A proud couple have given birth to a set of twins — believed to be the heaviest ever born in Scotland.
Alanna Merrie, 33, and her husband Paul knew they were expecting twins but not that they would have a pair of record breakers.
Their boys, Troy and Kaius, are now thought to be the heaviest twins born in Scotland after tipping the scales at a combined total of 16lb 13oz.
The brothers were born by caesarean section and astonished midwives with their size at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on November 4.
They weighed 8lb 12oz and 8lb 1oz respectively.
Alanna and Paul, from the Newington area of Edinburgh, were able to take their sons home on Thursday night after spending a week in hospital.
Alanna, a student doctor, said: “The staff at the hospital were saying to me that they have never delivered twins this big before.
“Some of them remembered babies in 2010 who weighed more than 15lbs but they hadn’t seen any as big as ours.”
The record for the heaviest twins in Scotland previously belonged to Mya and Ollie Kennedy of Edinburgh, weighing in at 15lb 14oz at their birth in 2010.
The heaviest twins in the UK, weighing 18lb 12oz, were born in Lancashire, England, in 2007.
Alanna’s family has a history of twins with her mother’s brothers being one example.
During her pregnancy, Alanna went for regular check-ups which revealed the babies were slightly larger than the norm.
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, though, and total strangers kept coming up to me asking whether I was going to give birth on the spot as I was that big.”
The arrival of their sons is particularly poignant for the couple, whose first daughter Aubyn died a few days after she was born.
Alanna said: “What’s funny is Kaius looked so much like our first daughter Aubyn when he came out.
“It was really nice actually – one of the community midwives said to me that in having twins we were somehow getting her back to us and the boys were bringing our family together.”
Troy and Kaius are now at home being doted on by their one-year-old sister Ayla.
Alanna was glad to have them home.
She said: “The boys are doing great and it is really nice for us all to be back home.
“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.”
Shona Finch, acting clinical manager for maternity at NHS Lothian, said: “Every newborn baby is precious, but Kaius and Troy are even more special for their parents.
“A combined weight of 16lb 13oz is very unusual and probably the heaviest set of twins we have ever delivered in 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.
“We are really delighted for Alanna and Paul and wish them well for the future.”
