ZOMG you're so skinny!
Posted
Thursday, March 06, 2008 4:03 AM
It really gets on my nerves when people gasp and exclaim "You look like you've never given birth!" and enviously stare at my petite frame. Why does this irk me so? Because 90% of the women I help at my job *** about how having babies make you fat and when I tell them I have a 20 month old, they look like they could wring my neck and then say "Wow, you're so skinny!"
Yes, I know, it's such a terrible thing to have said to you. But it bothers me that they say it in this tone and look at me with these judging eyes. It all started the day a young woman came in who was about 20 and complained the entire time about how fat she had become since giving birth to her child a few months before. Nothing fit right, her boobs were too big, her belly still jutting out a good foot in front of her blah blah blah. Towards the end of her tirade she looks at me seriously and says "Trust me, never have kids, they make you fat." Not really thinking I reply "My son is 1 1/2." This is where I'm pretty sure she would have body slammed me had her mother not been there and I wasn't working. Yikes.
After this point, I've had various women come in and say the same thing over and over again. Not only that, my husband's aunt (by marriage) always says "I used to be a skinny little thing like you. Then I had my third child and I just can't get the weight off. Three must be the magic number." Um, how about not? My mom had 3 kids and she's still skinny as a bean pole and over 40. An old co-worker of mine has 3 kids and is tinier than ME.
My boss always laughs when I complain about this because she doesn't know how irksome it is. In the back of my mind I'm constantly thinking "Why don't you do something about it if you hate how you look?" Granted, some people are just naturally prone to be bigger. But complaining about how you can't get the baby weight off after 3 months is a bit bizarre. I mean, it probably took me 4 months or so to get down to the super skinny size and then between then and now I've evened out. My skinniest post-baby weight was probably 105 and now I'm back to about 115 lbs.
But seriously. I don't know if I'm just in a lucky as hell situation because I find time to work out and spend time with my husband and cuddle with my baby. Sure the housework more often than not gets put on the back burner, but what's more important? Making sure your house looks spectacular or having a few minutes to just sit and kiss your husband while the baby sleeps? I know where my priorities lie.