A friend's infant recently had trouble keeping food down. Failing to gain weight, she was diagnosed with gastro-intestinal reflux disease and eventually prescribed medication. As the medicine started to take its effect, the baby held on to her meals and began to gain weight, and celebrations of her newfound pudge ensued.
I realized that this is the last time in this girl's life that we'll delight in her weight. Too soon, any excess poundage will be accompanied by frowns, pity, and prescriptions to take it off. When she starts school, we'll tell her that she'll make friends a little more easily, and get teased a little less frequently, if she just loses some weight. As she gets older, we'll insist that if she diets, she'll have the boy/guy/man of her dreams. And, throughout her life, we'll note that she's just five pounds away from feeling better about herself.
And I wonder, if we'll ever remember the time when we reveled in the chubbiness of her infant thighs.
5 comments:
hmm...so true. My baby is not too pudgy and not skinny--just the "perfect" medium. But my friend's baby girl is humungous--well, was. Now, she seems to have lost her baby pudge and is slimming down into a toddler. My friend said, "aww, I loved the fat!" --meanwhile, she herself has struggled struggled with every diet available and is always saying "ugh I'm so fat", "I'm nauseous," "I feel so big." I keep telling her to keep mum about it in front of her girls, at least....
Good for you! However, children pick up on nonverbals as well (the restricting, the frequent weighing/mirror-checking). These things are hard NOT to pass on--yet another reason to move toward self-acceptance.
And, for the record, your daughter is ADORABLE!
Allisonsky, I LOVE Palm Beach!! I was down there a few months ago. Sat my butt on Juno Beach everyday. Love the beach and palm trees too!!
(Sorry this post doesn't relate to your site drstacey).
Thank you, Dr Stacey, for the compliment about my daughter! :)
And, yeah, we have to think about nonverbals, too--they're as powerful as verbals! Thanks for reminding me!
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