Make her stop growing.
25th
2010
Before I had Madeline, I had 3 major fears:
- She’d be an ugly baby.
- I’d be blind to the ugly because I was her mom, but everyone else would see it and have the heebies and have to force themselves to say she was cute when they were really shuddering inside. Remember that one episode of Seinfeld?
- She’d come out and — SURPRISE!! — be a boy and we’d have to deal with all the pink madness already taking over our home and the penis. I think little boys are awesome and sweet and adorable, but those mini ones sure scare me.
Well, she’s definitely a girl, but those first two? They happened.
I’m going to be honest and admit that she definitely looked like an alien for the first few months, but I truly think she’s grown out of that bug-eyed thing she had going on and is now quite a pretty little lady.
This was brought to my attention when I was looking through my cell phone picture messages. Whenever my parents or Justin watch Maddie while I’m at work, they always send me a picture of her. They’ve done this since she was a few months old and it’s often been what’s helped me through tough days of feeling like a horrible mother and other various sads. I really appreciate them doing that for me.
Well, here are a few of those photos. Some of them make me laugh because they’re just plain silly and others make my heart melt into a big puddle because of how fast time has gone by. My baby is growing up and WHAT THE HECK? Make it stop.
i don’t get “alien baby” from these photos at all
she’s SO Stinkin Cute!!
i have those fears about my unborn children as well, i mean we all want our children to be beautiful and smart and thoughtful and have all the legs up in life
(does “legs up” work? it sounds wonky)
on March 25th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Once you get past the what happened to my baby…you see a little girl who amazes and becomes one of your favorite people not because she is your daughter…because she becomes your best friend. Love the Maddie’s and the Jenna’s to pieces. :) Happiness.
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:12 am
She was so NOT an ugly baby! What are you talking about? I call those doe eyes, not alien eyes.
Anyway, she is adorable, and it’s fun to see her growth in the pictures!
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:13 am
oh i dont think she was an ugly baby AT ALL!
it did make me feel a bit better reading your post though, i feel so shallow but i worry my little boy will come out ugly as well!
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I don’t think she was an ugly baby at all! she’s a cutie! That’s really awesome that you got so many great pictures sent to you, it’s nice to see how they are when they’re not with you. I wish my family would do that when my kids are with them once in awhile
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:29 am
oh you stop..i’ve always thought she was too cute!
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Well, none of those are the alien pictures. She is so stinkin’ adorable!
on March 25th, 2010 at 11:13 am
You are not alone!..I have those very same fears..but i know ill love my little guy regardless.. ;0) Your little one is a doll! xoxo
on March 25th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Aww I love her and her big beautiful eyes! No alien eyes.. (okay maybe in that one picture I took of her LOL). I cannot even believe how fast she’s growing up!
on March 25th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Ok I never thought she looked like an alien at the time. It’s only when I look back I think wow she has changed a lot. And I didn’t start calling it the alien phase till you did. Haha. But she is amazing!!!! And I love her. Oh and I think you fowarded about half of these pics to me too. Hahaha
on March 25th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Aww, I love pictures like that. My cell phone is like a baby book of Jack's first year. I love to look back and see how much he's changed.
on March 25th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
This is NOT helping my baby fever!!! I still love you though, and she is gorgeous.
on March 25th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
She is such a cutie! I think it’s so sweet that your husband and parents send you pics when they’re with her. That’s a great idea!
on March 25th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
she is a STUNNING little lady! and for the record, they NEVER listen when you plead with them to slow the hell down. i struggle with this daily when arguing with my 11 month old. i’m all, “poppy, you’re growing too fast. would you mind taking it down a notch?” and she’s all, “bababapttttthhhptptt.”
utter defiance. right in my face. it starts young…
those pictures are adorable. love her bunny ears! did i ever mention one of my poppy girl’s middle names is madeline? (:
cheers!
on March 25th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
You hush! She was the most perfect newborn I have ever seen. And she keeps getting more lovely each time I see her!
on March 25th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
OMG! She’s beautiful! You are one lucky mom! And your husband is one lucky dad! She isn’t, or wasn’t, ugly at all!
on March 25th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I love the picture of her cuddling with the stuffed animals! I think that means she is going to want a pet…perhaps a dog? (Your fav!) Hahaha.
on March 25th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
1.) I had ALL THREE of those fears!! I was sure I would have an ugly baby and could not decide if it would be worse to KNOW he was ugly, or think he’s adorable and live a shielded life :)
2.) GORGEOUS!!! Not an ugly baby IN THE LEAST!!! SO BEAUTIFUL! Just like her mama.
on March 25th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
I love the progression! So cute. I think my fave is the one of her eating…she looks all “ain’t no big thang, I can even hold my fork like this…that’s how cool I am”.
on March 25th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Love it! You are too funny! And she is too cute…not alien at all :0).
on March 26th, 2010 at 6:37 am
I mean, she’s basically the cutest little girl ever. BUT, I freaking love and adore you for admitting that you were afraid she wasn’t going to be. I think it’s totally a real fear…that few people cop to.
And this is why I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU.
on March 26th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Julie, I bet you have a ton of really amazing photos anyway! It's sad that most of my pictures of Maddie are on my cell phone. =/ Bad mom.Bekah, thank you. Noah's pretty flipping adorable too. :)
on March 26th, 2010 at 8:39 am
she is so gorgeous. honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ugly baby (pictures, maybe- but I’ve seen plenty of ugly photos of me and I don’t think I look that BAD). there’s something about deliciously fat baby cheeks…
also, I don’t see every baby when they’re just born.
oh, and speaking of penis (peni? penises?) how I met my second son? they plopped him on my stomach with his BALLS IN MY FACE. I mean, he’s freaking adorable, but that is my first memory of him.
I still giggle about it.
on March 26th, 2010 at 5:12 am
Maddie is such a cutie! And she definitely changed a lot since she was a little baby. And she’s really pretty – don’t worry about her being an ugly baby. :)
on March 26th, 2010 at 5:28 am
Awwwe, she is adorable! I thought my baby was funny looking too when she was first born & she was huge! Haha! They grow too fast & it’s sad, but you’ll start looking forward to the funny things they do.
on March 26th, 2010 at 5:31 am
She has been the most beautiful baby EVER…since the day she was born! Well, uh, I mean…it’s a tie between Maddie and you…yeah, that’s what I meant. ;) XO
on March 26th, 2010 at 7:56 am
she is so incredibly adorable, Morgan. No alien baby at all (well, not any moreso than most newborns, anyway… all newborns have a slightly alienish look. in a cute way. hehe.)
I can’t believe how much she’s grown either!! These kids grow TOO fast!!
on March 26th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Altogether now… aaaaaaaaaaah!!! She is so adorable, but thank god for the lack of bug eyes – I can only imagine your horror ;) My mum is always telling me how ugly I was as a child, and she was worried that my head would stay the same shape as a corn cob for all eternity. Thankfully, it worked out alright.
on March 26th, 2010 at 8:45 am
babies are so adorable when they’re sleeping! and she makes the cutest little faces! hug her tight, she’s an angel! (and a pretty one at that ;) )
on March 26th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
You lucked out girl – she’s a doll! I had to laugh before I even got to your sentence that read “Remember that one episode of Seinfeld?”… I was already hearing in my head “You gotta see the bayyyyyybayyyy!”
on March 28th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I see no bug eyes or alien-ness in any of these photos. But damn lady, you made a cute baby!
on March 28th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
When I met her I thought she was adorable (with the bow flower thing in her hair) and that she would make a perfect canidate for a wife for my youngest boy.
on March 29th, 2010 at 10:10 am
I had the same fears with my 1st baby. I’d catch myself while praying in church, “God, please let him be cute.. I mean HEALTHY! Healthy, yeah.
on April 25th, 2010 at 5:34 pm