New York Mother Gives Birth to 15-Pound Baby Girl

After three doctors, a medical vacuum, and a caesarean, the mother of 15-pound, 23.2-inch Harper Buckley speaks.

“I felt like I was hit by two tractor-trailers,” said Joy Buckley of Corning, in upstate New York. “It was pretty violent. She got stuck under my ribcage.” Because of the trauma, Harper — who is about the average size of a six-month-old child, was transferred immediately to a neonatal intensive care unit.

Fortunately, Harper is doing just fine and is expected to be sent home too. Meanwhile, her mother is trying to recover for the sleepless days ahead. “I’m up moving around, and I can walk now. I’m so relieved to be done feeling that [physical] pressure,” she said. There was “enough amniotic fluid for two people.”

But she and her husband Norman are understandably ecstatic nonetheless. “We are so in awe of her,” Buckley said. “We’ve been able to hold her. She’s got a pretty happy demeanor.” As to the future? “She may end up with a linebacker build, just like me,” her mom predicted.