When Chelsey Milby first saw her newborn daughter, the shock took her breath away. Armani’s chest and arms were enormous, swollen far beyond anything Chelsey had ever seen in a baby. In that overwhelming moment—standing between fear, disbelief, and love—Chelsey gave her daughter a nickname that would later come to symbolize strength and survival: “Baby Hulk.”
Armani Milby entered the world under extraordinary circumstances. Diagnosed in the womb with a severe form of lymphangioma, a rare congenital condition that causes non-cancerous, fluid-filled growths in the lymphatic system, Armani had to be delivered by emergency C-section at just 33 weeks. Her condition caused massive fluid buildup, leaving her upper body drastically enlarged and placing her life at serious risk even before birth.
“When I saw her, I cried,” Chelsey recalled. “I had never seen anything like that in my life. I was completely shocked. But I didn’t care what she looked like—I loved her anyway.”
Lymphangioma is rare, affecting an estimated one in 4,000 births, and severe cases like Armani’s can be life-threatening. The condition left her swollen from the chest up, giving her the appearance of a tiny bodybuilder—hence the affectionate nickname that helped her parents cope during terrifying moments.
Chelsey’s pregnancy had been anything but easy. By the later stages, her body was struggling to cope with the extreme amount of fluid. She weighed more than 14 stone, endured constant pain, and had fluid repeatedly drained from her abdomen just to breathe and function.
“My body was shutting down,” she said. “I cried every day. I couldn’t sleep. I was extremely sick. It was getting harder just to live.”
Doctors first identified Armani’s condition during a 17-week ultrasound, raising concerns about fluid around her heart and potential breathing or vision complications. The diagnosis was devastating. Chelsey had never heard of lymphangioma before, and searching for information only deepened her fear.
“I was heartbroken,” she said. “I didn’t understand how this could happen. I had two other healthy children. I cried every day.”
At one point, abortion was mentioned as an option. Chelsey and Armani’s father, Blake, never considered it.
“They told us she had a zero percent chance,” Chelsey said. “They said she probably wouldn’t cry when she was born.”
But Armani had other plans.
When she was delivered at 33 weeks, weighing an astonishing 12 pounds—more than three times the average weight for her gestational age—she entered the world screaming. That cry changed everything.
“She came out bawling her eyes out,” Chelsey said. “Everyone in the room was emotional. It shocked us all. She proved everyone wrong.”
Following her birth, Armani’s fight was far from over. The family relocated more than 100 miles to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Armani spent three months in a specialist hospital receiving intensive care. Doctors worked to manage the massive fluid buildup in her body, draining large amounts while carefully monitoring her fragile condition.
During this time, Chelsey battled severe postpartum depression, struggling to stay strong not only for Armani, but also for her other two children.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” she said. “I still struggle some days, but I had to push through for her.”
Now nine months old, Armani’s progress feels nothing short of miraculous. While she still carries extra skin from the fluid that once filled her body and wears clothes meant for babies twice her age, she is thriving. She weighs over 21 pounds, rolls over, babbles, and is even trying to say “momma.”
“She’s happy,” Chelsey said. “She hardly ever cries unless she wants to be held. She’s my little squishy baby now.”
Later this year, Armani will undergo surgery to remove additional lymphatic vessels, followed by a second operation to remove excess skin. Doctors are optimistic that these procedures will help her body continue to shrink and develop normally.
Chelsey is hopeful for the future—a future once denied to her daughter before she was even born.
“She got lucky,” she said. “She’s not in pain. She’s not deformed. She’s just a happy baby. We’re doing everything we can to give her the best life possible.”
Today, Chelsey no longer sees “Baby Hulk” as a symbol of fear—but of resilience.
“Armani is my miracle baby,” she said. “She survived when she wasn’t supposed to. She’s strong. She’s happy. And we love her more than anything.”
Armani Milby’s story is not about how different she looked at birth.
It is about how fiercely she fought to stay.
And how sometimes, the smallest babies carry the greatest strength.
