Dear Abby: You really goofed in your reply to ”Not Too Tall in Tacoma.” Those who were remarking on the ”so small” baby may be rude-but they are also right!
I am a family physician and was shocked that Dear Abby did not recognize that an 11-month-old baby weighing only 10 pounds represented extreme failure to thrive, and should be taken immediately to a physician for evaluation. As a general rule, healthy infants double their birth weight in the first four to five months and triple it by one year of age. Their height increases by 50 percent by 1 year of age. Therefore, even the lowest fifth percentile child should weigh about 17 pounds 8 ounces and have a length of about 27 inches by 11 months of age.
I hope that the mother who wrote to you will see this and take her son to a doctor, who can determine the nutritional or medical reason for lack of growth and restore his health.
Dr. Elizabeth Brackett, Minneapolis
Dear Dr. Brackett: Thank you, and many other readers who sent a similar message. It has been many years since I, or the rest of my staff, have been involved with a baby under 12 months of age, and therefore the ”numbers”
went unnoticed. Mea culpa.
Dear Abby: The letter you published about ”Ricardo” and his wife, who was hurt because her husband attended a dinner party to which she was not invited because she did not speak fluent Spanish (the hosts were bilingual and had enjoyed her hospitality), brought to mind a story about Will Rogers:
It seems that a society matron gave a big party and invited Will but not his wife. Will went to the party alone and entertained the guests with his witty, humorous stories, after which he sent his hostess a bill for his services!
The society matron complained to Will, saying hers was a social invitation, and he had been invited as a guest. Will responded, ”Oh? When I am invited to a social affair, my wife is also invited.”
Ricardo should learn such loyalty.
J.B. in Portland
Dear J.B.: I agree with you. But according to my mail, it is not uncommon in mixed (cross-cultural) marriages for one spouse to socialize without the other. In our culture, a man who cares for his wife`s feelings will usually refuse an invitation that does not include her. In mixed marriages, it does not always turn out that way-much to the chagrin of the wife.
Dear Abby: You recently printed a letter from a doctor`s wife who complained about patient phone calls to his home.
My father was a small-town lawyer who frequently was interrupted at home with non-emergency calls from clients, friends and relatives-usually seeking free legal advice. One neighbor was particularly disruptive, calling two or three times a week.
One evening, my father had come home early from a social engagement to find that this neighbor had called four times during the evening and had left a message for my father to return his call as soon as he came in.
Dad stretched, yawned and set his alarm for 3:30 a.m., and then went to bed. At 3:30 a.m., he got up and returned the call, saying, ”I just got home and I am returning your call-I knew it had to be something urgent for you to have telephoned my home so many times. What can I do for you?”
Guess who never called Dad at home again?
Sam`s Daughter (Also an Attorney)
