Being a new parent caused me to have the most overwhelming feelings I have ever felt. I have never been more unsure of myself than when I was a new mom; every decision I made I second-guessed because I was so hyper fixated on getting it “right.” I put my trust completely in the advice of those around me, and while in a lot of ways it served me well, it also almost hurt my baby.
I am a plus-size woman, and when I brought my baby to the doctor at 4 months old, he told me my son was looking overweight. I asked if there was something I should be doing because I was feeding him according to the exact instructions I was given. He shrugged and said just replace a bottle or two with water. I was surprised: I clarified if that’s what he said and he reaffirmed. So we did that, and suddenly my son’s already bad colic got out of control. I took him back to the practice, saw a different doctor, and asked what I could do. He noted that my baby seemed a little underweight and I was surprised.
I told him exactly what the other doctor said to do, and he stood there mouth agape. He gently told me that the other doctor was wrong and that he was likely really hungry because babies younger than 6 months shouldn’t drink water. I was horrified. I felt so ashamed. My poor baby was hungry and it was my fault. Luckily, we corrected it immediately and my 7-year-old son is completely fine now, but I share all of this to put a recent news story into perspective.
A couple in Florida, Leroy Somersall III, 24, and Madison Smith, 23, brought their 5-month-old twins to the hospital on January 6, 2026, after one of them appeared unresponsive, according to Fox 35. It was there that police received an anonymous tip about the state of the children. Both were severely malnourished to the point of their bones showing and stomachs sunken in. Law & Crime reported that the babies weighed about 5.7 pounds each, which is slightly more than the little girl weighed when she was born premature and slightly under what the little boy was at birth.
Smith told police that she and Somersall were feeding the babies 70 to 80 milliliters every two hours — only they hadn’t spoken to or seen the pediatrician since September 2025. Both of them admitted they “did not realize” they needed to increase the food amount for the children as they grew and rationalized their size because the father is thin.
Hospital staff told deputies the male twin was “dehydrated and malnourished to the point where you can see every bone in his body,” per Law & Crime.
Had they actually taken their children to the doctor, someone would have flagged this early on and guided them.
According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, infants should see the pediatrician for well visits at 1 month old, 2 months old, and 4 months old and other milestones, totaling six times in the first year.
Both were arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm. They are being held on a $100,000 bond at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility and will appear in court on March 3, per Law & Crime.
Police searched the RV where the parents lived with the children and did not find any formula in the home anywhere. Both babies are expected to survive and have already improved, however, they may have suffered neurological damage.
