Our baby girl weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20” long at birth. That’s within the normal range of 5.5 – 10 lbs. and very close to the perfectly average 7 lbs. 8 oz (source).
So why was it that when she was born or when people ask how much she weighed at birth that they say things like “WOAH”, “That must have hurt”, or “Oh my”?
It is almost like people ask the weight of the baby, not because they are interested in the good health of the baby but because they want to make judgments on how big the baby was. So Ok, fine, whatever—people are interested in the weight of the babies at birth—but why is it that we have this fascination with it?
Just the other day, a man came up to my baby and said “hey fatty”. I immediately cringed inside. A month or so ago, a woman said, “you are a BIG baby”. The fact is, she is very close to average in size. I get comments like this all the time and I just don’t get it—she is not a big baby.
Sure, she has adorable chubby little cheeks—but in no way does she look unhealthy. And quite honestly, since she lost so much weight after birth and we struggled to get her back to birth weight—I am so happy that she has those chubby little cheeks! Babies are supposed to.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that we are bombarded with weight standards from the moment we enter this world. And why? Shouldn’t the concern be good health and well-being?
When do people stop making comments about a baby’s weight? Why is it “ok” to use terms with babies that we would otherwise consider bullying? I know that people (or so I hope) do not mean anything negative by these comments—but still, I don’t like it. Maybe this is because of where I come from in my own experience.
I remember quite well being called “fatty” myself and I remember how hurt it made me feel. Maybe this is why it makes my heart ache just a little whenever I hear words like that, in jest or not.
I do understand that I am being overly sensitive on this topic—and it doesn’t bother me to the point of action, I just find it incredibly interesting and somewhat annoying. Just wanted to throw it out there as food for thought.
What do you think about the topic?
