A proud father reveals that his infant started standing at the remarkably young age of eight weeks, a feat believed to be inspired by his exposure to strongman videos on YouTube.
Tezra Finn-Johnston, aged 31, and his girlfriend Emily Derrick, aged 23, residing in Kingswood, Bristol, noticed their daughter's exceptional strength right after leaving the hospital.
Even at such an early stage, the couple observed that she possessed the ability to support her own head.
Born on January 31, weighing a mere 5lbs 9oz, and falling below the 5th percentile in terms of weight compared to other babies her age, their daughter demonstrated her astounding development.
Currently at 15 weeks old, little Lula can confidently stand without any assistance, fully supporting her own body weight.
While she may be one of the youngest babies to achieve such a milestone, official records are only maintained for walking achievements. As per Guinness World Records, Reuben Robinson set the record for taking his first steps at the tender age of six months.
Tezra Finn-Johnston, aged 31, and Emily Derrick, aged 23, hailing from Kingswood, Bristol, proudly announce that their 15-week-old daughter, Lula (depicted in the picture), possesses the remarkable ability to stand independently, supporting her own body weight.
Tezra and Lula have been watching strongman videos on YouTube, speculating that they might have sparked her inspiration.
Recalling the noteworthy moment, the first-time father stated, "Around the time when she was a month old, she had a tantrum, and I attempted to settle her by placing her on my lap. Instead of sitting down, she surprisingly stood on my knee and refused to bend her legs."
He further added, "She repeated this behavior a few more times in the following weeks, leading me to think that if she can do it when she's upset, maybe she can do it when she's happy. I cautiously supported her and she successfully managed to bear her own weight."
The extraordinary feat has caught the attention of many, as people find it astonishing that she is capable of supporting herself, even when sitting, let alone standing.
From everything I’m reading, it should be about nine months to a year that they should be able to support their own weight.’
The pair first noticed their daughter’s strength when they brought Lula home from the hospital, five days after she was born.
Tezra continued: ‘Pretty much from the day we left hospital she was able to support her head a little bit more than we thought she should be able to.
‘She was holding it up for a few seconds and that shouldn’t be for a few weeks, but pretty much straight away she was able to do that.
‘Then we watched this Babies documentary on Netflix and on there they said babies are inherently programmed to crawl from birth.
‘So I put her down on the mat and she was trying to crawl a bit.
Tezra says Lula (pictured) was able to push herself up and propel herself from his hands with her legs, when he put on a mat to crawl
‘Then I put my arm behind her and she was able to push herself up the mat – propelling herself from my hand with her legs.
‘She can also do it lying on her front as well.
‘We noticed that and she was able to do that first time, so that was impressive.
‘I’m just assisting her in doing what she likes doing – the first time we did it, she smiled at me.
‘It’s like she’s showing off – she looks at you and smiles, it’s like she’s trying to be a big girl.’
Tezra is a big fan of strongman competitions, regularly watching videos on Youtube.
The father who claims Lula looks engaged when they watch the videos together, jokes she might have been inspired by these to train herself.
Tezra revealed he got a few ideas from Netflix’s Babies documentary, but advises others not to try the same. Pictured: Lula at 15-weeks-old, standing unassisted
Tezra thinks another reason for her strength might be a good muscle-to-weight ratio, based on the fact she was a small baby at birth.
He also states her genes could be a reason, because he’s always been able to build muscle quickly.
Tezra said: ‘I don’t advise other people to try this with their baby, but I watched Babies on Netflix, and in there I just got a few ideas from that really.
‘I’ve just always enjoyed being strong.
‘When I was about 13, I started doing weight training and arm-wrestling – I was able to beat adults. Since then I just took up the weights.
‘I just really enjoy being strong – not so much fit, but more the strength side of it.
Lula (pictured) isn’t able to walk yet, but Tezra and Emily fear her first step could be closer than they think
‘I’ve always been interested in lifting as heavy as I can.
‘Only recently, since they’ve had YouTube, I’ve started watching some of the strong men on their private channels.
‘Eddie Hall, they call him The Beast – he was the World’s strongest man 2017 and he’s got his own Youtube channel, so I’ve been watching that.
‘Lula sits on my knee and we both watch that, so I like to think she is training herself.’
Baby Lula isn’t able to walk yet, but the parents are fearing her first step might be closer than they think.
Emily who is a Postwoman, said: ‘When I give her rattles and stuff to play with, she doesn’t seem young enough to want them.
‘She just seems a lot older than she actually is.
‘I’m just like, “Oh don’t grow up yet”.’
