me and my mom in the hospital.
it seems that one of the first questions people ask when a baby is born, is how much did the little bundle weigh? they don't ask if mother and baby are healthy, but want to know if it is a big baby? as if having a big baby is some sort of right of passage. and we wonder why we are a weight obsessed culture.
when i was pregnant with cooper, my mil was convinced i was going to have a huge baby. i am not really sure why she thought that. my precious husband and his brother were over 8 pounds. my nephew was also over 8 pounds and has been in the 95th percentile since he was a wee one, but my bil and sil are much taller than me, so the size of their child really had no bearing on the size of the child my precious husband and i would create. cooper, by the way was 7 pounds 4 ounces.
perhaps my mil also thought i would have a big baby because i was 10 pounds. before you gasp, you must know this, i was also a month late. my father was in medical school when i was born and despite my mother's begging to be induced, the doctors were unwilling to induce labor. it was harvey wall bangers and chili dogs that finally coaxed me out of the womb ( and for the record i cant stand hot dogs). i cant tell you how many times i have heard over the years about my weight at birth.
but while i was home i discovered a little bit of family history that needs to be rewritten. i was in my dad's office printing a recipe and out of the corner of my eye i saw a bunch of old photo albums. i immediately sat down to look at them, hidden in the stack was my baby book. i started looking through the pages and was suddenly dumb struck at the information i discovered. i was NOT a 10 pound baby, in fact i was far from it. i weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces when i was born.
i share my discovery and clarified with my parents. my dad's reply "i knew you were 8 pounds 4 ounces when you were born." my mother's reply "well it felt like you were a 10 pound baby."
the way i see it, if i wasn't a month late, cooper and i would have more than likely had the same birth weight. and for the bean, well i guess we will find out in 8 weeks......
It's funny that I find this post today. I was just reading your tweet and wondering how big Cooper was, and how big this bean of yours may be. Granted, Stella was a whole pound lighter than her sister. But that 1/2 inch of length must be the reason I felt so full so fast!! I can definately relate to your feeling of watermelon-ness. ;)
ReplyDelete(though I do feel like a huge whiner now that I have to lay claim to a teensy little girl. She FELT bigger when she was in there!!!)
you look great, by the way, and I love the Christmas cards. Maybe I can get on the list for next years card--featuring the Bean??
What a precious picture I've never seen before! Your mom is so proud and happy - she still is. I'd forgotten you were so late. Both mine were born on the days they were due - I guess I followed the rules better then than I do now... I'm glad you're home and flying was ok. Stay warm!
ReplyDeletelove,
Sunny Gayle
That is a beautiful picture of you and your mom.
ReplyDeleteCooper's size will probably be a good indication of the Bean's size. My boys were both 9 lbs 12 oz (ugh) - the first one was induced 2 weeks late, the 2nd was induced on time (hoping for a smaller baby - didn't happen!).
As a friend (mother of 3) commented once, anything bigger than an egg is really too big :)
You really can't predict this anyway, my first was 8 lbs 4 oz, my second 10 lbs 2 oz (yes, really, and NATURAL, ugh) and my third and final was 6 lbs 13 oz. Go figure. The best of wishes in 8 weeks for your bundle of joy.
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