A Bit About Zoey

Upon first meeting you, Zoey is no performer. She won't smile at you, laugh at your funny faces, or reach for you. In fact, if you touch her or get too close, she may start crying, and won't stop until you are either out of her sight or she warms up to you, which will take an extra long time, since you've already made her uncomfortable.

Zoey is shy. She is careful. She is studious and observant. She likes to study people before deciding to trust them. This does not mean that she is less smart, less cute or less fun than other babies. In fact, I think it shows more intelligence, but that's just me.

Once you have gained her trust, (which really only takes a minute or two if you're not all up in her face, demanding her to perform or criticizing her straight face), her true personality comes out: she is happy, spunky, determined and talkative.

So please don't label my child with terms such as "somber", "serious" or "boring", and don't assume she's less intelligent than so-and-so's baby just because they have different personalities.

In the end, comparing babies is really not a good idea if you're going to try and sum up strength and weaknesses. All babies have great potential, and telling them what they are good and bad at is a great way to limit that potential. The way you think of a baby is the way you will treat them, and the way you treat them is a message to them of how they should think of themselves.

All that said, I know no one is a baby expert and most of the time people don't intend to be rude. I just wanted to explain to you why parents might feel affronted by you when you handle their baby. You can't totally escape offense, since most people will always find something to be offended at, but hopfully, by shedding some light on things from a parent's perspective, you might see how to avoid such offenses to the reasonable parent.