Gerber Baby Syndrome

Years ago, when my firstborn was a baby, I visited with a friend. It seemed to be a good time to share a recurring thought I had about my daughter.

“I think she could be the Gerber Baby,” I said with firm assurance. I was certain my friend would agree since she could see my daughter’s beautiful curls and large, bright eyes.

To my surprise, my friend smirked, “Ha! All mothers think their babies look like the Gerber Baby!”

I sat quietly, processing this information. Do they? I thought to myself. I could not imagine this to be true.

My friend proceeded to tell me she thought both of her babies looked like the Gerber Baby. I was shocked. I saw her babies and I assure you, they were not Gerber Baby look-a likes. Certainly her babies were sweet, but they did not come close to the beauty of my daughter.

My son was born twenty months after my daughter and to my surprise, another Gerber baby, though a balder specimen.

Twenty-plus years have passed, and when a close friend of mine became a grandma, I heard how angelic her grandson was. She explained to me how all babies were cute, but her grandson was more beautiful than any she had ever seen. I wondered about this baby since I hadn’t seen him yet; and then it occurred to me, it was the Gerber Baby Syndrome all over again.

Now I have two grandsons of my own, and as expected, both of them are  Gerber Baby candidates. Obviously Gerber babies bring forth Gerber babies.

I suppose all mothers will continue to think they have birthed the next Gerber Baby into the world while feeling certain other mothers did not.

Nonetheless, I do have pictures and I don’t mind showing them.