story about a 15 lb baby from another listserv !

[Guest guest]

Here is the text of the newstory from the Bellingham Herald I just received by email.  Big Baby Sawyer Rotman WAS born by Caesarean!

Hannah

Publication=The_Bellingham_Herald; Date=11/14/2003; Section=Local; Page=1; Id=2003111415450004;

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Newborn sets record at St. ph; weighs in at a healthy 15 pounds

BY MARK PORTERTHE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Fifteen pounds at birth.

Yep, that was the birthweight of Sawyer Rotman, the third son of Marla and Tim Rotman of Lynden. Sawyer was born Sunday by Caesarean section at St. ph Hospital.

Tim Rotman remembers medical folks putting the boy on a sophisticated scale after the birth and watching the scale keep on going up.

"The doctors and everybody else was saying, ‘Holy cow, this boy’s huge!’" laughed Rotman, pastor at Faith Reformed Church in Lynden.

"It’s like their whole face and jaw just drops," said Marla Rotman, 31. "Then they usually ask, ‘Did you deliver naturally?’"

While the Rotman clan won’t make a world record — the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records lists a 22-pound, eight-ounce Italian boy born in 1955 as the heaviest surviving newborn — they certainly made Bellingham’s record books.

The average birth weight in the U.S. is about 7Þ pounds, and babies generally do not reach 15 pounds until they are 5 months old.

"I’ve been here for 10 years and there’s never been one bigger that I know of," said Neal, director of Maternal Child Services at St. ph. "I talked to another nurse who has been here 23 years and she has never seen a bigger baby."

Sawyer joins brothers Caleb, 4, and 22-month-old Ezekiel. Caleb tipped the scale at 9 pounds, 7 ounces at birth and Ezekiel was an impressive 12 pounds, 15 ounces, said Marla Rotman, who has diabetes and must strictly control her abnormally high blood-sugar levels.

Babies of diabetics often gain excess weight, and it doesn’t hurt that Tim Rotman is 6-foot-7 and wears a size 16 shoe.

Here’s the kicker: Sawyer was born three weeks early, so the Rotmans figure the baby likely would have been closer to 19 pounds if mom had gone to full term. But the family is just thankful the boy with a shock of brown hair is stable and thriving.

"It is just really a gift to even be able to have children," Marla Rotman said. "I thought he was going to be 14 pounds."

The buzz around the hospital’s childbirth center brought some hijinks, Marla Rotman said. Nursing staff had to scramble to find toddler-sized diapers, which are usually reserved for kids in the pediatric ward, she said.

Someone also brought in an adult diaper and told her it would work just fine, too, she said.

"They said the hospital was prepared for our baby," Marla Rotman said.

While they are laughing now, the couple prepared for the worst. Caleb had some medical problems after birth and Ezekiel had to be taken to Seattle for specialized treatment after he was born because of underdeveloped lungs, they said.

But Sawyer has been doing just fine, and is expected to leave the hospital on Saturday. The Rotmans also want to thank all of the medical personnel who helped them through the pregnancies, including hospital staff and physicians Shayne Mora, Hellis, McAfee, Hart and Kaepernick.

"It’s a miracle this turned out so well," Marla Rotman added.RACHEL E. BAYNE HERALD PHOTOA MOTHER’S KISS: Marla Rotman of Lynden kisses her son Sawyer Rotman who weighed 15 pounds when he was born Sunday evening. He is the largest baby born at St. ph Hospital, according to staff members.COURTESY PHOTOHIS BROTHERS WEREN’T SMALL EITHER: Sawyer Rotman, shown here at St. ph Hospital, joins brothers Caleb, 4, and 22-month-old Ezekiel. Caleb tipped the scale at 9 pounds, 7 ounces at birth and Ezekiel was 12 pounds, 15 ounces. Father Tim Rotman is six feet, seven inches tall.

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Gail Neuman RNC CPHW LNC

listowner of LegalNurseConsulting

certified high risk OB/legal nurse consultant

Tustin, CA