Anyone who's ever given birth, in any way, knows that the moment you see the infant you've been carrying for nine months in the flesh is the craziest thing. But nothing can beat this mom's face after delivering a 13-pound baby without an epidural. Yes, just say that again in your head and try to make sense of it: A woman birthed a 13-pound child out of her vagina without an epidural.
The good news? Both mom and baby are totally healthy, but the shock on Natashia Corrigan's face as she holds her happy baby is absolutely priceless. It's the face of a woman who can't even believe her own power. And who would blame her?
This wasn't Corrigan's first time giving birth. She has two daughters, described as "average sized" by their mother. It's just that this one was a doozy and a super blessing.
"I dreamed of a little fat baby. I've always wanted a little fat baby and I've got a big one", Corrigan told News 7, a local news network in Australia, where she's from. Little Brian Jr, as they've named him, is possibly the largest baby ever born at Mercy Hospital in Melbourne. The shocked mom had had some warning of what to expect of her son, born at 40 weeks and five days.
“I think I was in a bit of shock because the birth was natural and I only had gas so I was still in a bit of shock just from that,” Corrigan told the news outlet. She added that simple breathing helped her. Her secret? "The power of positive thinking during birth, be positive, breathe deep," she told reporters.
Her face says it all. This picture is a good reminder that women and their bodies are just amazing. Whether it's with a C-section or a vaginal birth, Corrigan's' face betrays a simple fact: Even women can be amazed by the crazy feats their bodies are capable of.
An "average" baby weighs around 7 pounds, but there is no such thing as a "too fat baby" that parents should be worried about. Babies are born how they are born. It's all about monitoring weight. "Excess or accelerated weight gain even in the first four or six months of life may be setting up kids for overweight, for higher blood pressure, maybe even for asthma over the first years in childhood," pediatrician Matthew Gillman told NPR. But if a baby is born "chubby" that's not something to worry about. In fact, it's super normal. And if they're laughing and smiling, who cares about anything else?
If anything, you might want to recognize the woman that gave birth to ANY sized baby because she's probably still in shock that she could even do such a thing. And you thought superheroes were impressive.
