A mom from Arizona is bursting with so much joy as she welcomed a big addition to her family after 19 miscarriages. Cary Patonai was expecting to give birth to a large baby, but she and her husband, Tim Patonai, were surprised that they had a 14-pound baby boy.
In an interview, Cary, 36, said that no one at the hospital had seen a newborn quite as big as their son, Finnley. Even her OB/GYN, who did the C-section on October 11, was astounded as Finnley was twice the size of a normal day-old infant.
The baby was an instant celebrity at Banner Thunderbird Hospital as everyone on the staff wanted to take a selfie with him. While there was excitement around Finnley's birth, his conception was also very emotional for the parents. They went through a series of heartbreaks, with 19 miscarriages, before he arrived in their lives.
The Tough Journey to Have Finnley
Cary and Tim have been trying for a third child since their second baby, Everett, is now two years old. But during the pandemic year, Cary had two miscarriages that piled on the family trauma, especially for Devlen, their eldest, who wished for another brother.
Before having Everett, Cary also suffered 17 miscarriages. Each pregnancy loss broke the 10-year-old boy's little heart just as much as it was difficult for his mother and father. Two of these miscarriages were supposed to be multiple births.
However, the Patonai couple pressed on and was finally blessed with Finnley, their miracle baby. In one of Cary's last few ultrasounds, she was told that the baby inside her womb was already 13 pounds heavy. The nurses thought there might have been an error in the machine, but when he was pulled out during the C-section, everyone gasped because of his size.
Had Finnley been born on his exact due date, he would have been heavier at 16 to 17 pounds. Per the American Pregnancy Association, healthy newborn babies in the 39th or 40th week of gestation normally weigh between six to nine pounds. Incidentally, Devlen weighed 8.2 pounds at birth, and Everett was 11.1 pounds. All of Cary's three kids were delivered by one doctor.
Cary's Multiple Miscarriages
The mother's miscarriages were due to a type of blood clotting and fibroids disorder. Cary and Finnley had to stay in the hospital for a few more days as her condition slowed down the healing process. On the other hand, the doctors had to ensure that Finnley's condition didn't raise any alarm bells or health risks.
After eight days at the hospital, the family is now back in their home in Phoenix. Finnley has been wearing baby clothes for nine-month-old infants and has been feeding twice as much as other newborns since it's what his body needs.
Per the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest baby born in the U.S. was from Ohio, who was 22 pounds upon his birth in the late 1870s. However, as hospitals did not have modern technology at that time, the baby passed away after 11 hours.
