A northern Kentucky woman believes she has set the world record for the smallest woman ever to give birth.

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The baby is 18 inches long, while her mother, Stacy Herald, isn't much bigger at 28.5 inches tall.

Herald said she has gone through life surpassing people's expectations.

Even her doctors were surprised by her pregnancy.

"My whole life, I've been told that I wasn't able to have children," she said. "I would not live through the pregnancy, that with the size of my torso, the baby would grow up underneath my lungs and smother out my lungs and my heart and we would both die. ... Something inside me just didn't believe that."

Herald said she was so big when she was pregnant that she "looked like an Idaho potato with arms and legs."

Herald was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, reported NBC Cincinnati affiliate WLWT-TV. Her 16-month-old daughter, Katira, also suffers from the genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily.

However, her youngest daughter, Makaia, is expected to grow to average height, WLWT reported.

Herald said the only difficulty she has with the children is when they need to be picked up.

"I'm sure she'll be carrying me one day," she said of Makaia.

Her husband, Wil Herald, who is studying to be a minister, said his wife and kids are a gift from God.

"I'm proud to have her as my wife," Wil Herald said. "It's just a blessing that we have two wonderful children. She's a great mom. She's a terrific mom. I mean, I couldn't ask for anyone else to be the mother of my children."

Stacey and Wil are hoping to have one more child. They would like to have a son.