BOLIVAR — His name is Kasen Michael Box.
"Look for him in the NFL," father Greg Box said.
Kasen, born Monday night in Bolivar, is 2 feet long and weighed 12 pounds, 8 ounces at birth.
Just how big is that? Kasen weighs more than the average bald eagle.
Kasen's grandfather, Kevin Wells, called the News-Leader on Tuesday inquiring about whether or not his grandson might have been born the biggest baby in the state.
Wells joked that Kasen could drive a car.
"We're just gonna call him 'Sir,'" he said.
Kasen was born at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar via an unexpected cesarean section.
More than 3,000 babies were delivered at Mercy Springfield hospital in 2015; only one was 12 pounds, and most weighed between 6 to 8 pounds, Dr. Barbara Wotherspoon said.
"This is very rare," she said.
According to data from the state's Department of Health and Senior Services, 1.4 percent of babies born in Missouri between 1990 and 2013 weighed more than 9.92 pounds.
Kasen's mother, Ashley Box, said she's tired.
She said she didn't think Kasen would be bigger than 10 pounds, but he could have been even bigger — he wasn't due until Jan. 18.
"I couldn't believe it," Ashley said.
Deborah Smithey is a local midwife who's been delivering babies for 7 years.
"Oh my goodness," she said when the News-Leader contacted her about Kasen. "That's amazing ... that's pretty rare."
Smithey said she's delivered some babies weighing 11 pounds and one baby that weighed an even 12 pounds, although never any bigger than that, she said.
"We pushed and no progress," Ashley said.
Greg had to wait outside the room while his son was being born.
"It was nerve-racking," he said.
While the parents are concerned that the boy's size might pose a health concern, Kasen is following in the footsteps of his older brother.
Blake was 2 pounds less than Kasen when he was born, but Blake is already wearing the clothing of a 4-year-old, and he's only 2.
Greg said Blake kissed his little brother and told him he loved him, but that was after Blake said "eat baby."
"It was hilarious," Greg said.
While nurses at Citizens Memorial Hospital, where Kasen was born, said they'd seen a 12-pound newborn before, it's rare.
A hospital official said the birthplace handled 523 births in 2015, but the hospital doesn't keep a record of the largest baby ever born there.
Kasen is not Missouri's largest baby, though, and it's not clear whether the record has ever been established.
In November 2012, a 14-pound, 6.4 ounce baby was born in Columbia, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.
Ashley said she's more than OK that she did not birth the state's largest baby.
"To me, he feels small, but he is still huge," Ashley said.
Both Ashley and Greg, who live in Bolivar, lauded CMH and their doctor, Mary Hogan.
"She was amazing," Ashley said. "We love her."
It's a tradition at CMH that mothers get a steak dinner after giving birth to a child. For now, Ashley's only able to drink liquids, but having birthed a child bigger than a bald eagle, she said she's looking forward to that steak.
