Schmit Family
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9 July 2006 8:29 pm

Two and a Half Months; Two and a Half Years

So much alike, yet so different

Andrea and Dylan are similar in some ways, but in many ways the two are opposites. They look enough alike that when looking at early pictures of the two, I often can't tell which one was which. An example of this is the pictures taken shortly after the first bath in the hospital.

Differences were apparent as early as in the womb. The movements that Andrea and Dylan made were different. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but I could tell that Andrea was moving differently than Dylan. She seemed more adventurous. The position each one had was also different. Andrea seemed like she was almost sitting cross-legged, while Dylan nearly always had one leg straight. As a result Dylan was frequently kicking me in the ribs. The other difference in utero was noticeable by my food preferences. With Dylan, I didn't notice any change from before I was pregnant. With Andrea, I had a strong craving for chocolate and an equally strong aversion to bananas.

The birth of each child was quite different also. Dylan was the impatient one, demonstrated by my water breaking and the doctor inducing labor. Andrea was extremely patient and in no hurry to enter the world. After more than 20 hours of labor, the doctor broke my water and she was born within an hour. We'll see if she is still that patient as time goes on.

Dylan and Andrea had completely different sleeping patterns. When Dylan was a baby, he would fall asleep anywhere at anytime. If he was tired, he was asleep. Andrea, on the other hand, does not fall asleep anywhere. She will cry to let you know she is tired, but often needs motion to fall asleep. Motion can be the swing or walking while bouncing in Mommy's or Daddy's arms. Going for a walk while being in the sling or front carrier also has worked on several occasions. She rarely sleeps in her crib during the day at school. Dylan would often just fall asleep on the floor.

The eating preferences of Dylan and Andrea are also quite different. Dylan would eat pretty much whenever it was offered. This actually would ease the falling asleep at times. It would also make scheduling events easier. We could feed him just before heading somewhere, and he would be fine while we were gone. Andrea eats only when she is very hungry. If it is a half hour before she is going to be hungry, she is not interested in topping off her tank. So, she has had many more occasions to eat while on the go. And I have become much more comfortable feeding her just about anywhere. Another feeding difference between the two is in the amount consumed at each feeding; I learn this through the bottles consumed at school. Dylan had distinctly different amounts that he would eat during the day. All of Andrea's bottles have been approximately the same size. Also, Dylan would take a bottle with little hesitation. Andrea is not as keen on bottles even now.

We no longer keep a burp cloth handy like we did when Dylan was a baby. He would spit up quite frequently. Whenever we'd put him to our shoulder, there was a burp cloth to protect the clothing or the clothing had a very good chance of being a target. This persisted for quite some time. I remember the color of the spit up would often be indicative of which vegetable Dylan ate most recently. Andrea rarely spits up. The occasions that I can remember are when she has a cold and is congested. I had no fear in the early weeks to give her to a visitor without handing over a burp cloth first.

Both children fall asleep well with a bumpy ride in the car. Unfortunately, we have a different vehicle than when Dylan was a baby and the ride is much smoother. For a couple of weeks, we would actually try to hit the bumps in the road. And the railroad tracks were just great! Unless we had to stop for a train.

Up until this week, I thought that Dylan was going to be the sole thumb sucker in the family. Andrea is now capable of planting her thumb firmly within her mouth. She has been sucking on her hands more recently. We'll see whether this develops into a habit and whether it is her right hand, like her mother as a child, or left hand, like her brother.

It seems like I can enumerate many more differences than similarities. Dylan and Andrea have unique personalities that make them very special to me. It is a blessing to be able to watch them grow and develop as individuals.

Posted by geoff at 20:29 in /family