A New York mother set a record at a hospital upstate after she gave birth to a baby almost the weight of a bowling ball.
Joy Buckley, of Corning, gave birth on Tuesday to Harper Buckley, a 15-pound-5-ounce baby.
“I felt like I was hit by two tractor-trailers,” Joy told the New York Post on Monday. “It was pretty violent. She got stuck under my ribcage.”
The newborn was the biggest baby born at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, WETM reported, citing records dating back 30 years.
Harper Buckley was reportedly the heaviest baby born at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center in records dating back at least 30 years. (Denae Wheeler Photography)
She told the news outlet she “knew she was gonna be big, but I didn’t anticipate no 15-pound baby.”
Harper was brought to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after her birthday so doctors could monitor her sugar and oxygen levels.
While Harper was born at just over 15 pounds, more than 8.8 pounds at birth is considered high, according to MedlinePlus. Babies born at a large weight “are often big because the parents are big, or the mother has diabetes during pregnancy.”
The baby was somewhat of a surprise to Joy and her husband, who said they were told they had less than a 15 percent chance of becoming pregnant.
The couple tried to get pregnant for seven years before giving up, and deciding to adopt a child. Then, in May 2016, Joy found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to an 11-pound boy.
“The thing I’ve always wanted to do in my life was be a mom,” Joy told the news station. “Finding out the first time was overjoyed, and then the second time I was just like, ‘I’m gonna be a mom to three kids now, you know?’ It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Joy told the Post that she’s recovering from giving birth. “I’m up moving around, and I can walk now. I’m so relieved to be done feeling that [physical] pressure,” and joked that her daughter “may end up with a linebacker build, just like me.”
