RealMom.net

Parenting Big Babies

I have had the unique privilege to mother two big baby boys. When I say big, I mean BIG. My first was 10lb 9oz and I thought he was huge. Everyone agreed with me – even the doctor. Then my second put my first to shame – he was 12lb 8.5oz. And neither one was obese. They are just BIG.

Parenting these big babies has some special problems though. My boys have the same problem their parents do – the world is not built for tall people. I am a rather solid 5’9” (although hopefully less solid soon, but more on that later.) My husband is a lanky 6’5.” It stands to reason we would have tall kids and we do! Thus far in my motherhood experience, I’ve battled the following “Big Baby Battles.”

Outgrowing Clothes
I knew my first was large, so I skipped the whole Preemie and Newborn sizes. Who would have thought he would be out of his cute 0-3 month wardrobe in less than a month? I consoled myself by thinking his brother would be able to wear them someday.

Didn’t happen. The second one jumped right into 3-6 month clothes which he started outgrowing by one month. My infants are dressed as toddlers, and my toddler will be shopping in the Boys section by the time he’s three. That doesn’t even cover hats and shoes – Ever tried to find soft soled baby shoes in a Size 6?

Eating “Too Much”
My toddler is a typical picky eater and he is long and lean. I’m not worried about his diet now, but having a new born has reminded me of the bottle feeding woes (breastfeeding didn’t work out either time.) Newborns “should” be eating about 24 oz of formula a day. Mine has that by lunch.

He’s guzzling down almost 34 oz a day at four weeks. Since 40oz is the absolute MOST you are “allowed” to give a baby in a day, I have a sneaky suspicion this one will be on baby food by 3.5 months like his brother. So much for “dietary guidelines.”

Tiny Blankets
Why are receiving blankets the size of burp clothes? I had two big babies that desperately needed to be swaddled, and baby blankets don’t cut it. The first time around I went and found some lightweight material and cut some big squares to swaddle with. Not pretty, but it worked.

This time around, my mother helped me prepare by sewing blankets almost as large as a twin size bed. Those work. Regular receiving blankets in my house are worn over Mom or Dad’s shoulder.

Puny Baby Gear
Why is the weight limit on everything 20 pounds? Babies are ready to play at six months, and mine have outgrown their toys! I went to put my oldest in the jumper and his knees touched the ground – on the highest setting. I just bought my youngest a new Britax Marathon car seat at 4 weeks since he’ll be outgrowing his bucket seat in a few more weeks.

The world is not built for the tall, but at least tall people have the advantage in lots of other things. I’ll just have to remember how much more successful my tall boys will be in life because of their height – even if they never get to swing past the second month of life or fit comfortably in a roller coaster.

July 29th, 2007 Posted by Rebecca | Freelance Writing with an Infant | one comment