Weighing in to the weight debate

So yesterday we had a visit from Sallie the health visitor. For those not in the UK, a health visitor is a kind of midwife/nurse/medical type person who, as the name suggests, 'visits' you in your home after your baby is born. The very friendly Sallie said I could contact her with any questions at all, either about me or about the bubble, any time from now until he's about 18 years old... well not quite. This is all very nice but really I was just interested in one thing, how much does the bubby weigh?

I'm not sure how I've become someone obsessed with how much baby tub my little one has put on since he arrived in the world. It is a hot topic for all new parents... when you tell someone you've had a baby the first thing they ask, after 'boy or girl?' is 'what was the weight?'. When mums meet the conversation always turns to baby size at some point 'she's grown so much' or 'he's so much lighter than...' etc. etc. Strangely enough people become less keen on public conversations about weight as you get older.

But it doesn't stop at birth, the obsession with weight continues, apparently, in the weeks and months which follow. The thing is, when you are solely responsible for feeding and watering the little darling it somehow feels, rightly or wrongly, like a the number on the scales is a direct reflection on your parenting abilities.

I promise to get over it soon... but for the time being:

Alexander Auberon Butler
Birth weight: 3.8kgs
After 9 days: 4.2kgs
After 5 weeks: 5kgs

whatever that means...