...Not Very Big Is He?

People are mean.  I don't think they want to be mean, they just don't always think.  I remember reading all the stories from other moms about the idiotic things people have said to them or the unsolicited advice that came their way and I thought..."oh, whatever...ignore it and move on".  But then it happened to me.  Yesterday while at the grocery store I was happily picking up butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocados and peas and someone peeks at Evan and asks how old he is.  I proudly say "Almost 7 months!" and this broad retorts, "Oh, not very big is he?".  I awkwardly trip over a slew of words that against my will pour out of my mouth..."He's tall though!  He's in the 50th percentile! He loves his solids!" Then, red-faced and confused about what just happened, I steer my puny, pale, embarrassment of a 7 month old toward his father.  What just happened?!  Why did I share the details of my perfectly normal baby with this perfect stranger?  Why did I feel the need to defend his size (which by the way is perfectly average) to this woman?  I totally panicked, but not next time (and you know there will be a next time).  The next time I'll be ready for the jerk comments with some equally matched jerk returns.  Here are a few of my favorites:

"Yeah, he's small because he's undernourished.  We don't like to feed him."
"Yeah, face punch for you."
"Yeah, must be nice to be skinny, huh?  Huh? (And then I jokingly jab her muffin top and pinch her back fat).

Evan is totally normal.  He truly is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th for height.  He eats things like acorn squash, peas with mint, applesauce with cinnamon and avocado.  Sean makes all of his food and Evan gobbles it down like a champ.  Is he small?...Well, statically speaking he's smaller than 50 percent of other babies his age which by my account makes him average.  I guess he's not very big and I'm OK with that.