I have an ugly ‘gnome’ baby — that offends some moms but my son is loved

All babies are beautiful — unless they aren’t.

When Emily Crossan, a 31-year-old mom from Staffordshire, England, gave birth to her son, Isaac, it was love at first sight, she described.

But it wasn’t until later she went through old pictures and realized he actually looked more like a “garden gnome” than a bona fide baby boy.

“He was so funny looking and definitely not the most attractive baby in the world — I was clearly blinded by motherly love at the time,” Crossan said, according to South West News Service.

Crossan took to a parenting group on Facebook to share her hilarious revelation and old pictures of her child, now 3, but was met with mixed reactions, including critics who slammed her for the insensitive description of Isaac’s babyhood.

“If you’d have given him a fishing rod and little hat he could’ve passed for a garden gnome,” she continued. “But he grew into his face and he’s so different now, a proper little cutie.”

Crossan, and intensive care unit nurse, claimed it’s common to see some “funny-looking” newborns in the NICU, and understands that babies don’t usually resemble garden gnomes for good.

After about six months, Crossan said that her child grew out of the “ugly baby” stage — but no one in her life let her know about his, um, interesting looks.

“I decided to post the photos in a parenting group on Facebook because I thought it was funny and just wanted to give other parents a laugh as well — it was just for a bit of a giggle really,” she explained.

“Most people found it funny and were commenting saying all newborns are funny looking at first and as mothers we’re blinded by love.”

Crossan was met with many parents in the comments section who found the photos hilarious, and even responded by posting pictures of their own so-called “ugly babies.”

But some took great offense, including one who said they couldn’t believe that she would call her own “innocent” baby ugly.

“One woman posted saying ‘how can you call your child ugly’, saying it was disgusting and that she was standing up for all newborns who are ridiculed,” Crossan said.

Others stood up for her, and one person even commented that all newborns look like “swollen potatoes” for a while and calling them ugly doesn’t mean they aren’t loved.

As a parent, Crossan urges others not to take things too seriously, as it’s important to laugh at the little things in life.

She insists that she loves her child “more than anything in the world.”

“I just don’t take myself too seriously — it’s my kid and I love him more than anything in the world,” she said, per SWNS. “I’m sure when he’s older we’ll look back and laugh together about it.”

“We’re all in the same boat as parents and it’s hard work so you have to see the funny side of things and be able to laugh about stuff because otherwise it would get too much.”