In true Texas fashion, a North Texas mom welcomed a baby so big the delivery room briefly went silent. Her son, Canyon Cooper Smith, arrived weighing just under 13 pounds, earning the family nickname “our squishy” and turning a routine birth story into a viral sensation. What started as a surprise on the scale has quickly become a feel-good snapshot of modern parenting, medical curveballs, and the internet’s fascination with very large newborns.
Behind the jokes about outgrowing newborn onesies in a day is a family from the Azle area adjusting to life with a baby who skipped straight to toddler-sized clothes. Their story, rooted in ARLINGTON, Texas, blends the shock of hearing a double-digit birth weight with the quiet, everyday work of caring for a child who arrived bigger than anyone expected.
The birth that stunned the room
When Markie Smith went into labor in ARLINGTON, Texas, she knew she was carrying a bigger baby, but she still expected something in the ballpark of her previous pregnancies. Instead, staff announced a weight that landed just shy of 13 pounds, a number that instantly changed the mood in the delivery room from routine to wide-eyed disbelief. She later described how she was “in shock” as the team called out the figure and everyone realized this was not just a big baby, but a truly huge one from ARLINGTON, Texas. For a mom from Azle, hearing that number just days before Christmas turned a holiday birth into a story that friends and strangers could not stop talking about.
Medical staff are used to seeing bigger babies, especially when factors like genetics or gestational diabetes are in play, but Canyon’s size still stood out. Reporting on the case notes that his arrival, at nearly 13 pounds and measuring 44 centimeters in length, pushed well past the typical newborn range and even beyond what many clinicians see in a full year of deliveries, according to By Bo Evans. The family’s reaction mixed awe and humor, with relatives quickly leaning into the nickname “our squishy” as they took in his cheeks, rolls, and the reality that standard newborn diapers were not going to cut it.
From viral birth story to everyday life with “our squishy”
Once the shock wore off, the Smiths did what modern parents do: they shared their story online. Clips and photos of Canyon’s first days, including the moment staff read out his weight, spread quickly as viewers marveled at a baby who looked more like a sturdy three month old than a brand new arrival. That appetite for big-baby stories is not new, as another North Texas mother, posting under the handle daniellejenkins_bb, showed when she finally shared Rory’s birth story with her followers, a reel that highlighted how the staff announced the newborn’s weight and drew more than 36 responses and reactions marked with the prompt to Follow. Canyon’s story fits neatly into that same online lane, where parents trade awe, jokes, and practical tips about raising babies who arrive already filling out size three diapers.
The fascination has spread beyond Texas, with national outlets and social feeds picking up the story of the “huge” baby and his calm, slightly stunned parents. One widely shared post framed it simply as a CONGRATS moment for a Woman who delivered a child weighing nearly 13 pounds, a snapshot that captured both the scale of the birth and the celebratory tone that followed in CONGRATS. For Markie Smith, the attention has been less about going viral and more about explaining how quickly her son outgrew the “newborn” label, with reports noting that she was already boxing up brand new outfits and moving him into clothes meant for much older babies, a detail echoed in coverage from WFAA.
Why some babies arrive so big
Behind the cute nickname and oversized onesies is a medical reality: some babies are simply born much larger than average, and doctors pay close attention when that happens. When Texas mom Markie Smith was pregnant with her son, she settled on the name Canyon early, long before she knew just how fitting it would be for a baby whose size would turn heads. Later reporting on her pregnancy has pointed to the way family history, maternal health, and conditions like gestational diabetes can lead to unusually large babies, a pattern explored in detail in coverage that begins, “When Texas mom Markie Smith” and notes how she chose his name and then learned more about those risk factors, summarized in the phrase When Texas. For clinicians, a baby like Canyon is a reminder to screen carefully, manage blood sugar, and plan deliveries that keep both mother and child safe.
Research has also highlighted how maternal conditions can affect newborn health after delivery, not just on the scale. One study described how She ( A 25-year-old woman ) was first diagnosed with gestational diabetes at the age of 23 years, treated with metformin during that pregnancy, and later had an infant who experienced prolonged neonatal hypoglycemia, a complication that can appear in babies of mothers with certain genetic variants, as detailed in She. While Canyon’s medical chart is private, his size alone puts him in a category that doctors watch closely, and his story has helped spotlight the broader conversation about how pregnancy care, from early testing to delivery planning, can shape outcomes for both average sized newborns and the rare “squishy” babies who arrive ready to skip the infant aisle entirely.
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