Week Four: The Inevitable Compairsons

Logically of course I know that my children are different people with different personalities and different skills. Of course I know this. No two children or experiences are exactly the same and I would not be naive enough to think that they would be. But really, no matter what you do, you can't help but compare, even when you are trying not to. You can't help but compare the experiences you have as a parent because it's what you know; it's what you have to draw from.

So far, Ellie and Luke are about as different as babies could possibly be. Ellie was a feisty baby - she cried a lot and was...shall we say...high demand. Luke is much more laid back - he sleeps nearly constantly and when he's not sleeping, he's starring into space in "chill" mode or cries half heartedly for a minute before being soothed to sleep. Ellie came out of the womb with amazing head control, strong legs, was very stable and was ahead of the curve with physical development from day one. Luke, on the other hand, is a floppy baby, too sleepy and laid back to concentrate on building his muscles quite yet and I think it would be safe to bet that he's not going to hit physical milestones anywhere as quickly as Ellie did. Ellie nursed for almost an hour every time she ate, but was sleeping for 4 or more hours at a time after the first two weeks. Luke can't seem to stay awake while he's eating, so he only eats for 10-15 minutes but eats every two hours (3 if I am very, very lucky!).

We knew our children would be vastly different, but before "Juan" was born, we wondered what ways they would be the same. Would Juan be a she? (no) Would he have red hair? (yes) Would he hate being in the car? (no) But the biggest question was - would he have eczema issues and allergies that Ellie had?! My pediatrician said that the chances of Luke having the same allergies (dairy, soy) as Ellie were pretty slim. Not to say that it isn't impossible, or that he wouldn't have different allergies, but it is just not that likely that he would have the same allergies. I decided that I wanted to find out pretty quickly whether I'd have to do an elimination diet again (Ellie was 6 weeks old when I finally tried this) so from the time that Luke was born, I have been eating everything that he could possibly have a problem with. Spicy food, acidic food, tons of dairy and soy and wheat and eggs. Might as well put all your cards in, right? So I am happy to report that here we are at 4 weeks and Luke's system appears to be fine! He could develop issues later (Ellie's allergy issues really took off in her 4th week) but so far so good.
Ellie and Luke play with dolls
It's hard not to compare your children, but one experience is not better than the other. It's just different. It's fun to have different experiences and see their different personalities, even at this point. They are going to be very different children and we are excited to see the different ways they learn, grow and interact.