Fat baby, skinny baby

Today when Emma's mom came to pick her up, Emma gave a little yelp and then ran to hide. I was thrilled--her mother was less than. I guess I'm just glad to know that Emma enjoys her time at my house. She doesn't cry when she gets dropped off anymore and she doesn't want to leave when her parents come to pick her up. It makes me feel great. I know it makes her mom sad that she can't be home with Emma all day so I try to tone down my enthusiasm for her sake.

I don't think I'm the only reason she enjoys my house more now than she did before. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Rachel is getting to be a "fat baby" so Emma can play with her.

Emma started coming over when Rachel was three weeks old. At first she simply ignored the baby. Then she started acting like a baby and wanted to be held whenever I held or nursed Rachel. Then she acknowledged that Rachel was the baby, not Emma, and would throw diapers or toys at her when she cried. Now that Rachel reacts to people and is more interactive, Emma enjoys showing her things, touching her, pulling on her, etc.

Even though Rachel was running a low-grade fever (100 degrees, poor girl) all day, she took some time out of her busy napping schedule to give Emma some winning smiles while Emma squeaked toys in her face.


Yes, Rachel is becoming a fat baby. This means that she's actually starting to be fun. Shaillé's little brother explained this to me when we went over to Shaillé's parents' house for a party. Rachel was, again, three weeks old.

"She's a skinny baby," said Austin, "I'll bet she isn't very much fun to play with."

"No," I said honestly, "She really doesn't do very much yet."

"I didn't think so," he said smugly, adding that she sure was cute, "See, Matthew used to be a skinny baby and he wasn't much fun. Now he's a fat baby and we play all the time, but not in my room. He's not allowed in there."

Matthew is Austin's nephew who, at two years old, is substantially chubbier than 3-week old Rachel was, although he isn't actually fat--just a normal, healthy two-year old.

"Matthew's so fat," he continued, "I call him Fatso. He likes that name. We have fun together. Bring your baby back when she's fatter and can play with toys and things."

Rachel has been deemed worthy enough to play with by Emma. I wonder how she'll measure up (fat-wise) to Austin's standards.