"Chubby" baby?
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jindc
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Does anyone else find it not ok when people call their baby girls "chunky monkey" or "chubby thighs"? I haven't had my baby yet, but it just seems...unnecessary.
Maybe I'm overly sensitive because of my own weight issues, but I just think calling your 6 month old daughter chunky monkey isn't necessary. Is this normal for parents to do and people are ok with it? I worried about having a daughter and passing my weight issues on to her, but even with a boy, there are issues regarding body image... maybe this is a vent more than anything, but is this really ok to those who are parents? |
Anonymous
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I think you are projecting your issues.
Babies are supposed to be chubby and chunky. Chubby babies are adorable. I had a failure to thrive diagnosis for my kid, I would have killed for her to have had chub and rolls as an infant. |
Anonymous
| 6 month olds don't understand what you're saying- and some of them (like my own 20 lb 6 month old) are just downright chubby. If my son were chubby now at age 4 I certainly wouldn't call him so, but I sure did when he was tipping the scales at 6 mos! |
Anonymous
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Personally, I don't EVER like commenting on anyone's weight, whether it's gone in either direction.
However. My friend adopted a malnutritioned baby and it was SCARY to look at her. Really, really scary. Now, a year later, she's all plumped up properly the way a healthy baby should look, and I don't resist the urge to compliment my friend and her husband on a job well done chunking that baby up to healthy standards. |
Anonymous
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I think most people think chubby baby = healthy baby. Until age 2, being a little chubster is considered cute, regardless of whether it's a girl or a boy. Of course you don't want an obese baby but having some fat rolls is totally normal and in most people's eye, adorable.
You might be over thinking this and projecting your issues onto babies. Please don't sweat it if some one calls your baby a chunky monkey - they're just saying baby looks healthy. |
Anonymous
| As a breastfeeding mother I was really proud that my baby was chubby and healthy, it was as if I was doing a really good job or something (I know it's likely genetic and I don't really deserve credit, but I felt like I did). You are definitely projecting here. I wouldn't have any problems with someone else calling my baby chubby or chunky, either. I wouldn't confuse baby with toddler and child, all of the chubby babies I know have slimmed way down when they started walking/running unless their diets are very unhealthy. |
Anonymous
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I had a large baby and people commented constantly on her size. I think it was because it is just something that you can talk about...I also think it was because I am petite and the kid was a giant, which seemed to fascinate people?!
On the otherhand, my second was a teeny thing and people would constantly talk about that too - asking what I was feeding her, whatever. I think it is harmless coming from most people - except from my mother who seemed to worry WAYYYY too much about the large size of my first. But, she has her own lifelong weight issues. Don't project your weight issues onto your kid. Be healthy, teach your baby (in the future) to be healthy, and move on. Most people mean well, at least most people not on DCUM 
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Anonymous
| I think most people think it's okay because most people think chubby babies are ADORABLE. It's generally a term of praise to call a baby chunky or chubby or squeeze those cute little fat rolls. . . I find. But I've never heard anyone say it derogatorily or even with vague negative implications. Maybe PP is right about projecting? |
Anonymous
| My 5 month old is adorably chubby, and I have no problem calling her that or hearing others call her that. I think it's a compliment! |
Anonymous
| My daughter was underweight in the begining and when she finally chubbed up, I got lots of compliments from people who hadn't seen her in a while along the lines of, "Oh my gosh she is so chubby! She looks great!" Chubby is definitely not an insult and can be a compliment when referring ot a baby. I call her chunky monkey all the time. And while she is super chunky by adult standards, she is actually still pretty slim for a young toddler. |
jindc
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I know it's not intentional, I just think of all the things to comment about a beautiful, healthy baby....a nickname being 'chunky monkey' just seems....unnecessary. Cutie Patootie? Smiley face? I don't know. My SIL's kid is like 30lbs and not 6 months old, and ALL I hear about is how big he is. My husband was a "failure to thrive" baby, too, so maybe it's just their family really care about this stuff?
I know it could easily be me projecting, I just really hope I don't fall in to the trap of calling my baby chubby (because how do I really know when they grasp that concept of being called chubby?). I do know they don't understand you that early. BUT, if it's normal for people to call their kids this, I'm glad I know now. I really never thought about it until I became more pregnant and noticed how many do it. |
Anonymous
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We call our 18 mo "fatso" as a nickname. He was always in the smaller percentiles for weight and height, but had a chubby face and nursed constantly as a newborn.
It used to bother me but it's much less offensive and more of a term of endearment in DHs culture. Not sure how I'll feel about it when he's older. I also don't really like his family's focus on weight, but that's a different discussion as the kids get older and understand more. |
Anonymous
| The only time people revel in and actually covet fatness is in a baby. Enjoy that time. Don't take it away from them. |
Anonymous
| Totally agree with PP! |
jindc
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Don't get me wrong, I definitely understand being happy to see a baby eating a lot, beautiful fat rolls, etc. I guess it's the outward calling of the names that makes it sort of sting. In the era of social networking, it could also be that I notice it way more and think "man, if your kid sees this in a few years...."
but hey, now I know it's totally normal! I thought it was something to avoid just because it might be a bad habit to get in to |