When Luke was born, I knew our parenting style would probably be a little different than it was with Savannah. He's a boy. I figured it would be somewhat different to raise a boy than a girl. I also knew that Savannah was an amazingly easy baby. As Luke is approaching his first birthday, I've been reminiscing and reading old blog posts from the time just before Savannah turned one. I really don't think Carl and I realized just how easy we had it with Savannah. I thank God many times for his infinite wisdom in granting us Savannah before Luke!
Savannah was always a laid-back, cautious baby. She didn't take risks. She didn't become mobile early on (we even survived her first Christmas without her being mobile). She ate all foods easily. She was rarely sick. She only really cried when hungry or tired. She had very few meltdown days. We could tell her no and she would just shrug and accept it. (I read a post about her ignoring our bar stools in the kitchen after being told no...) She slept through the night early on. Honestly, she was an angel.
Luke is nowhere near his sister in temperament. He didn't sleep well through the night until close to 6 months. He is an immediate risk taker. He has no fear. He climbs absolutely anything he can in order to get a better view - it is like he has an insatiable curiosity. He eats some things and doesn't others. He is LOUD. He babbles at high volumes just for the fun of it - especially when he's eating. He has been mobile since the early fall - making the holidays difficult. He does not have any desire to understand the word "no". We don't have those bar stools in our kitchen (and haven't since the summer) because he absolutely will not leave them alone. We have used more baby safety devices than ever before...and we have been forced to become creative with them as well. As soon as we put something new up (to make it more safe) he finds a way to make that unsafe. We are always on our toes. The first four months of his life I really think he spent crying more than anything else. He hated the car (and hated is a mild way of describing it). His cry was so high pitched we were sent to the ENT and Neurologist to be sure he was healthy. We saw two other specialists with him also...he is sick more than Savannah was (I will give him some credit here - he has a big sister going to preschool....she was home with just us at this age).
I knew how different they were, but when I begin reading about my life with Savannah when she was his age it really hit me that they are 100% different. They look adorably the same (just this weekend Carl saw a picture of Savannah as a tiny baby and thought it was Luke!) but they are so, so different. I don't know if it is the gender thing, or just personality, or a combination...I have no idea. I am so grateful that Savannah was first. We "got our feet wet" learning to parent with an easy child. I remember thinking our marriage was harder during Savannah's first year...I don't know if we would have survived if Luke had been first. We also have an amazing big sister in Savannah. She is (and has always been) a very empathetic little girl and loves to please. She cares for Luke so much and loves to be the big sister who helps out. She keeps an eye on him for the two seconds I have to run to the bathroom. She won't let him near dangerous things...obviously she can't be a babysitter yet, but she is a BIG help around the house. If they had been born in reverse order...hmm...I don't know...life would be...difficult.
As always, God is wise beyond any human!!
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