One can only imagine what a shock Bobbie McCoy from Iowa (USA) experienced when an ultrasound showed that she was pregnant with septuplets. Yes, that’s right: as many as seven kids. True, few believed that all the crumbs would live to see the birth. And they not only survived, but grew up and learned, much to the delight of mom and dad. Now that the McCoy septuplets are adults, it’s time to remember the story of their amazing birth.
Kenny and Bobby McCoy met at a meeting of the Baptist congregation to which they both belonged. Six months later, they got married, and a year later, in January 1996, their daughter Michaela Marie was born. As Bobbie later said, she and her husband always dreamed of two children of the same age. Therefore, without delay, we decided to give Mikaela a brother or sister.
And then an unexpected obstacle arose. It turned out that the first pregnancy provoked a hormonal disorder in Bobby, which prevented conception. But the woman was not going to give up the idea of becoming a mother of two children and, on the advice of doctors, began ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ for ɪɴꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ. And, oh miracle! Already after the first course of procedures, the test showed two stripes – Bobby managed to get pregnant.
But when the happy Bobby and Kenny came to the ultrasound, a very unexpected message awaited them. “The doctor said: “I see a fetus,” then after a while: “So, here’s another one.” And then he began to count – the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. “Congratulations, you have seven children in your stomach.” Hearing his words, I almost fell out of bed,” recalls Bobby McCoy with a smile.
According to Bobby, she and her husband were able to recover from shock only after a few days. And when they finally realized that instead of two they would have septuplets, they asked themselves the question: where and how will they live with such a large family?
But, first of all, it was necessary to endure and give birth to children, and with this everything was also very difficult. The fact is that it was hard for a short and thin Bobby to bear even one child, and then seven at once! “My belly was growing at a catastrophic rate. It was very difficult for me to walk. And when I sat down, the edge of my stomach touched my knees. I became scared, and I thought: “How long will it increase,” recalls a mother of septuplets.
The news of the unusual pregnant woman was leaked to the media, and journalists became frequent guests at McCoy’s house. Therefore, it is not surprising that the whole country soon learned about the mother, who was expecting seven babies.
Kenny and Bobby were bombarded with a flurry of letters. Most people wrote that they were happy for their spouses, wished them happiness and hoped that all the children would be alive and well. True, there were also ill-wishers who did not understand why it was necessary to leave all the children.
“Evil people reproached us for wanting to use children to get help from the state. They wrote to us that we are selfish and “spend the resources of the world on our big family.” It was embarrassing, but we tried not to pay attention,” says Kenny.
By the way, the question “should all children be left behind” was asked not only by ordinary people, but also by doctors. Seeing how difficult the pregnancy is, they repeatedly suggested that Bobby remove some of the embryos so that the rest could develop normally. “Kenny and I thought it over and decided to disagree. We are both very devout and decided: “Since God has decided to give us seven children, we have no right to go against his will. Come what may,” says Bobby.
When the pregnancy passed 30 weeks, the doctors decided not to take any more ʀɪsᴋs and began to prepare Bobby for an emergency ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. Interestingly, the circumference of the belly of the expectant mother at that time was already 140 cm, which is almost twice the average size of a normal pregnant woman at 40 weeks.
The delivery, which was scheduled for November 19, 1997, was attended by a team of 40 doctors. All seven babies appeared one after another with a break of about 6 minutes. There were 4 boys and 3 girls. The parents chose the names for them in advance and agreed that they would give them in the order of birth. So, the McCoy family arrived: Kenny Jr., Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan, Brandon and Joel. By the way, the kids weighed not so little – from 1 to 1.5 kg, which is pretty good for such a crowd.
Only after 3 months and 10 days, the McCoys were finally able to take their babies home. And the hard days began. “Caring for such a crowd was very difficult. For feeding per day, 42 bottles of milk were needed. And it took more than 50 diapers a day,” recalls Bobby. Of course, Bobby and Kenny would never have made it if it wasn’t for the help of volunteers. During the first year, the McCoy family had 35 assistants. And thanks to the attention of the media, the flow of gifts arriving from all over the country has not dried up.
Immediately after the birth of the septuplets and their parents, then US President Bill Clinton congratulated them. Photos of the happy family appeared on the covers of such well-known publications as Time and Newsweek. Several well-known universities in the country assured that they would be happy to provide free education to children. Later, the next President, George W. Bush, also congratulated the family.
Calls asking for a report or an interview came in almost daily. And once young parents were even offered to shoot a reality show about their family. But Bobby and Connie didn’t want their kids to grow up in front of the cameras. They made an exception only once: when the kids were one year old, they became participants in the famous Oprah Winfrey show.
Years passed, and the septuplets grew up. They successfully graduated from high school and began to prepare for adulthood. Natalie, Nathan, Kelsey, and Joel went to Hannibal-Lagrange University in Missouri, while Kenny Jr. and Alexis stayed closer to home and decided to continue their education at the University of Des Moines. The only one who chose not to pursue higher education was Brandon. Since childhood, dreaming of a military career, he joined the US Army. By the way, he even managed to get married – the only one of the septuplets.
Each of the brothers and sisters has their own hobbies and passions. Alexis wants to become a preschool worker, Joel and Nathan are interested in computers, Kelsey dreams of becoming an actress, Natalie is preparing to become a teacher, Kenneth Jr. wants to open his own construction business.
Now that all the children are firmly on their feet (the eldest daughter Michaela is also married and has already given birth to a child), Kenny and Bobby decided to open a new chapter in their lives.
“We have long dreamed of buying a motorcycle and driving around the whole country on it. Now it’s time to fulfill our dream, ”says Kenny.
In addition, according to the McCoys, the two of them do not need such a big house. Therefore, they decided to organize a shelter for disadvantaged children.
“We received this wonderful home as a gift, and nothing will make us happier than using it to provide shelter to others in need,” says Bobby.
And when Bobby and Kenny are asked to talk about the children, they invariably answer: “This is the best thing that could happen in our lives.”
It is normal for babies to be born in the range of 5.5 pounds to 10 pounds. Admittedly, most of the babies born each year are born within the normal weight range, while a very small percentage are either very small or very large.
There is research that shows how or why children may be born outside of the normal range. It highlights factors such as a pregnant woman’s age, which can drastically impact her baby’s growth inside her ᴡᴏᴍʙ. Normally, after age 35, women are more likely to have increased ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs associated with ‘advanced maternal age’. Other factors, such as a pregnant woman’s weight and whether she has ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs ᴏʀ ʜɪɢʜ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ, can affect the size and health of her newborn baby.
Below is a list of babies who were born way above the normal weight range for newborns. The ten heaviest babies ever born:
Jasleen, the biggest baby in Germany
This baby was born in 2013 and weighs 6.1kg . He wasn’t short on size either, as he grew to 57cm. Jaleen came into the world naturally, without the need for a ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, on a hot July 26. The hospital of the University of Leizpig was the place chosen by her mother to give birth to the little girl. The reason for her large size is believed to be due to an undiagnosed case of ɢᴇsᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs in her mother.
George King, the biggest baby in the United Kingdom
George King, living up to his name, has been the king of babies in the United Kingdom. At birth, George weighed 7kg , almost twice the usual weight for a baby. Nothing could make his parents think that he was going to be so big. Both of his parents were a fairly standard size when they were born and are not particularly tall. Due to his size, her mother, Jade, had a lot of problems at the time of delivery; in fact, when she stuck her head out, she was stuck for a few moments due to the size of her shoulders. Twenty doctors and nurses were needed to get the baby released. Finally, the child was born perfectly, being the largest in the delivery room.
Angerson, the biggest baby in Brazil
Claydiane Santos dos Santos gave birth to her son, Angerson, with an incredible weight of 7.3 kilograms and a length of 59 centimeters by ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ on January 18. The newborn broke the record for the largest baby in the Brazilian Amazon state.
The boy, born in Indonesia, weighed 8.6 kg
In the photo, we see the baby sleeping next to two other medium-sized ones. In this photo, he is 4 days old and already weighs 8.7kg . She was born on September 21, 2009, at the Abdul Manan General Kisaran Hospital in Asahan, North Sumatra. The delivery was carried out by ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ since it was physically impossible to bring him into the world naturally.
Well, what great babies we just saw! Do you know of any other cases of gigantic babies? What were you like at birth?
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