The tiny crowd stopper

Bebe Sanchez

By Laura Sumner Coon

It’s late in the afternoon, and Jeannine Desuatels walks over to the medical area of the clinic with the tiniest of babies in her hands.

Bebe Sanchez is a month old and still without a name. Her head is covered in scales, one of the worst cases of cradle cap the nurse can remember. Nails on her thin little fingers are very long, and Jeannine fears the baby is only a few ounces more than five pounds, which would be severely underweight.

Everyone gathers around Bebe Sanchez, and she begins to smile. All the adults coo and show their concern. After an exam, the group discovers the baby is about 8 pounds and the mother and her toddler brother are extremely petite. She will be just fine, the providers proclaim.