"He's so small for his age!"

[Panthira]

I went out of town this weekend to spend some time with my mother (Ugh, that was hard!), Greyson and my 14 yr old DD went with us. My DH and 2 yr old DS stayed home.
It was a great bonding experience with Greyson because we stayed in a rental home and it was tiled, therefore not really great for laying a baby down. He spent almost the entire time in my arms, in the MT on me, or asleep next to me. My mom is not interested, to put it nicely, in my youngest kids, so she didn't hold Greyson but maybe twice, briefly. Greyson was soooo happy the entire time, and I don't think he cried at all because his needs were met immediately.

Anyway, I would follow my mom around doing touristy type things, walking around in shops and touring monuments. People constantly asked me how old Greyson is, and I'd tell them he's almost 5 months. Every single time, the person would tell me, "He's so small, what a small baby, but he's incredibly alert for his age!" It got sort of tiresome. Is he really that small? Sheesh! He is getting some chub on him, which I'm very excited about. How silly.

[amygoforth]

Ugh. I hate comments like that. Like complimenting his "alertness" takes care of dogging his size. Next time tell them, "Yeah, but looks can be deceiving. The boob juice gives him superhuman strength. And of course he has a genius IQ."

[judybean]

I get that a lot with Lucy. I don't think she'll ever have rolls. My babies just aren't destined for rolls!!! (although, sometimes I think I can *almost* see a roll on her thigh ... my mom says I'm a bit loony though )

I've come to the conclusion that Lucy is just growing long first. She seems to be filling out a bit in the cheeks, but still... I always get the tiny comments. I have to say, she *is* skinny. She still wears the small VB AIOs I made her with the crossover tab.

Some days the comments get to me more than others. I know, they mean absolutely nothing. I know that she is happy, growing and getting wiser every day. I know she's fine. .... ... I know that.... I really do.... but sometimes the continual comments eat at me... I don't know if it's because of our rocky bfing start, or because this is my first go-round with bfing... but I begin to doubt my abilities to meet her needs through boob juice. I know it's all she needs and it's the best stuff she could ever get.. but darn it... sometimes it's hard to keep it all in focus.

So yeah, I totally hear ya on that. It does suck. Even when you KNOW you're fine, your babe is fine and everything is going the best it can... ugh... hugs to you, mama.

And, I'm so glad you had such a fabulous bonding time with your littlest!!!!

[starparticle]

These comments have stopped getting to me...Leif is small, and I have wasted so much energy trying to find out why, questioning my milk, and having doubts about his health.

I even had a lady the other day say to us (after commenting on how small he is) "Well, congratulations none the less!" What is that supposed to mean??

I just wish I could get him above 13 pounds

rachel

[allnaturalmama]

Originally Posted by starparticle

I even had a lady the other day say to us (after commenting on how small he is) "Well, congratulations none the less!" What is that supposed to mean??

Do people not even realize what is coming out of their mouths???

I'm so sorry, Rachel, Amy, Judy and Shana, about the rudeness of others. Babies come in all shapes and sizes. I've seen pictures of your babies and they look absolutely beautiful, vibrant, healthy and happy!

PS Rachel - those pictures in your blog - absolutely stunning!!! Have you decided on which underwater shots you're going to order? I just couldn't stop looking at them - so beautiful. And all your other pix, too.

[Marlet]

Not in your group but you mentioned you had him in the MT? I notice people comment on how small DD is when she's in a carrier as well. They see so little of her actual body that they assume she's tiny. Then I pull her out and they realize she's not "so tiny/small".

[aisraeltax]

Originally Posted by starparticle

These comments have stopped getting to me...Leif is small, and I have wasted so much energy trying to find out why, questioning my milk, and having doubts about his health.

I even had a lady the other day say to us (after commenting on how small he is) "Well, congratulations none the less!" What is that supposed to mean??

I just wish I could get him above 13 pounds

rachel

yeh, like nonetheless, congrats on your baby. like, WTH? i dont think i could have prevented myself from rolling my eyes in front of her!
you have a beautiful baby boy!
and everyone else's babies are adorable!

[starparticle]

thanks

(underwater photos: We like the first one, then the last one with him and I. They are just so expensive!!)

[Jenivere]

Just lurking... I have a petite and healthy daughter, the comments never end so I know how frustrating it can be. The main reason I posted was to say that no matter how small he is ( I looked at you're pictures of him) , he is adorable! He looks absolutly perfect and you have some great pictures.

[kir]

Those of you who have small babies....exactly how small are they? Are they gaining weight at a regular rate??

Kalpana and Amrita are 11.3 and 11.6 pounds, respectively. They are below the 3rd percentile, even on those new WHO breastfed-babies charts. I have had no comments on their smallness (babies here tend to be tiny...or enormous, bloated ff'ed babies), but their doctor was a little funky about their smallness. This is a doctor I had to search far and wide to find, and she is good in that she didn't encourage early solids, but now she's like "maybe your milk isn't enough."

So I just want to know what you mean by "small" babies.

Not to hijack this thread or anything. (sorry)

I posted this in life with a babe, but I don't know the people there, and many people were like "don't stop breastfeeding!" I don't plan to stop, but I also don't want to ignore something that might be a problem.

Plus my MIL is coming this Friday, and what if she thinks they're too small. OK, this is getting into I-need-my-own-thread territory

Kiran

[oliversmum2000]

Originally Posted by starparticle

These comments have stopped getting to me...Leif is small, and I have wasted so much energy trying to find out why, questioning my milk, and having doubts about his health.

I even had a lady the other day say to us (after commenting on how small he is) "Well, congratulations none the less!" What is that supposed to mean??

I just wish I could get him above 13 pounds

rachel

wow he isnt even 6 months yet and he is almost 13lbs?

sophie is already 6 months and still doesnt weigh 13lbs - you must have extra filling milk!!

its funny how it is all comparative to some hes a tiddler to me he seems good sized!

i think people are sometimes just trying to make chit chat

i am always getting comments onhow small sophie is but they normally say that she is so cute/delicate/dainty/adorable - i guess its the male / female thing

mind you my ds 2 who is now 39 months weighs about 30lbs - and nobody ever seems to notice that he is very little...

[oliversmum2000]

Originally Posted by kir

Those of you who have small babies....exactly how small are they? Are they gaining weight at a regular rate??

Kalpana and Amrita are 11.3 and 11.6 pounds, respectively. They are below the 3rd percentile, even on those new WHO breastfed-babies charts. I have had no comments on their smallness (babies here tend to be tiny...or enormous, bloated ff'ed babies), but their doctor was a little funky about their smallness. This is a doctor I had to search far and wide to find, and she is good in that she didn't encourage early solids, but now she's like "maybe your milk isn't enough."

So I just want to know what you mean by "small" babies.

Not to hijack this thread or anything. (sorry)

I posted this in life with a babe, but I don't know the people there, and many people were like "don't stop breastfeeding!" I don't plan to stop, but I also don't want to ignore something that might be a problem.

Plus my MIL is coming this Friday, and what if she thinks they're too small. OK, this is getting into I-need-my-own-thread territory

Kiran

if your mil comments tell her that they are exactly on track for healthy and normal breastfed babies and thank her for her interest

when babies are breastfed they grow exactly as nature intended their bodies to be

however i did have to be a little more aware when feeding sophie recently as i realised i was getting called away half through feeding her a lot and she was getting lots of frequent short feeds with lots of foremilk and rarely reaching the hindmilk. once i stopped allowing myself to get otherwise occupied during her feeds and waiting for her to tell me when she was done she started picking up her weight again.

i only did this because for 8 weeks she had put on less than 1 1/2 lbs, now she has gone back from below the 0.4th percentil back to the lofty heights of the 2nd percentile!!

[Panthira]

Ha Vanessa, I love your English accent. It's almost as if I can hear you through your writing.

The cool thing about my sweet little baby boy? He's happy and healthy.
He's getting baby fat and has tiny little rolls. Not mounds or super rolls, but enough. It's just adorable to me. The only one of my babies to get roly poly was my third, Owen, and now he's stocky and sturdy, but skinny!

Funny enough, I've never considered supplementing or wondered if Greyson is getting enough milk. I figure if he was starving, he'd be screaming or looking like a twig. Since we're not doing well baby check-ups, and I'm not into weighing my baby like he's cattle or something, I really don't know his true weight.
He's definitely growing, and he IS super focused and social, so in that regard the well-meaning folks who have comments about him are right!

[oliversmum2000]

thanks

im sure he is just perfect just like all of our babies

[starparticle]

We also aren't doing well baby visits - I think they are a scam

Leif looks great, and I'm tired of being worried about him. It is easy to see he is happy and thriving. As far as being weighed, I only do it once a month or so.

I think my anxiety stems from the fact that Luna died from a rare form of dwarfism, so I'm extra sensitive to the whole "small" thing.

[judybean]

I went to two well-baby visits. They caused more grief than anything.

We haven't been back since two months and we don't intend to go either! I don't need to pay buttloads of money for a dr. to say, "yeah, she looks great".

duh.

[oliversmum2000]

im so sorry rachel