Tuesday, February 02, 2010

I’ve been sizing you up and stuff. Watching you live life large enough for the both of us.

As you know, I have a girnormous boy.

Everyone comments on how big he is. Strangers, guessing his age, are always surprised. They always exclaim at how big and healthy he is.

They say things like, "He must be a good eater!" and "So big and strong!" and "What a big, handsome boy!"

And of course I agree. But I know his size is seen as a positive because he's a boy.

Whereas Baby Bird's experience with her daughter has been the complete opposite - and I know it's because she has a girl. (A deliciously adorable one at that.)

In a similar vein, Wendy wrote about having a little baby girl and thinking about size and body issues, even this young.

But this is how the world is. It doesn't surprise me at all.

When I was pregnant, I was really thinking about how it would be to raise a daughter. Because food is less complicated for me than it used to be. But it's not uncomplicated.

But I have a boy. A big healthy boy.

And you know, I have to say, I was initially surprised at how many strangers are interested in babies. Me, I'm always accosting people with puppies. But babies?

Both men and women seem to go out of their way to peer in at the baby. I get all kinds of random comments.

I'm used to it now.

But in the beginning, when people would say how big Jordan is, I'd kind of feel the need to explain.

So early on, I was waiting for a light with him in his stroller, and this woman asked his age, and then of course said some version of, "He's a big boy!"

I replied, "Yes. My husband is enormous."

And then - and I suppose this was to explain how he has generations worth of big genes, I added, "And so's his father."

And in a moment that in retrospect is kind of like Tori and the breast respect, I realized that she might not know I meant Nick's father.

And then the light changed.

And off we went.

10 comments:

  1. Always keep 'em wondering ;o)

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  2. Hehe
    Random conversations leaving people wondering for the rest of the day.....love it!

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  3. I can imagine how it would be annoying... but I find this amusing. You see, for the first year our our respective lives, my older sister was much bigger than me. If you look at us now, 31 and 32 years later, I'm a little more than a foot taller than her, and three times her weight.

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  4. Oh! I literally gasped when I read the bit about his father. Too funny!

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  5. I love how this story ends, and I love how you gently make so many other points in this post too. And for the record, I never thought Big J particularly big, just particularly adorable.

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  6. LOL. That is too funny. At least you don't get the one that I get, which is even odder that I have to explain to John's family -

    "Oh wow, he's so dark!" (in regards to Nico)

    And I am like - um - so is my husband (aka your son, bro, etc). "Were you expecting a blonde baby?"

    In which case we have issues. big ones. almost as big as jordan.

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  7. I have a big, beautiful boy as well. He was such an attractive baby that people would always think he was a girl. I would often get comments on how I dressed her like a boy and he should have been a girl-that kind of thing. So, I love that the light changed for you and big J.

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  8. That made my day! -- Laura

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