Is there anything more adorable than a chubby baby? Because every time I see an infant with round little chipmunk cheeks and legs that make him resemble a sumo-wrestler, I just want to reach out and squeeze him all over! Let's face it — fat babies are way beyond cute, and the last thing that we should be concerned with is whether they are gaining too much weight, right?
Well, apparently some pediatricians are now getting parents of chubby babies all stressed out over the fact that their little one may have a little bit of extra chunk going on. Apparently if a baby gains weight too fast in the first few months of life, it could send him down a path to becoming obese. That's all well and good, but aren't babies kind of supposed to be fat? Because that's part of what makes them so irresistible. And how do you distinguish "regular" baby fat from a baby being too fat? It all kind of makes my head spin.
My own little guy was kind of a chub during the first year of his life. I actually used to have a lot of people give me a hard time because my nickname for him was "my little nugget," and some said that he more closely resembled the entire chicken. (What is wrong with people?)
He was definitely a bit of a load, but I loved that about him. It was part of what made him so ridiculously precious. In addition to being a bit on the chunky side, my little guy was also a late walker and didn't get up and moving till about 13 1/2 months or so. Of course, once his little legs did start going — they didn't stop. And he quickly lost all of that adorable baby fat within a matter of months. He actually turns 6 years old tomorrow, and he's rail-thin as can be without a roll in sight. And I'm just so glad that I never let a little bit of extra baby fat get me all in a tizzy.
Establishing and encouraging good eating habits in babies is definitely important, but only from a nutrition and health standpoint. There's plenty of time for all of the weight gain and calorie intake stuff later on. Unless you've got a 40-pound 9-month-old on your hands or something like that, I'd say that a little excess baby fat really just isn't worth losing any sleep over.
Do you ever worry that your baby is getting too chubby?
Image via Mary Fischer
