Complete Opposites

As it turns out, having two wee ones at home means a lot less blogging time. I've received a bit of grief over my lack of posting, and I apologize. Again. If it seems as though my thoughts are a little more scatterbrained and less thought-out, it's because they are.

I read everything and heard all the stories about how no two children are alike. Different, I expected. Complete opposites, I did not. It continues to amaze me. So I'm going to take the next few minutes doing a big no-no. I'm going to compare my children.

1. Sleep

It's unreal how well Michael sleeps. He has absolutely no problem putting himself to sleep and from the time we brought him home, he has slept as well as Bailey does now, waking only 2-3 times per night. Now, at his 3-month mark, he'll go in streaks of waking up once a night for feeding to waking up twice a night for feeding. It's usually not more than that, and I assume it has to do with growth spurts and brain development and all that fun stuff. So it turns out the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby can actually work ... with the right kid.

I'm still not convinced it could have ever worked with Bailey. She was just different. Still is. She fights sleep like it's her job and wakes up with nightmares or needing a drink or being too hot, too cold, too happy, too sad, too excited, too bored ... you get the idea. The girl just doesn't sleep. I've considered a sleep doctor but know deep down I'd have doubts no matter what they told me. I'm more of the just roll with it and see what happens as far as the sleep goes.

2. Bottles

Now I realize why everyone thought I was a little crazy when I would tell them Bailey wouldn't take a bottle ... and it also reinforces the idea that I'm actually not ... crazy, that is. Well, at least not in this regard.

I hold firm to the statement that she would not take a bottle. We had to try every different type there was -- everything from the cheapest hard plastic to the most expensive hoo-ha shaped ones. She refused. I'm beginning to think she's all-around stubborn. Wonder where she gets that from ...

Michael, on the other hand, will take anything. Any pacifier, any bottle, any hand, anything. I realize this could cause complications in the future and we may have to be a little more diligent about baby-proofing than we were with Bailey, but right now it's uber-handy.

3. Crying

Those first few months with Bailey we had to learn to live with loads of crying. The first couple weeks were the worst, when we were literally lucky to get 30 minutes of sleep before the next crying round began. It was either constant moving or constant crying with Bailey. Sometimes both, from everyone involved.

Michael can't seem to be bothered with crying. He sleeps a lot and is generally a happy baby. Every once in a great while he'll get worked up enough to really belt it out, but mostly he just fusses when he's hungry or poopy. He doesn't care so much about the wet diapers, which makes me wonder how potty-training will go down the road.

4. Spitting up

Bailey never did. Michael does quite a bit. I don't eat as well with Michael as I did with Bailey, so that's most likely a big part of it.

Similarities
They do have some similarities. They look a little bit alike. Okay a lot alike. I'm going to have to dig out some of Bailey's baby pictures off their discs and post some side-by-sides. It's pretty incredible how much they look alike. Their eyes are different, but the shape of their faces is really similar, as well as some of their expressions. The big open-mouth grin is my favorite. Bailey did the same thing and I love it. Melts my heart every time I see it.

They also both love bath time. Maybe it reminds them of their time in utero. Who knows, but it makes bath time so much easier than it could be.

What it all boils down to is that the transition from one to two could have been much uglier, but Michael has turned out to be a pretty easy baby. There I said it. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the night with my fingers crossed and knocking on wood.