Baby weighing 13lbs dubbed 'chunky monkey' and wears clothes for six-month-olds
A newborn baby who weighs almost a stone has been dubbed one of Britain's biggest babies.
Baby Tabitha has been lovingly nicknamed "Chunky Monkey" by mum Ruth Harvey after she weighed in at a whopping 12lb 9oz.
Despite only being just over three weeks old, the tot is already wearing clothes designed for three to six-month-olds.
Adorable Tabitha was two-and-a-half weeks late when she was delivered on February 28 at Ruth and her partner Eddie Gilligan's home in Dundonald, Ayrshire.
Ruth, an assistant service manager, has since looked up the Guinness World Records to see if Tabitha holds a torch to the biggest babies born, and jokes, "I think I make big babies anyway".
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Ruth joked 'I make big babies anyway' (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)
Tabitha is thought to be Britain's largest home-born baby (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)Guy Carr still holds the title after he weighed in at 15lb 8oz following his birth in 1992, followed by George King who tipped the scales at 15lb 7oz in 2013.
Alpha Stone Mitchell was Britain's third biggest newborn, coming in at 14lb 15oz when he was delivered by Caesarean section at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital in 2021.
It's thought Tabitha may be Britain's biggest baby born in a home birth, however.
Ruth endured an eight-hour labour in a birthing pool at the couple's home last month whilst their four other children were looked after upstairs.
"Tabitha was born two-and-a-half weeks over her due date, she looked well cooked."
The couple decided to have Tabitha at home despite living only 10 minutes away from hospital (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)
Ruth pictured while pregnant to Tabitha, who is her third baby (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)"My other two were 9lbs 9oz and 10lbs 1oz."
"We know the team of midwives haven't had a baby this big during a home birth.
"She's a really big baby, a lot of people have commented but so far nobody has said their baby was bigger."
Ruth has two previous children Ted, six, and nine-year-old Brody, from a previous relationship while Eddie also has two kids Eva, 11, and Oliver, 13.
Ruth said: "It was like Call the Midwife, all the midwives were giving her kisses and cuddles.
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"I gave birth in hospital before and we didn't see the same person twice but we had a dedicated team of midwives and dealt with the same people the whole time.
Tabitha was two and a half weeks overdue when she was born on February 28 (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)"You can't imagine giving birth to a 12lbs baby being an enjoyable experience, but it was.
"It was relaxed, I'm sure it was because I was at home.
"I was in the pool on my hands and knees, there's a school of thought about how animals give birth in dark, calm environments.
"Two of our children were upstairs asleep. They came down and my mum and dad took them out for breakfast.
"When they came back I was lying on the sofa with Tabitha.
"It was such a great experience, the midwives were phenomenal."
Despite being 22 days old, Tabitha is already wearing clothes for 3-6 month old infants (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)Despite baby Tabitha's larger than average size for a new born, Ruth says she's been recovering well from the birth and is already back doing the school run.
"When you are pregnant you aren't ill, it's a really natural experience to be growing a baby and bringing it into the world," she said.
"The aromatherapy and acupuncture, people think 'oh god what is this hippy stuff' but it's great.
"These things are going to increase oxytocin, the happy hormone."
During the birth, in which the couple decided to hire a birthing pool despite living 10 minutes from their local hospital, the parents admit their other children made some worried observations.
She said: "Ted, my six-year-old son was asking my parents 'Why does mummy sound like a cow?'.
"We had all four kids here and they got to listen to Tabitha's heartbeat. That was really nice as well.
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