Mom calls newborn her ‘little monkey’ because she was born with so much body hair

By Amy Reast via SWNS

A mom dubbed her newborn daughter her "little monkey" - because she was born with so much body hair.

Britney Budhi, 29, got a shock when she gave birth to tiny Teyana in Sydney, Australia last September.

The youngster, who was three weeks premature, emerged covered in black hair - the result of her low weight.

Teyana's striking appearance led Britney to joke that she had given birth to a "monkey" instead of a baby.

The hairdresser said: "I knew it was possible for babies to be born with lots of body hair but I wasn't expecting it.

"When she came out, I even joked that she looked like a little monkey. Some people took that as a mean comment - but I thought it was super cute!

"Over time the hair came off by itself anyway. But even if she'd come out with two heads, she'd still have been the cutest baby in the world!"

Britney and partner Tariq Ladhani, 36, were shocked when their first daughter had to be delivered three weeks early via a c-section.

Teyana was born on September 16, 2021 - but she was so small that she was classed as premature.

At just 2.2kg ( 4.9 lb) when she was born, Britney was shocked to see her little girl covered in dark hair all over her body.

Britney said: "She had all this excess hair on her - I just remember saying, 'oh my God, she looks like a little monkey!'"

The hair turned out to be lanugo - a fine hair covering babies while they are in the womb, which is sometimes still visible if they are born prematurely, or are particularly small at birth.

Britney said while her and Tariq were originally shocked at their "little monkey" - a comment which a lot of people said was offensive and cruel when Britney shared it on TikTok.

But Britney insisted she could never think anything bad of her adorable newborn baby - saying "she was so cute, I meant it like she's super cute."

She added: "I can say what I want about my baby!"

While the hair dropped off in Teyana's sleep within a matter of days of being born, the parents' focus was instead on her safety - as due to her tiny size she had to spend two weeks in intensive care before she could go home with them.

Britney experienced postnatal depression and Teyana's stay in NICU made it even harder.

But eventually the doting parents brought their little daughter home - and have been loving spending time with Teyana ever since.

Reflecting on the journey, Britney said: "I got a lot of hate for saying she looked like a little monkey but I had so much going on that social media was the last thing on my mind.

"I was just making the situation a bit more light-hearted and if people took it the wrong way, that's their problem!

"But even if she'd come out with two heads, she'd still have been the cutest baby in the world!"