴜɢᴀʀ.’
Alpha was estimated to be 11lb 1oz in a sᴄᴀɴ at 37 weeks but he ballooned by three pounds before he was born a week later through a C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Stay-at-home mum Cherral said: ‘My stomach was big but not that massive so I don’t know where he was hiding. I keep saying I gave birth to a baby butter bean. My uncle Jason calls him a baby hippo.’Cherral already has a three-year-old son named Lyon, and daughters Rogue-Angel, four, and Twyla Bay, 10 months. She said that Alpha is the biggest by a long shot, adding: ‘My other children were all normal.’
