{"id":116505,"date":"2026-01-09T04:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/116505\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T04:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:26:08","slug":"i-was-in-shock-north-texas-mom-gives-birth-to-huge-baby-weighing-nearly-13-lbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/116505\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was in shock’: North Texas mom gives birth to ‘huge’ baby weighing nearly 13 lbs."},"content":{"rendered":"

Azle mom, Markie Smith, was shocked when she met her newborn son, and what she named him is fitting.<\/p>\n

ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Life delivered a surprise much bigger than expected for an Azle mother just days before Christmas.<\/p>\n

Markie Smith knew she was having a baby boy. What she did not expect was the reaction that followed in the delivery room when doctors pulled back the curtain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just wild,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Her newborn son was massive.<\/p>\n

Born via C-section in Arlington, Smith\u2019s baby weighed 12 pounds, 10 and a half ounces, nearly 13 pounds. Nurses and family members gasped as they caught their first look.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody, the whole room, just was like, \u2018Oh my God,\u2019\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey pulled the curtain down, and he was just massive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith had already picked out a name for her son, Canyon. After seeing his size, that name quickly evolved into a nickname the family says fits perfectly: Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in shock. I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Smith said, laughing. \u201cHe looks like the Michelin man.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

Smith said she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, a condition that can lead to larger babies. Even so, she said she expected a baby closer to 10 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re expected to have a larger baby,\u201d she said. \u201cI was expecting maybe a 10-pound baby, but definitely not a 12-pound baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his size, Canyon was born healthy. At just three weeks old, Smith said he is already wearing clothes meant for 3-month-old babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s three weeks old, wearing three-month-old clothes,\u201d she said. \u201cHere\u2019s his fat rolls. He\u2019s a good boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The joy of Canyon\u2019s arrival came during a difficult season for Smith. She said the past year brought significant hardship, including the loss of her mother and the end of a relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no words,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGod blessed me with this baby. The life that has just fallen into place for me in the last two months has really been a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said her son\u2019s birth changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally, he saved my life in so many ways,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s a miracle baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Texas-sized baby, Smith said, turned out to be the greatest Christmas gift she could have received.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Azle mom, Markie Smith, was shocked when she met her newborn son, and what she named him is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-116505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arlington","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-arlington-headlines","10":"tag-arlington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}