As a man, I'll never experience the act of giving birth, and I'm totally fine with that. Based on what I've seen in television and the movies, it looks incredibly painful. Some new dads put on contraptions so they can see what it feels like to breastfeed; should they ever invent a contraption so that men can experience childbirth, no thanks, that's a hard pass for me.
In Sydney, Australia, a 28-year-old woman had a record-breaking birth, but it's not type of record most expecting mothers would choose. According to Kids Health, the average weight of a full-term baby is between 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Nikki Bell gave birth to a 12 pound, 6 ounce baby, which is more than twice the size of some healthy newborns. Also, she gave birth to this not-so-little bundle of joy, without any pain relief medication. That is hardcore!
The record-breaking baby boy is named Parker, and is Nikki's second child. First-born daughter Maddison was at Blacktown Hospital to greet her new little brother - and in a few years, he might look more like her big brother! While speaking to The Mirror, Nikki said she didn't regret her decision to turn down the painkillers. "I’m sure all births hurt, whether it’s 1.7kg of 5.7kg," said the proud mom. "They all hurt." Well, she's probably lucky her labor lastly only two and a half hours. According to The Mayo Clinic, active labor often lasts four to eight hours or more.
On Facebook, the Blacktown Midwifery Group shared a post congratulating Nikki on her healthy birth: "This gorgeous chunky boy was born on Thursday to one of our MGP Mums, Nikki. He weighed in at a record breaking 5.755kg (12lb 6oz for the old school) and was a natural birth with no complications. We are happy to report the not so little Parker and Mum Nikki are doing well. Welcome to the world Parker, you’ll be the talk of Blacktown Maternity for a long time to come! Also a big congratulations to Nikki, Michael and big sister Maddison."
In the comments to the Facebook post, people from all over the world congratulated Nikki, while sharing their own stories. One woman wrote, "What a cute lill pork chop. My brother was born 14 lbs natural birth. Mum said he was so heavy he just fell out lol." Another commented, "Women's bodies are amazing!!!," while a third reflected, "Holy moly, this little cutie weighs more than my twins put together at almost a month old."
The Bell family is back at home, and they're already imagining what Parker might do with all that size when he gets older. Nikki told The Mirror, "Hopefully he will be a bit of a football player, maybe a front rower, that’ll keep his dad happy."
