Baby Fat

A funny thing happened - my girl got big!

She started out a nice, normal, 8 pound baby - but she lost over 10% of her birthweight and had everyone (me) a little panicked when she slid to 7 pounds. But that was then, this is now:


At her two month appointment, she jumped from being 50 percentile for both height and weight to 75 percentile for height and 95 percentile for weight.

Oops.

Now, I do not think we are overfeeding her - we have not actually changed the amount that we feed her since she was 5 weeks old, and she'll be 3 months next week. I just think that she, like me, can appreciate a nice roll or two of chub on a baby.

She actually has always looked very round, even when the whole of pediatric medicine was up in arms at her weight slide when she came home from the hospital. Exhibit A:

Now one might gaze lovingly on that sweet round baby and think "Cute!" "Chubby!" but then look at her compared to my aunt's hand, that was no fat baby... just elegantly round in all ways.

Now, what started first was the cheeks. Oh how they grew...

(This is my sweet thing just over 1 month old)

But then this happened:

Chubby legs sprouted where long, lean ones had lived before. I became obsessed with the cuteness of the little rolls during bathtime and have a whole collection of sweet photos that are not safe for the internet. I may blow them up to life-size and line the hallway with them.

And this week, her cousin who is six weeks older came for a visit.

That's right, they are the same size! So my girl will for sure outpace her cousin in weight and height this coming month. Hand-me-downs are now going to flow in the opposite direction!

But as I begin my new "get back to normal" fitness routine, I will relish in my sweet baby's face and rolls. The pediatrician says that there is no such thing as an overweight baby at this age. So let us all remember a time when one could have multiple chins and rolls around every corner and not worry about it! Ah, to be a baby again...


And while there may be some side effects, like having to google "my baby smells like cheese," I wouldn't want her to be any different than she is right now, smiling, laughing, cuddly, and sooo cute. I love you, baby!