Kaius and Troy Merrie – the heaviest twins born in Scotland. The boys weighed in at 16lb 13oz between them. They are believed to be the heaviest newborn twins north of the border as a result. Additionally, both boys weigh more than the typical 7lb 8oz for newborns. Kaius was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and Troy was 8 lbs. 12 oz. Born by Caesarean section at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, their size astonished midwives.
Alanna, a student doctor, and her husband Paul expected large babies given the size of her bump before the birth, but didn’t think they would be record breakers.
“Some of them remembered babies in 2010 who weighed more than 15lb but they hadn’t seen any as big as ours.”
Mya and Ollie Kennedy, twins from Edinburgh who weighed 15 lbs 14 oz in 2010, held the record for the largest twins in Scotland.
The heaviest twins in the UK, weighing 18lb 12oz, were born in Lancashire in 2007.
Alanna’s family have a history of twins. And during her pregnancy, she had regular check-ups which revealed the babies were large.
She said: “All the scans said they were good-sized twins but there was nothing to say that they were that big. It was
genuinely quite a surprise.
“I did have a huge bump and strangers kept coming up to ask whether I was going to give birth on the spot as I was that big.”
The twins’ arrival is all the more special as the couple’s first daughter, Aubyn, died a few days after she was born.
“What’s funny is Kaius looked so much like our first daughter Aubyn when he came out.” said Alanna.
“It was actually incredibly sweet because one of the local midwives told me that by having twins, we were bringing our family closer together and bringing her back to us in some way.
Currently, Troy and Kaius are at home with their one-year-old sister Ayla, who adores them. “The boys are doing fine, and it’s lovely to be back home,” Alanna added.
“They lost a little of their body weight over the first couple of days, which is normal, but they are doing really well. They are quite chilled out and they love a cuddle.”
A combined weight of 16lb 13oz is quite exceptional and likely the biggest set of twins we have ever delivered in Lothian, according to Shona Finch, acting clinical manager for maternity at NHS Lothian.
“Twins can often be smaller when they are born and we were monitoring their growth throughout Alanna’s pregnancy so we knew they were both going to be healthy weights.”
