
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991                   TAG: 9102140149
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: EVERETT, WASH.                                LENGTH: Short

BABY GETS OFF TO BIG START

Melody Johnson made big plans for her baby - buying a fancy car seat and clothes and having her sister make diapers - but her plans weren't big enough.

Christina Eva-Ann Johnson weighed a whopping 14 pounds when she was born Tuesday at General Hospital Medical Center - too big for the newborn diapers, too big for the size 1 clothes and only 6 pounds away from outgrowing the car seat.

Johnson, 33, said she was frightened for a moment after the Caesarean section delivery when she asked if the baby was a boy or girl. No one on the shocked hospital staff answered right away.

"They all were saying, `Oh my God,' " she said. "They said, `It's a girl. A big girl.' "

Nurse Margaret Kinns affectionately dubbed Christina "Bubba." "We're starting her on low-cal Similac," Kinns said, laughing. "She's heavier than a bowling ball."

The average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds, according to the Physicians Handbook. The 5-foot-10 Johnson said she weighed 11 pounds when she was born.

The heaviest healthy baby on record was 22 pounds, 8 ounces, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

by CNB