Yes… My kid is small … Deal with it!

Being a Mother of a preemie is sometimes difficult. Obviously, the numerous weeks she was in the NICU were unbearable… but really… I survived. The hard part was and continues to be the number of “extra” appointments she needs to go to. I remember it felt like she was at a different appointment almost every week. From the Cardiologist, to the Paediatrician, the Family Doctor…Eye Doctor… Occupational Therapist… like really. Who has time for all that?

Then you have the scrutiny of other Moms… usually strangers. You get the “Oh, how old is she?”…. as a preemie Mom… I’ll tell you the truth… we lie. We KNOW our kids are small, so rather than getting into a long story with a stranger… we tell you they are younger than they really are. My daughter is 14 months old, around 18lbs and just over 28 inches tall… in all honesty…even when I lie and tell people she’s 10 months old, they still think she’s small.

I remember being in Toys R Us once and a woman came up to me and asked how old she was. At this time, I want to say she was around 6 months or so…. I totally told this woman that she was 3 months old and she replied with a… “Wow..She’s so tiny!” I nodded and tried to get out of the situation. Another Mother saw me talking to this woman and approached me after I made my get away. She looked at me and said…”she’s not 3 months is she”… I shook my head… she answered with “I have preemie twin boys; she’s probably about 5-6 months right?” I nodded. She could tell just by the fact she was playing with a toy at that time…and she had really good fine motor skills.

I had a stranger even come up to me and ask me if I was feeding her enough… like… excuse me? This coming from the mother that had a 6 month old that weighed 22 pounds. I totally could have said, Oh.. You’re feeding your child too much? She’s too heavy!

But, I’m normal and know that its rude to approach someone in that manner. So I just smiled and said.. You know what I thank you for your advice… but no thanks…she’s healthy, happy, and GORGEOUS! Oh man… now that I look back on the situation I wish I would have said what I was really thinking…..LOL

Just an FYI for all you Mothers that compare your child to others. Kids do things when they want and how they want to. They can be larger or more petite. They can have more teeth or more hair… stop comparing! They are all different… all loved… all GORGEOUS!