Z11 and I have been doing a little scrapbooking recently and looking at her baby pictures. I was discussing with her how children go through phases where their looks change. It was hard for her to understand my meaning when I said there were days she was precious and days where… well, not so much. So, I whipped out the picture of her in which she bears a striking resemblance to Edward G. Robinson looking as if he has just smelled something pretty rank. She was not amused.
‘Fess up moms! There were times when you looked down at your baby and thought, “Dear Lord, I’ve given birth to Buddy Ebsen.” That’s because most babies look like old men.
I was at a store when a woman came up and said to me, “what a cute little boy! What’s his name?” Well, lady, I realize my baby looks like a short, fat man from a 1930’s gangster flick, (and oh how I have cried over that!) but HER name is Z and I would think you might have been tipped off to that fact that SHE is a GIRL by the pink overalls and the bow on her head. Sheesh!
Let’s face it, no one looks good after they’ve been in a womb for 9 months. But, for a new mother who is riddled with hormones, anxiety and depression there is a special hell in wondering if your child is forever going to look like they’ve just been claimed from the uterus. You don’t voice your fears to everyone because they’re all telling you how gorgeous the baby is, even though you know they are wondering the same thing.
And, of course, the babies plump up, lose the red tint, grow some hair and become so darn cute you just want to eat ’em up. When my daughter was a baby, I remember reading an article that said that children’s facial structure sets sometime between 6 and 7 years. I just kept praying she would be in one of her cute phases when it did.
Nothing Is Sacred 