Twin boys weigh combined 16lb 13oz in new record

Alanna and Paul Merrie knew they were having twins – but had no idea they were about to become record-breakers.

Troy and Kaius are now believed to be Scotland’s heaviest ever twins after tipping the scales at 16lb 13oz.

Midwives were stunned when the brothers were born at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last week, weighing 8lb 12oz and 8lb 1oz respectively.

They each arrived heavier than their sister Ayla, who was born weighing just over 8lb last year.

Proud parents Alanna and Paul, from Newington, took their record-breakers home on Thursday night after just over a week in hospital.

Alanna, 33, said: “The staff at the hospital were saying to me 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 previous record holders in Scotland were Leith mum Louise Kennedy’s twins Mya and Ollie, who weighed a combined 15lb 14oz at birth in 2010.

The UK’s heaviest twins were born in 2007 in Lancashire, England, weighing 18lb 12oz.

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 new arrivals are particularly poignant for student doctor Alanna and personal trainer Paul, 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.”

The twins – who were born by caesarean section on November 4 – returned home on Thursday, where they are being doted on by one-year-old sister Ayla.

Alanna, who has been training to become a GP, 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.”

There are a few twins in Alanna’s family, such as her mum’s brothers.

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.”

She added: “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.”