Mother faces backlash over 'giant' four-month-old baby - who is already wearing clothes made for toddlers - as people say it's 'child abuse'
Maci Mugele shared a clip of her baby Gunner Mattheyer on TikTok last month, with the caption: 'When you have a 100th percentile, off-the-charts four-month-old'.
Viewers were astounded at Gunner's size, with some people gushing over his 'chunky rolls' and 'cute' features.
However others have taken aim at the 21-year-old over her son's size, accusing her of 'child abuse' over his weight.
In spite of the naysayers, Maci insists her baby is 'healthy' and doctors have reassured her that he's just big for his age.
Gunner weighed 8lb 1oz and measured 19.5 inches tall when he was born on February 19 but has since shot up to 22lb 8oz and now measures 2.5ft long.
Maci, from Chandler, Oklahoma, US, says that Gunner was large throughout her pregnancy and continues to 'eat more than the average baby'.
After revealing Gunner's size in a clip on TikTok, Maci soon found herself and her baby going viral as her clip racked up 20 million views.
'He always measured a week or two ahead [when I was pregnant],' Maci said.
'I could just tell that he was pretty big and everybody already told me that my stomach was bigger than average.
'You only have two scans throughout your pregnancy so I went to an ultrasound place and paid for an ultrasound to be done to see how big he was.
'They told me that he was measuring quite large for how far along I was. I think I was 34 weeks when he was measuring at 6lb 3oz.
'The doctors said that he's healthy but sometimes people just have big babies. He's big for his height as well so I think that contributes to him being bigger.
'Ever since the second day in the hospital he has eaten more than the average baby - doctors always told me he was eating a little bit more than the normal baby, which is fine, they said.'
Gunner is in the 100th percentile for his weight and the 90th percentile for his height.
Maci, a hospital lab worker, said she was surprised by some of the negative reaction, and didn't see how it could be cruel to feed a hungry baby.
Maci said: 'It made me upset to realise that there are people like that in this world that feel so comfortable saying these things about a baby.
'That's just so sad to me, and I would never want people to say things about him like that.
'I thought that people would think it was cute if they saw it, but I didn't realise how horrible people can be.
'I don't know how it's cruel or abusive that I feed him whenever he's hungry.
'I feel like it would be abusive if I didn't feed him when he was hungry and crying.
'Like the doctor said, he's perfectly healthy and has no problem with his weight.'
Some users were quick to criticise Gunner's size in the comments, with one writing: 'Absolute unit. He has booked in to put my new windows in next week.'
Another wrote: 'This should be child abuse,' and a third added: 'Girl, the box you're supposed to use is baby formula not mass gainer.'
Other social media users defended 'cute' Gunner's size and many predicted it is a good indication that he will be tall when he gets older.
One wrote: 'The amount of people who are calling a BABY fat. He's got the chunk because he's going to be tall. It's kind of how it works.
'They gain a lot of "chunk" and shoot up. It's literally how kids grow.'
Another added: 'He is healthy. That is all that matters.
'Yes, he's a big baby but if you're so bored that a baby bothers you then something is clearly wrong - not with the baby, with you.'
A third person said: 'I love chubby little babies so much! The chunky little rolls look at his squishy little face!'
'Omg I wasn't ready,' one commenter gushed. 'Those chubby little rolls. The cuteness aggression is severe right now.'
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