A Tennessee mom who gave birth to one of the largest babies in years has opened up about the brutal delivery.
Shelby Martin, 30, welcomed her 13-pound son Cassian in July, but not everything went the way she planned it.
Speaking to People about the birth, Shelby said that she’d dreamed of having a vaginal delivery and that immediate skin-to-skin contact right after birth was hugely important to her.
However, due to the baby’s enormous size, doctors informed her that it was much wiser to have a C-section.
‘There was a real risk he could get stuck during delivery. That changed everything,’ she explained.
‘I knew the safest choice was a C-section, and thankfully, I had an amazing OBGYN and care team at TriStar Centennial who I trusted completely.’
Shelby, who already had three children before welcoming Cassian, was told during her pregnancy that her fourth was going to be on the larger size.
‘We had a heads up that he was going to be big, but I would have never guessed almost 13 pounds,’ she said.
Shelby Martin, 30, welcomed her 13-pound son Cassian in late July
Cassian was delivered via C-section due to his large size
‘Looking back on bump pictures, I probably should have known.’
In a separate interview, Shelby admitted that she ‘didn’t think she would survive’ her pregnancy.
‘My physical therapist later explained that he was essentially popping my hip joint out of socket,’ she told Today.
Shelby then said that her baby’s birth sent shockwaves through the delivery room.
‘As soon as they pulled him out, everyone in the operating room collectively gasped,’ she said.
‘They were absolutely shocked at his size.’
Cassian spent 10 days in the neonatal intensive care unit due to glucose issues, before being discharged and sent home with his parents.
Shelby also revealed that Cassian’s birth holds a special meaning to her and her husband Joshua, as he was born roughly one year after she suffered a miscarriage.
Cassian is thriving now despite spending 10 days in the NICU after being born
‘He truly is the brightest rainbow we had been dreaming of,’ Shelby said of Cassian.
‘Of course, we still mourn our angel we lost, but being able to get him Earthside has filled something in all of us. His brothers are over the moon.’
While Cassian tipping the scales at 13 pounds is certainly sizeable, he’s not the largest baby on record.
In 2023, a Canadian couple welcomed a son named Sonny, who came out weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces.
