14 pounds! Lexington newborn surprises everyone

Doctors told Cindy Richmond and Arthur Keisler that their soon-to-be newborn was going to be heavier than most babies. But nobody expected him to be this big.

Colin Austin Keisler weighed in at 14.04 pounds when he arrived by Caesarean section Friday. That’s twice the usual weight of newborns and two pounds heavier than doctors predicted.

“It was an ‘Oh my God’ moment,” Richmond said.

Even veteran nurses were stunned. “When you thought you have seen it all, something comes through and blows you away,” hospital obstetrics coordinator Donna Hinton said.

Colin apparently is the largest baby ever born at the 46-year-old hospital and probably among the biggest in South Carolina, officials say.

Arthur Keisler scrambled to the hospital gift shop to buy an outfit sized for a six-month-old after he and his wife — she uses her maiden name Richmond is her maiden name — realized none of the clothes they brought for their third child would fit. And relatives brought in larger diapers. “He’s a toddler at three days old,” the father said.

Neither parent knows the basis of their son’s size. Keisler is an adoptee who doesn’t know anything about his biological parents’ families while Richmond said her parents are slim.

The only problems during her pregnancy were “pressure and a lot of sleepless nights,” Richmond said.

Richmond, 37, is taking a three-month maternity leave from her job to rest and bond with her new son. Hinton, obstetrics coordinator, described her as “a real trooper.”

On Monday, Colin slept while his parents faced the bright lights of photographers and media interviews. He left later Monday to join a brother and sister at home near Lexington.

“It was almost like you knew he was an instant celebrity,” his father said.

But for all of you Gamecock fans dreaming of Colin wearing the Garnet and Black 18 years or so from now, don’t get your hopes up.

Keisler envisions his son playing “for both Clemson and the Green Bay Packers. Cross your fingers. We are Tigers through and through.”

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 2:30 PM with the headline "14 pounds! Lexington newborn surprises everyone."