I read a statistic that amazed me: Is it really possible that when a baby is born, her feet are usually about 8 cm (3 inches) long? Surely the feet of a newborn cannot possibly be that long, right? And just how fast do they grow?
My friends and colleagues from Norway, Sweden and Finland have been doing their own measurements on their babies, and they’re telling me that, yes, 8 cm is a totally normal length for a newborn’s foot. I am stunned by this.
Until now I never thought that German babies had especially tiny feet. Or maybe it’s only my children and those of my friends who were born with very small feet, by some funny coincidence? When my first daughter was born (on her due date!), her feet were 6 cm long. I know this because we received a small blue footprint from the hospital for our family photo album.
I can’t be sure about the size of my second child’s feet at birth because he had to be rushed to intensive care right after my emergency C-section. But I am pretty sure that while his feet were thicker, they were about the same length as his older sister’s. And all the nurses on my younger daughter’s birth ward admired her for her long feet – they were 7 cm long from heel to big toe.
So how long are American babies’ feet, compared to those in Germany? You can help us solve this riddle! Here’s what you do: Take a measuring tape or a ruler and measure those little footsies. Then tell us how long they are in the comment field below, and please tell us how old your baby is, too.
We’re counting on you – thanks!