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Written by Bhavana Navuluri, B.Com, MBA bhavana navuluriB.Com, MBA Specialty: ParentingExperience: 20 years •
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“He is so thin!” Every time somebody said this about my son, I went into momentary depression. My baby’s birth weight was just 2.3kg as he was born four weeks before the due date. This wasn’t an abnormal situation. With every passing month, he began gaining healthy weight, and the doctor was happy with his development. Well, it was only the doctor, though, not the women around me!
They come visiting and then leave me confused and helpless with their remarks on my baby’s weight. I know he is not chubby like the calendar babies that we get to see all over the internet. So what? He is healthy and meeting the milestones like any other child. But who could explain this to them, and come to think of it, why should I explain this to anybody?
Month after month, and then the year after year I heard my relatives, friends, neighbors, and even strangers leave a ‘casual’ comment about my son’s weight, without realizing how that could impact a tiny boy and his parents. What was worse was their unsolicited advice of what I can do to increase his weight.
Four years later, I had a daughter – again four weeks before the due date and underweight just like her brother. But this time, experience taught me how to turn a blind eye, rather a deaf ear, to those nasty weight comments. I was smarter this time and chose to give a ‘I-know-that, tell-me-something-new’ smile to their comments.
Yes, they still manage to creep into my mind ruining my day. Some are so nasty that they are difficult to be forgotten. Sample a few:
No, that was mine. And have you ever heard of something called the placenta?
Yes, I love to work to secure the future of my babies. And why not when I have a decent job?
He isn’t. He began to walk, he learnt those little, cute words, he got his teeth, and he now knows how to throw tantrums.
He is. How would that change my life or his?
Yes, he is not ‘healthy’ like me because he is not as old as me.
Please, we can afford new clothes for them.
So, you thought we never talked to a doctor about their weight? At all?
How can they survive without eating food? And have you ever tasted a chikoo smoothie blended with dates, honey, and milk? I did coz my kids wouldn’t. By the way, it’s yummy.
When has vegetarian food become low-calorie?
My son and daughter continue to be underweight but I have learned that my worry will not make them gain weight. And why do I worry as their cognitive and mental development is on par with their age? Their immunity is so good that they hardly catch a cold or fever. And I can proudly say that they are much better behaved than the ‘well-built’ kids of their age.
What were your experiences with your baby’s weight? Do share them with us.