Fatty
Parents are instinctively proud of their children, but when babies are newborn it's hard to find reasons to beam.
Of course, baby is cute. But then again, all babies are sort of cute and sort of weird-looking. Part baby, part alien. You can never really be sure if your opinion is biased, and the adulation of friends and relatives is also a little suspect. After all, who hasn't told someone else their baby is cute while thinking the thing looks more like a raisin than a child?
Anyway, all this is to say there is one area where new parents can have their child's performance — and by extension their ability as parents — validated.
At the doctor's office.
Wee babies need frequent checkups. The first thing they do at the doctor's office is strip the kid down and measure his/her weight and height. Then they tell you whether this is a "good" weight for the age. If it is, you can rest assured that baby has been properly fed, which is about the only real requirement of parents in the early going. If the weight is low, let the fretting begin! Should we wake the baby more often for feeds? Am I producing enough milk? Should I be supplementing?
It's enough to freak out most new parents. Sue deals with the potential for this anxiety by ensuring the baby is weighed with a heavy diaper. Padding the scales, if you will.
Abby went to the doctor's today. 10.5 pounds. A veritable porker.
High fives all around.
Of course, baby is cute. But then again, all babies are sort of cute and sort of weird-looking. Part baby, part alien. You can never really be sure if your opinion is biased, and the adulation of friends and relatives is also a little suspect. After all, who hasn't told someone else their baby is cute while thinking the thing looks more like a raisin than a child?
Anyway, all this is to say there is one area where new parents can have their child's performance — and by extension their ability as parents — validated.
At the doctor's office.
Wee babies need frequent checkups. The first thing they do at the doctor's office is strip the kid down and measure his/her weight and height. Then they tell you whether this is a "good" weight for the age. If it is, you can rest assured that baby has been properly fed, which is about the only real requirement of parents in the early going. If the weight is low, let the fretting begin! Should we wake the baby more often for feeds? Am I producing enough milk? Should I be supplementing?
It's enough to freak out most new parents. Sue deals with the potential for this anxiety by ensuring the baby is weighed with a heavy diaper. Padding the scales, if you will.
Abby went to the doctor's today. 10.5 pounds. A veritable porker.
High fives all around.
posted by Scott at 11:50 PM
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