Differences

On the glider with her baby sister

While I had not planned on comparing my two children, I think that to a certain extent, it is inevitable. A case in point: the car ride. As a newborn, our toddler cried the entire car ride home from the hospital. Thankfully the trip did not last longer than 15 minutes. Our second, on the other hand, slept soundly from day one. If not already asleep, she falls asleep almost the instant we put her in a car seat. Our toddler continued to cry, whine and complain in her car seat until she was about 12 months old. Consequently, we tried to limit our car rides to the essential: doctor's visits. Our newborn has already been in the car on more than a dozen occasions and it has been a breeze each time. Of course, she is still a newborn that sleeps more than she is awake, but I have a feeling she will continue to behave...

We held Baby # 1 for the first three months of her life. She cried the instant we put her down. We would take turns holding her. She slept between the two of us at night, because she didn't sleep for very long in her bassinet, even swaddled. Baby #2 allows us to put her down, complaining only when she is very tired or hungry. This is a blessing, as it allows me to continue paying attention to the toddler. When she does cry, it is a solitary "WAH". This will be followed a minute later by another "WAH" if there is no response to the first one. Baby #1 would have been almost inconsolable by this point.

One of my friends suggested that I am now a more experienced mother, and things were apt to be easier the second time around. While I do not dispute that experience may play a role, I think that the two girls have very different temperaments. Overall, Baby # 2 is very calm.

Our first baby was the polar opposite of calm...but she would also go on to prove very proficient at crawling (6 months) and walking (10.75 months). Today she remains very active; she is an expert climber, jumper, and amateur gymnast.

Our toddler only started sleeping through the night regularly at age 2. While our newborn is not yet sleeping through night, I think that it is just a matter of a few months. She sleeps swaddled in a bassinet next to my side of the bed. At night, she generally sleeps for 2 to 3 hour blocks, waking only briefly to drink. Last night she gave her Mama a 4.5 hour block of rest, and she feels like a new person now!

While I certainly hope Baby #2 will also be active, I am very much enjoying the calmness of the moment.