When Stacie Golebiowski went for her 36-week ultrasound last summer, she already knew her baby would be big, but nothing quite prepared her or her care team for what came next.
“I did have a planned C-section for that day, so we left here bright and early, I believe four in the morning,” Golebiowski recalled.
On July 4, 2024, at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH), Golebiowski gave birth to her son, Grayson, who weighed 15 pounds and 10 ounces - a size so rare that hospital staff encountered a first-of-its-kind issue while registering his weight.
“When Grayson was born the nurses went to enter his weight into the Ontario registry and we were surprised to find out that his weight exceeded the upper limit,” said Laura Ferris, regional women and children director at OSMH. “We had to actually call the Ontario registry and they had to manually update on their end, which was a first for us.”
“He was 24.5 inches long and his head was 42.5 centimetres,” added Stacie Golebiowski.
The family quickly learned that having a newborn of that size came with unique challenges. “He was wearing a size three diaper, which isn’t very common for a newborn baby, but the hospital was very good with, you know, getting their hands on the resources that we needed,” said Paul Golebiowski.
Grayson left the hospital already wearing clothing sized for a six-month old. But as the months went on, his growth gradually slowed to match the typical development milestones.
Now, he’s approaching his first birthday.
“There were challenges and obstacles with Grayson at the beginning and lots of unknowns, even from health care professionals and everything,” said Stacie Golebiowski. “But we got through it all and I mean, he’s thriving and he’s doing amazing.”
The family hopes their story encourages other parents who may face similar experiences with large infant pregnancies to trust the process and not blame themselves.
“I feel like a big one for me was maybe that I felt I did something wrong,” said Stacie Golebiowski. “So, I think it’s just important to understand that it’s just what your body is doing. It’s not that you did anything wrong or anything.”
According to BORN Ontario, Grayson’s birth weight of 15 pounds 10 ounces would put him in the top 0.01 per cent of birth weights in the province.
