Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Does anyone think there baby isn't cute

137 replies

zaza687 · 09/08/2022 00:52

Does anyone out there actually think there baby isn't the cutest or good looking ? I don't have children but have always wondered this hope I don't offend anyone

OP posts:
Imthedamnfoolwhoshothim · 09/08/2022 00:53

My Daughter is really photogenic now.
But as a baby she looked like a gremlin. I have some seriously un cute pictures of her.

Loopielu · 09/08/2022 01:00

One of mine wasn't conventionally attractive, I knew it, strangers confirmed it. It was a hard time.

She's now a teenager and has outgrown the medical issues that made everyone look twice. She gets looks for the opposite reasons now.

illiterato · 09/08/2022 01:02

Ha ha- no. DH and I laugh about how we literally discussed in the hospital how lucky we were to have such a cute baby when the others were all red and squashed. Well now we look at photos of newborn DS and he was both of those in spades.

Rtmhwales · 09/08/2022 01:11

I have many pictures of DS where I commented that he was a squishy potato or fat old man. He definitely wasn't conventionally cute as a small baby, but around 6 months old he became really cute. People would stop me on the street to tell me how gorgeous my baby was and how he didn't look a thing like me Hmm

gotagooddeal · 09/08/2022 01:12

I thought my first son was soooo cute as a newborn but now when I look back at pics I wonder how I missed his bulging eyes 🤣🤣🤣

Philandbill · 09/08/2022 01:15

I thought DD1 was beautiful, but put that down to me being a very biased parent. Then I had DD2 and realised that I was actually quite objective as I knew full well DD2 was an odd looking baby. Took about 10 months for her to "grow into her face" really. Nobody complimented her for her looks, as DD1 had been, but everyone adored DD2 as she was such a smiley, happy, alert and sociable baby who very rarely cried. She's a teenager now and has beautiful eyes and the rest of her face is very standard. And we all still adore her as she is sociable, empathetic, interesting and bright. And usually cheerful!

SpicyMama · 09/08/2022 01:17

Funny you should post this as I wonder.

I have a 6 month old baby and she is gorgeous. She is mixed race with a full head of a huge curly Afro, dark skin and green eyes. She has a cute button nose and Cupid bow lips. She really is a beautiful baby.

She gets stopped ALL the time by people and her pictures have even been stolen online and put on various ‘cute babies of instagram’ accounts (pissed me off actually and i no longer post her even though I want to show her off).

My health visitor actually said she’s the prettiest baby she’s seen which was sweet.

side note: me and her dad are average looking.

This sounds really shallow but when I see other parents post about their ‘beautiful’ babies I do wonder, do you genuinely believe your baby is objectively beautiful to the world or are just saying that because your meant too? Because these babies are bald and plain. They all look similar.
Then I read the comments that say ‘beautiful prince’ etc and I think aren’t we seeing the same thing? An average at best baby? All babies are cute but do the parents genuinely believe their babies are above average/striking etc.

I never paid much thought before I became a mum. But I think because my baby gets so much attention for her looks I notice more.
I also notice some ridiculously gorgeous babies and I wonder if their parents realise just how gorgeous their baby!

FYI - I am under no illusion that she will stay looking above average in looks forever. She may become a plain toddler or awkward looking child. It doesn’t matter a jot. Looks fade regardless so I don’t put any weight on it and don’t want her to feel that aesthetics have any importance whatsoever. I’m just posting about her looks because of this thread topic.

Philandbill · 09/08/2022 01:18

And, not what you are asking, but a friend had a really beautiful baby. People would stop friend in the street to tell her how beautiful her baby was. Sadly they'd then often look at friend and add "she must take after her father", which was blooming rude.

EmeraldShamrock1 · 09/08/2022 01:22

DD was a picture perfect baby, long and petite, beautiful face, beautiful fingers.

DS was a potato. He was still beautiful but didn't fit the cute clothing for his age range, he was a 2 year old at 9 months.

DD is still petite, DS is stocky.

MrsTerryPratchett · 09/08/2022 01:25

Mine was used as a model. Like actually a shop asked for a photo and used it for advertising. For a feminist, anti-consumer, opposed to children in advertising... did I object? Did I bollocks, I was pathetic.

She is literally the cutest child, like, ever. (See, pathetic).

HappyDays40 · 09/08/2022 01:27

My baby had a huge spherical head and double chin till 1 year old then grew into himself and it six has the most gorgeous green eyes. He really is lovely now but it took a long time!

caringcarer · 09/08/2022 01:36

None of my 3 DC were what I would class as a beautiful baby. However they all fed well, slept through the night and were happy and smiley. I would choose that over a beautiful but grumpy or poor sleeper anyday. All have grown into kind, hard working and fair looking adults. I had a friend who's baby was beautiful, she had little blond ringlets and huge blue eyes, but she was 3 before she slept through whole night. My friend or her DH were up at 4 or 5 for years.

EmmiJay · 09/08/2022 01:36

My DD was prem and as tiny and as fragile these precious little ones are, they obviously get more looks of amazement than anything. Fast forward eight yrs and shes basically a tiny Leomie Anderson with buck teeth, dimples, high cheek bones and legs up to her arm pits. Complete opposite of myself!

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall · 09/08/2022 01:36

One of mine wasn't a pretty baby, I actually said something ti that affect when he was born 😬 I blame the gas and air

Solidarityovercharity · 09/08/2022 01:49

I remember laughing my head off reading Julie Walters (brilliant) book on Motherhood and how she cried tears of sadness for the other mothers in the ward who didn't have such a beautiful baby like she did

inpixiehollow · 09/08/2022 01:59

My daughter was born the most gorgeous little newborn. My son was not, he looked very strange and was also quite large so didn't have the 'teeny' newborn look I was used to from my first. My daughter went through a bit of a strange phase around 10ish months but then went back to being cute and is still adorable now at 2, I often get comments from people.
My son carried on looking strange until around 4 months.. then I'd say he looked like an average baby. He's now almost 9 months and is very cute with a lovely cheeky smile! So no, I don't think mothers are always blind to it. I can also appreciate a very pretty baby that isn't mine.

larkstar · 09/08/2022 03:20

I have good friends I've known for 30 years and, being honest, both of their boys were a bit strange looking as babies and youngsters but they have both grown up into really quite nice looking lads and they are lovely guys too - looking back it's hard to connect the people I know now to the those children I knew so long ago.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 09/08/2022 03:39

All my DDs were pretty - dark hair, dark eyes, long eyelashes.
My DS looked like Homer Simpson - no hair, huge head and slightly yellow.
But the hair grew in, the yellow faded and he grew into his head. He is good-looking now.

RenegadeMatron · 09/08/2022 03:51

This thread is amusing.

’My DC was fugly/funny looking as a baby. Oh, but s/he’s gorgeous now!’ Grin

Kind of confirming the OP’s wondering - children are beautiful to their parents.

I wonder if anyone is going to come on and say ‘my child was unattractive as a baby - and still is’. Doubt it!

georgarina · 09/08/2022 03:54

DS had baby acne as a newborn and looked like a raisin with hair 😂

I remember panicking thinking there was something wrong with me for not thinking he was cute!

He is now though!

mamabeeboo · 09/08/2022 04:16

RenegadeMatron · 09/08/2022 03:51

This thread is amusing.

’My DC was fugly/funny looking as a baby. Oh, but s/he’s gorgeous now!’ Grin

Kind of confirming the OP’s wondering - children are beautiful to their parents.

I wonder if anyone is going to come on and say ‘my child was unattractive as a baby - and still is’. Doubt it!

This in spades

Hugasauras · 09/08/2022 04:19

georgarina · 09/08/2022 03:54

DS had baby acne as a newborn and looked like a raisin with hair 😂

I remember panicking thinking there was something wrong with me for not thinking he was cute!

He is now though!

Raisin with hair GrinGrinGrin

CatSeany · 09/08/2022 04:31

I remember thinking that my son was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen. When I look back objectively, he was gorgeous for the first couple of days and then went through a much less attractive phase for a few weeks before becoming really cute again. I didnt notice that he wasnt conventionally attractive at the time though, I had major rose tinted glasses!

HeyMicky · 09/08/2022 05:19

DD1 looked like a capuchin monkey
DD2 had a weirdly snubbed nose and gave us a permanent stink eye for the first 6 months

They no longer look like that

iloveeverykindofcat · 09/08/2022 05:26

@RenegadeMatron well to be fair I don't think it's all in the eye of the beholder. Newborn humans are objectively weird looking because we have to get born so early for primates...once we develop to the stage that babies of other mammals start being cute, which a lot of them are born at, we become cute. For a while at least.