This is the place for moms In The Making, who smile with the messes, embrace the unexpected, and know that every day is a blessing.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sizes and Self Esteem


A moment of revelation came while discussing my son at work today. I was bragging about what a big boy he is... wearing 6 month clothes while he is not yet 4 months. A woman commented that baby sizes never quite made sense to her. Then it hit me... As a mom the pediatrician is constantly asking if my baby is gaining enough weight... this is incredibly stressful because I start feeling belittled and incompetent, especially with nursing. I always want my boy to gain weight and get chubby. (He was born at 9.35 lbs and dropped to 7.11 lbs so we had some scary times).



I truly think they make baby clothes so you will feel good about yourself when you get your baby dressed. If your baby isn’t gaining weight quickly the last thing you need is the tag on his clothes telling you that you are failing! You already have a pediatrician, and many others to give you that opinion.  


Babies’ clothes are the exact opposite of adult’s. More expensive adult clothes can be great because the sizes run bigger... you feel skinnier just by looking at the tag. In turn you feel like supermom when you little tike is wearing clothes that are a whole size bigger.


And then there’s bridesmaid dresses... they are made EXTRA EXTRA small so your self esteem goes down no matter what size you are. My bridesmaid dress just came in the mail, and I must say three months postpartum is a bad time for bridesmaid dresses. However even though it is an 18W it doesn’t look as bad as I imagined it. Yes, I’d love to be skinnier and not have that size. But considering the situation its not that bad. (ok... the lil guy was up all night so I didn't get to take a pic in the dress... I will post that soon)


Maternity pants and blouse :)
Bottom line it's not about the tag... For you or your baby. I know I try my absolute best to keep my little guy healthy and growing. Now (finally!) He is gaining weight like a little bear. But I have friends doing the same things and their babies aren't growing nearly as fast... but they are INCREDIBLE moms!!!

Just like... I'd like to believe I'm a great mom even though I'm still rocking maternity pants and my girlfriend was back to normal after a week.


How had your journey been? With you or your baby? I would love to hear from you.


5 comments:

  1. OK, this is somethign I deal with all the time as a Pediatrician. everyone wants their baby's to gain a lot of weight. I am just as concerned, if not more concerned if a baby is gaining too much weight as when a baby is gaining too little weight. It seems to be very cultural. Personally as long as my little one was gaining right along the growth curve, I could care less that she was smaller than other's babies. As a pediatrician, most of the time I see babies gaining WAY too much weight too fast and they go on to become obese (Yes, I have many patients I am struggling to manage obesity at 2 years old, etc. No one really thinks a fat baby/toddler is a problem, but when the "baby fat" never goes away and they start having hypertension and high blood sugar, and body aches and trouble with exercise, etc they cannot understand it. PLEASE parents! Don't worry! If your baby is gaining on the growth curve, then they are usually fine! Babies vary A LOT in their size, so comparing your baby to others is not really a good idea (it tells you nothing).
    Ok...I'm done....

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  2. I still want to see the dress pic Theresa!

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  3. Sorry! I just took some pictures during lunch... they're not perfect, but at least you can see the dress. Theresa :)

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    1. you look great in the dress :) now you need cowgirl boots :)

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I would love to hear from you!