Is it an instinct to believe you have the cutest, most awesome baby in the whole world?
I read somewhere that that feeling, which is pretty much universal, is an instinct that ensures the baby will be taken care of.
Instinct aside, I actually did wind up with the cutest, most amazing baby in the whole world, as of Friday! This is a shameless ploy to post pictures of my new grand daughter, but feel totally free to respond to the question as I asked it. It was based on an article I read not too long ago.
Baby Zoey 1
Baby Zoey2
Baby Zoey and Gramma
Baby Zoey in Daddy’s arms..
Her name is Zoey, BTW, in case you didn’t figure it out by now. Zoey Lynn.
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It’s probably instinct to think that your child is the cutest, brightest, absolute best baby in the world. I don’t ever recall hearing a mom say her child is anything less than perfect when they’re born. Not a good mom at least. And Zoey is gorgeous, but you already knew that ;)
It’s not an instinct to ensure baby care.
It’s an instinct that keeps child modeling agencies in business… many starting them up at 3 months old.
I think it is an instinct that we want to protect and care for babies. I don’t think it is an instinct to think they are the cutest, but I think it is probably instinct, or natural, to look for our family in their features if they are biologically ours. I think if we feel bonded we find perfection even in imperfections. Hell, I love one special wrinkle by my husband’s right eye. I would think with my baby I would be more obsessed with every bit of them. Wanting to study their face, hands, feet, how they scrunch their face before they cry, every little thing.
Someone once said to me God made babies, including animal babies, cute, so adults get suckered into caring for them and loving them, and then we deal with them until they can take care of themselves.
Awwwwww!!!!!! She is so precious!!!!! Congratulations Grandma :0)
Is that you with her in pic #3?
I sure hope so, because I’ve never seen a newborn I thought was cute, and I’d hate to think my baby looks like a little old man. I’d rather be blissfully unaware when that time comes.
It might be an instinct, and its function would be to convince the mother that taking care of the baby is worth the effort. There have been, however, many cases throughout history when parents have said “this baby sucks” and the child often ends up dead.
It’s an essential instinct, so that parents will protect and care for their helpless, dependent little bundles.
But, parents need to learn that the instinct doesn’t extend to other people. Although they might like your children, nobody else thinks that your kids are the cutest, sweetest, most endearing creatures alive. They really don’t want to see 50 pictures of Jimmy having his bath or Kathy eating her breakfast. They also don’t enjoy 20-minute stories about what your baby did yesterday.
This was a huge annoyance when email and digital cameras were new technology. Parents would take dozens of pictures of their children, every day, and email them to all their family and friends. It took them a while to figure out that nobody had the time or interest to “ooh and ahh” over all those photos.
Most babies start out resembling larvae, big or small. Then, it’s instinct to care for them. In very little time, they turn into beautiful children, puppies, kittens, etc and you fall in love (if you’re the mother, particularly, but fathers too.) Ever see a baby giraffe? Or a piglet? You just want to take care of them.
As long as you do not oppose instinct to learning know that studies have been done here on the evolutionary underpinnings of proximate feelings, the kind you describe.
Especially the shape, the study of neoteny, of all new born mammal species which cute-ifies them and insures parental care and lessens harm for other organisms.
Well if I say she looks like ET you’d probably slap me.
All newborn babies look like shriveled up monkeys to me. I oughta know, I’ve delivered enough of them.
My kid, of course, was the exception.
Taken in context with the entire rest of existence, does it really matter?
@Katniss Yeah, that’s me. :) I was grinning up at the camera, but nothing was happening. Finally my husband, who was behind the camera is going “What?” I said, “I’m presenting you with a Kodak moment, ding dong!” and he finally took the pic. Sigh.
@livelaughlove21 No worries, Love. :) ♥
@SadieMartinPaul Between me, my husband and my son and his wife we have 75 pictures total. I shared…THREE! Aren’t you proud of me?
@Adirondackwannabe That was my first reaction when I saw my daughter’s fraternal twins, which she had last January, 5 weeks early. All cutie-sweetie I said, “Awww. They look like ET! She acted like she wanted to pop me! I just laughed. “Well, they do!” And they did. Bless their tiny, tiny little hearts.
Seven months later Savannah, the girl, was crawling, and Kale was trying, but all he could manage was to drag himself along with his elbows. I told Corrie he looked like a paraplegic.
“Mom! No he doesn’t!”
“Yes, he does.”
A moment later I yelled “Lieutenant Dan!! Look out for the chair!” Corrie’s brother has been saluting him ever since and Corrie just scowls at me. :)
@Rarebear You are a horrible doctor! How dare you say they look like shriveled up monkeys just because they do! Scandalous!
Thanks you guys…thanks. Hugs all around.
Well, instinct or not, she IS a doll! CUTE and precious. And grandma is a stunner too!
All the very best to you all, may she be healthy, happy and lucky throughout her life!
My kid is, obviously and empirically, the most awesome child who has ever been shot head first out of a vagina.
Science, schmience.
@Dutchess_III – She looks so serious! Like a head of state or ruler of her tribe. :D (I mean that in a nice way!)
My middle sister had the cutest babies ever. Fat cheeks and all of them born with lots of hair.
@ZEPHYRA Thank you so much!
Seek, well, the twins are obviously and empirically the most awesome children who’ve ever been scooped out of a uterus! :)
@tedibear I just can’t wait to see her features start coming to life! Bet she’s a stunner.
I can’ keep you guys updated every 15 minutes with pictures and commentary if you like?
@Dutchess_III That is a very sweet picture :0)
You don’t look old enough to be a grandma!
All babies look like Winston Churchill
That being said, my daughter is the cutest. She was 6 or 7 months old in this picture. She’ll be 3 at the end of the month.
@flip86 “All babies look like Winston Churchill.”
I’ve said that quite a few times here on Fluther! I must admit, though, I stole it from Impractical Jokers.
I have to do it.
Day he was born
It took a lot out of us both, so we were tired
Horrible but funny photoshop
Also, @Dutchess_III – you and that baby are utterly gorgeous, and I don’t care if it’s just Darwin telling me so!
Yeah. If you can avoid having a ten pound baby, I heartily recommend it.
I’m hoping for a 7-pounder. One can hope…
Yeah! I was gonna say, that was a fat baby for a newborn! He looked so cute, really cute, right out of the gate which usually doesn’t happen. (Did it break the gate Darlin’?)
The big babies look a month old, that’s why they are usually so beautiful. Especially if they came by way of c-section.
He was natural, but about a month old when he was born. Full 42 weeks, that one. Nearly killed me.
The gate was slightly broken, but that was the least of my issues. Oi.
A woman who worked for me had a set of twins with her first pregnancy and a singleton with her second. She had thought the second labor and delivery would be easier than the first with just one baby compared to delivering two. She said it was the opposite. Delivering two 6 pounders was much less traumatic and less painful for her than one 9 pound baby. But, the 9 pound baby was gorgeous from day 1.
I can’t believe they let you go that long @Seek_Kolinahr….
Ha ha on me. The first time I read your last line as “The gate was slightly broken, but that was the least of my tissues” had to go back and re-read.
Crazy thing about this baby is her Momma. Jena’s maybe 5 foot nothin’, 95 pounds soaking wet. She can wear my 10 year old granddaughter’s clothes, literally! Here’s a pic of her on a swing about a year ago. This is her and their 4 year old son… he’s half as big as she is! And her with Adrionna… isn’t she beautiful? Anyway, this tiny woman carried that baby like it was nothing. Even last week there was just this cute little bump. I couldn’t believe the Dr’s said there was a 6 pound baby in there! I said, “Is it growing down her legs or what??”
The birth was the same way. All natural. Went so fast didn’t even have TIME for an epidural. They had the baby 20 minutes after they got there, and NO one was ready. To bad for them! Here she comes!
Then she’s up and around like nothing had happened. I have never seen anyone rebound so quickly, not even myself. And I was good at that stuff!
She wore her pre-pregnancy clothes out of the hospital. You can not tell she had a baby.
Women in general are amazing when it comes to this, but Jenna takes the cake!
Wow. I’m morbidly jealous. It took me the whole weekend to have him. 37 hours of labor.
This was my tummy.
I’m about 5’1”, and was about 130 lbs when I conceived, and 142 the day I delivered. Nine months of morning sickness, woo! After he was born I weighed less than 120 lbs.
And yes, you have good genes, mama. She’s beautiful.
5’1” AND A 10 POUND BABY?????? I can’t believe they let your go that long!!!
(I meant Jenna’s beautiful. Well, so is Adrionna, too. OF course. :)
The sonogram said seven pounds. I’m maintaining that the idiot OB the midwife had to transfer me to was measuring my placenta instead.
Yes.
I had thought that all babies basically look the same. They ours came along and I changed my mind. So cute.
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