The Perfect Size Baby
By Wendy Copeland and Lori Ahrenhoerster
Waukesha and Menominee Falls WI USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 17 No. 6, November-December 2000, p. 204
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
members. Readers are cautioned to remember that research and medical information
change over time
Even though babies come
in all shapes and sizes, it's hard not to worry about whether your baby
is too thin or too fat. The fact is that some are petite, some are chunky;
some are short and pudgy while others are long and thin. Breastfeeding
babies are no exception to this rule!
My friend, Lori, and I met
via email while we were both pregnant. We discovered that we had daughters
with similar birthdays and that our upcoming due dates were within days
of each other. We quickly became friends, emailing back and forth and
maintaining a cyberspace friendship.
Our sons, Curtis Copeland
and Travis Ahrenhoerster, were born only 2 days apart and both boys
loved to breastfeed. After they were born, we finally met in person
at an LLL meeting and discovered that our babies were very different
in size and shape despite their similar ages and diet (neither of them
showed much interest in solid food). When the boys were 11 months old,
we decided to get together for a picture. Travis was already 28 pounds,
had a belly that hung over his diaper, and had pudgy hands and feet.
By contrast, Curtis, at 18 pounds, looked lean and tall. Yet, their
pediatricians confirmed that both babies were perfectly healthy.
How could two breastfed babies
be such different sizes and both be considered healthy? As mothers learn
through experience, babies come in all shapes and sizes.
Last updated 11/16/06 by jlm.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:02 UTC 2007.
