PHOTOS: Meet 13-Month-Old Baby Who Could Pass For a 3-Year-Old

Born with Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome, a growth disorder affecting one in 13,700 newborns, one-year-old Penelope could easily pass for a three-year-old girl.

According to Mirror UK, her mum, Gianna Pickup, has learned to take it in her stride when people mistake her baby, who has a full head of hair and 85 cm height, for a 2-3 year-old.

Describing the reactions she experiences to her daughter’s size when out and about, Gianna, from Lancashire, said:

“Before she was walking, people would ask me ‘why isn’t she walking?’ because she looked old enough to be.”

But although her daughter has a head of curls that is the envy of many, it’s not solely owing to a genetic stroke of luck. As such, Gianna, 29, tends not to go into much detail with strangers, as the story behind her baby girl’s appearance and stature is a complex, and very unique one.

Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome requires affected children to attend kidney scans every twelve weeks as, among other issues, there is an increased risk of childhood cancer.

Gianna and her husband Lee acknowledge they might not have found out about their daughter’s condition as soon as they did had her birth not been marked by other, equally rare, health scares.

Pregnant with her second baby (due in the next fortnight) Gianna recalls Penelope’s dramatic start to life.

“She had meconium aspiration syndrome, which is when a baby inhales their first stool shortly before or during birth.”

Although treatment for meconium aspiration syndrome has come a long way in the last fifteen years, the condition is still incredibly dangerous.

“The severity with which Penelope had it meant she needed a form of life support called ECMO.”

ECMO stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and acts as a heart and lung bypass.

Gianna explains: “Only a handful of babies need ECMO. It saved her life.”

The mum-to-be is also grateful for another, unique reason.

“Penelope has hyperinsulinism, a condition when too much insulin is produced.”

Essentially the opposite of diabetes, it can lead to hypoglycemia which in turn can cause brain damage, blindness and even death.

Gianna continues: “But if it hadn’t been for Penelope needing to have ECMO, her hyperinsulinism would not have been picked up on.”

Penelope was helicoptered back to the NICU where she spent six weeks whilst being fully diagnosed.

It was a terrifying time for Gianna and Lee.

They were still trying establish feeds every three hour to regulate her blood sugar levels.

In addition to this were the ten types of medication Penelope needed, as well as, “the regular baby stuff such as dirty nappies and bath time.”

During this period, the couple were made aware of the potential health issues babies with hyperinsulinism may face.

“Other babies need a full pancreas removal, but the outlook for Penelope was good. Although it’s partly why she has such thick, curly hair. She was born with lots of curls, but the drug she was put on to control her insulin definitely increased her hair growth. We had to start using baby conditioner at 6 months!”

At four months, Gianna and Lee took their daughter to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for tests to see if she’d need a full pancreas removal.

It was the final part of the chain of events leading to Penelope’s last and definitive diagnosis.

After noticing Penelope’s abdominal organs were enlarged, further tests were done and she was diagnosed with Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome.

Of her rare baby daughter, Gianna says: “It is such a small cross section of babies who have both hyperinsulinism AND Beckwith Wiedemann. It’s about one in 150,000 in fact. But luckily Penelope has it quite mildly, and she may even grow out of the hyperinsulinism. Other babies can sometimes have one side of their body longer than the other, and an enlarged tongue. And she does have quite a long tongue!”

Neither of Penelope’s conditions affect her achieving her developmental milestones.

Her mum manages to see the humour in people sometimes mistaking her daughter for a three year old.

“I do need to dress her in much larger clothes! But if you also look at her dad, he’s over six foot and has hair down to his waist!”

As for the future, the family are looking forward to the arrival of a brother for Penelope.

Gianna admits: “After everything we went through with Penelope, we did have tests done, and there are no problems there. She’s a little too young to understand everything that’s happening, but she does love babies.”