It makes my mother heart happy to read all those comments about how beautiful my baby is. But it also makes my mother heart nervous and darty-eyed, because the truth is I deliberately chose an exceptionally flattering photo of the child, and now it occurs to me that if I post any more photos you will discover the truth, which is that…..well….
Let me put it this way: every baby is beautiful in his or her own way. Which is to say that even this baby’s love-eyed mother knows not to enter him into any beauty contests:
I mean, the comb-over alone would disqualify him.
The thing is, I never think my newborns are particularly…attractive. I stare at them for hours, endlessly fascinated by their every detail, so I speak as one who has had time to judge. When the nurse says, “Oh, he’s beautiful!” I think, skeptically, “Uh huh.” If anyone says the baby is cute and I accept the compliment without arguing, I imagine them snorting behind my back, “She actually thinks that thing is cute!”
Oh, I’m FOND of the baby, clearly! And there IS beauty in the eye of this beholder! But it is difficult to get photographic evidence of that kind of beauty.
Newborns are beautiful just because they are so new and raw and fresh to the world. It’s such a miracle- he was in your body last week! Blows my mind.
And he is adorable. The grumpy old man look suits him well. And I’m not even his mama!
(My own newborns are tragically (sp???) bald, until about year 3, and have bugish, beady eyes, so maybe my standards are lower than normal…But really, what a doll he is!)
I definitely agree…some babies are…well, you just have to search really hard to say something positive to the mother other than “Oh well, yes…it sure is…a baby!”.
However? Your baby, combover and all is really cute.(and I say this as the mother of a child who has been hearing “Oh he’s just so cute! since he was born…and then the akward pause as they turn to me and try to discern if the child was indeed adopted…but I digress)
I love the scrunchy face!!!
Oh he IS beautiful. In that scrunchy, comb-over-y way, he IS. I would love to hold him and tell you to go put your feet up while I smell his head.
But I know what you mean. My babies have always been really sute when they put some chubby baby meat on their bones.
That’s one of the most awesome photos I’ve ever seen.
Oh but the scrunched up face is adorable! Newborns are just so amazing, and the scruchiness is just a part of their charm :p
p.s.
Love the photo!
He is a scrunchy little guy, no doubt about it. But I, loyal to any offspring of Swistle, still say he is cute nonetheless. In a little old man kind of way, which is no less cute than the angelic doll way, just different. He is totally snugglable.
I STILL think he’s cute. Even if he looks like an angry little old man in that picture.
Great picture! I told the photographer in the hospital that I though newborns were ugly (as a held and caressed my bundle of joy), so no, I would not like her to take my baby’s first professional picture.
Ha! I always thought newborns were ugly too until I had one of my own. Now I just want to love ’em and squish ’em up. And I happen to think your little guy really is cute! I love his grumpy scrunchy face!
That picture will make you millons when it’s printed up as a card!!! You just need some snappy lines and collage is all paid for! Serious! That photo is great!
I remember beholding my newborn son and thinking his chin was a bit weak. In retrospect, I think it helped him in his endless enthusiasm for nursing. And the chin is just fine now, of course.
I love watching people’s mental strain when they try to think up a compliment for a baby that might be less-than-Geddes-grade. My favorite: “Oh, she’s so . . . alert!”
I still say your Henry is beautiful and perfect.
The picture of your son in your last post was so beautiful it almost (ALMOST!) made me want another baby (I’M DONE!).
But this current picture… totally made me laugh. Reminds me of my newborns… mine looked little old men (and they are girl babies) half the time.
That picture may be even more precious than the gorgeous one that you posted previously. He has more hair than my one year old (or my husband, for that matter) and I love the grumpy old man look – it’s very in for ’07. Seriously, I think new babies are cute and that yours is just…well, precious. (Must go find the thesaurus…)
Oh, you’re “fond” of him, are you? HA!
Also, I think it’s called a “side-part” for all men under age 70. I may be wrong, though…
That grumpy old man face is absolutely adorable! My son looked JUST like a bald, grumpy old man. In fact, I thought he looked quite similar to Frank on ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’… you know, Frank, the old grumpy father in law? I remember thinking my son was SO SO adorable, and now I look back at his newborn pictures and I think “What the hell was I thinking!!” New mommy goggles, thats what!
Nicole Barczak
http://www.nbarczak.typepad.com
Why not consider the squinchy old man face a preview of what Henry will look like when he’s 92? Since you will be gone by then (unless science makes some drastic advances), it’s like a gift to be able to see what he’ll look like in a long, long, long time. & he IS adorable!
Oh, Swistle. You are too funny. I love that disgruntled newborn look. It just makes you laugh with the pathetic-ness of it all. I still think he is a cutie, though. My grandma always says that ugly babies make beautiful adults.
You must save that picture and blow it up at his weddding. :)
Seriously, my baby had a swollen eye and a cut/bruise on the top of her head from the internal monitor. Looked like a she was mugged in an alley.
Despite it all, they’re beautiful anyway. Great pic!
This picture is priceless! I love his scrunched-up face – too adorable!
To me, all newborns look a bit like a plucked chicken, but they are still fabulous and beautiful.
I still think he’s damn cute. They’re so ridiculous looking, honestly – like a pug, if you will – that they just BECOME cute by some kind of default. He’s awesome. that face! The hair! The teeny-weenyness of him!
Let’s call a spade a spade, Swistle. There are ugly newborns. “U-G-L-Y they ain’t got no alibi” ugly. Yours is not one of them.
Being born is rough on a person. You can’t expect them to look their best right away. Hell, a good night’s sleep and I’ve got bed-head and blanket print on my face. Imagine what being forcibly removed from the womb must do!
In all seriousness, Henry is gorgeous. Bitter Beer Face and all. You did good.
Newborns are perfect.
But, you should save that picture and bring it out to show your potential daughter in-law. You can tell her that is what Henry will look like when they are old and make sure she thinks he’s cute! If she doesn’t think he’s cute, then no marriage!
Don’t feel badly. I’ve known some unattractive newborns. Indeed, they’re the golden standard. The good news is, they’re some of the most gorgeous kids you’ll ever lay your eyes on. Once they get over that grumpy old man stage. ;)
Congratulations a million times over! He’s adorable even with the combover.
You are correct. Newborns are all beautiful just for the miracle they represent!
And that face…is too cute!
Oh, he’s adorable there, too! But he’s not scrunching so much in the first picture…did you catch him in his most scrunched expression for this picture?
I LOVE that hair-do.
Hahahahahaha, I love it!
My two kids were both very cute as babies but also looked like tiny randomly pissed off aliens. So I understand.
Yes, he is totally channeling WC Fields, right now, but I bet in about one or two weeks, he will look less like a little old man. And he IS beautiful!
Well, I won’t argue whether or not ALL babies are cute, but that picture you posted is SO CUTE. What an adorable little face.
I feel the same way about Elise.
That is one of the best newborn pics EVER!!!! (In an “I totally laughed out loud, but you know he’ll be gorgeous later” kind of way.)
Ad I just saw the first pic, he IS gorgeous!! Just a funny pic is all!
Ok…so I waited a while to comment cause I wanted to see some other pics.
1) I LOVE the picture you put in this post…the scrunched up face is adorable.
2) The pics you attached to the posts since are even MORE adorable!
Verdict…You newest son is BEAUTIFUL!!!
Swistle.
You’re my hero.
I’m backdating a comment to this post because I LOVE it and I laughed out loud.
I thought the exact same thing about my girl…I thought she was a little ‘funny face-ish.’ Cute but you know, in a funny-looking kinda way.
I just realized when you posted this, I was still in the hospital after giving birth!
Okay. I’m done. Back to rifling through your archives.
The New Girl- I LOVVVE getting comments on old posts! Love! It!