My giant baby is 23 pounds — other parents accuse me of abuse but I know my child is healthy
Like vultures to a carcass, social media savages are swarming mom Maci Mugele, accusing the 21-year-old of abusing her bouncing baby boy, Gunner, who weighs a hefty 22.5 pounds at just four-months-old.
'OMG poor baby,' 'Can babies get diabetes?,' 'This should be child abuse,' and mean-spirited mentions of 'Ozempic.' They're only a few of the nasty swipes being taken at Mugele, from Oklahoma, beneath a controversial clip of her chubby bundle of joy.
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6 Mugele was shocked to find that vicious social media users were making fun of her baby's weight and labeling her a child abuser.
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'When you have a 100th percentile, off-the-charts 4-month-old,' Mugele wrote in the closed-captions of her bulky baby reveal, which has garnered nearly 20 million TikTok views.
'22.5 pounds of pure muscle,' she joked in the caption, while holding up her not-so-little one with both arms for the camera.
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Her tubby tot, born on February 19, is also in the 90th percentile for his height, stretching to over two feet tall, and wearing clothes made to fit toddlers.
But the Gen Z mommy isn't as shocked by her infant's eye-widening size as she is by the cruel comments being made at his expense.
6 The 21-year-old was proud to show off her chunky tot online, believing social media users would find his heft cute.
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'I thought that people would think it was cute if they saw it, but I didn't realize how horrible people can be,' a crestfallen Mugele told Kennedy News of her viral vid.
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'It made me upset to realize that there are people like that in this world who feel so comfortable saying these things about a baby.'
The beleaguered brunette feels just as slighted for being mischaracterized as a child abuser.
'I don't know how it's cruel or abusive that I feed him whenever he's hungry,' she moaned, adding that Gunner has always been in a weight class by himself — even in utero.
6 Mugele paid extra to get an idea of how big her fetus had grown before reaching full term.
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'He always measured a week or two ahead [when I was pregnant],' she explained. 'I could just tell that he was pretty big, and everybody already told me that my stomach was bigger than average.'
But, like any curious mommy-to-be, Mugele was anxious to learn just how extraordinarily huge her bun in the oven was growing.
'You only have two scans throughout your pregnancy,' she said, '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,' recalled the Zoomer. 'I think I was like 34 weeks when he was measuring at 6 [pounds] and 3-ounces.'
6 Throughout her pregnancy, Mugele was told that her baby was growing at a fairly rapid rate.
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6 Gunner was born in late February 2025, weighed just over 8 pounds, and measured at 19.5 inches.
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Surprisingly, at birth, Gunner tipped the scales at 8 pounds, one ounce, which slightly exceeds the average baby's birthweight of 7 pounds, 6 ounces. He measured at a standard of 19.5 inches.
But the tike, who Mugele says 'eats more than the average baby,' has certainly shot since his birthday.
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And neither she nor Gunner's physicians are concerned about the cutie's chunky patootie.
'The doctors said that he's healthy, but sometimes people just have big babies,' Mugele assured. '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,' she continued. 'Doctors always told me he was eating a little bit more than the normal baby, which is fine, they said.'
6 Mugele says Gunner is healthy and happy, despite concerns about his well-being.
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Thankfully, a handful of warmhearted folks online — including the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers — agree that Gunner's healthy appetite is one of his finer qualities.
'Calling dibs,' teased the verified TikTok account for the major league football team, joking it wants Gunner on the gridiron.
'OMG, that's a big, healthy baby,' a separate fan fawned.
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'Oh, I love me a chunky baby!!!!!,' another exclaimed.
'He's the cutest,' raved an admirer.
And Mugele, who's now in the ranks of mama bears who breed giant cubs, is equally in awe of her cushiony kiddo.
'Like the doctor said,' she reiterated to Kennedy, 'he's perfectly healthy and has no problem with his weight.'
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