Embracing the differences

I'm always joking about how much of a slug Adrianna is and how she would much rather be held or plopped in her jumperoo rather than trying to sit up or (gasp!) lie on her belly for some much-needed tummy time.  And while I absolutely do not worry about her strength and ability--because my gosh, the child was holding her own head up in the hospital a mere 1 day after being born.  This was probably more because she is nosy (she get's this from her father) but still.  When I was pregnant with her I was constantly telling myself that I was not going to compare her to her brother.  However.  I first felt flutters with Brock at a wee 16 weeks (for a first baby, I think that is fairly impressive).  After that he was constantly on the go.  If there was more than 1 hour/day that I did not feel him bopping around in my uterus, I would obsessively do fetal kick counts because I was sure that something had to be wrong if he was not dancing a jig on my bladder.  For entertainment, Greg would blow raspberries on my belly and we would watch Brock jump outta his skin (or more accurately, outta my skin since he was still baking).  Brock was born at 37 weeks, 4 days.  My water broke at home in the middle of the night and he arrived by lunch.  My sweet little princess had other ideas . . .
I did feel flutters with Adrianna early as well (something like 14 weeks-but this time around I knew what I was feeling) but she was MUCH more relaxed in utero.  That kid would go for hours and not move a muscle.  Well, a muscle that was big enough for her momma to feel.  I would actually be sitting at home at night and realize, "Holy crap.  I haven't felt the baby move for 12 hours!"  Then I would poke the lump that was either her head/butt and she would wiggle around just enough to let me know that everything was a-okay.  Of course when she got a little bigger, she would actually kick me back and that became a very fun game of "The Battle at the Twelfth Rib" which usually ended up in my gasping for air, clutching my side and freaking out anybody around me because they just knew that my water would break and they would have to deliver my child.  Wait, where was I going with this . . .

Oh yeah yeah.  So when I hit the 37 week mark with Adrianna, I just knew that she would be nice to her momma and come along the same timeline as her big brother.  Hmmmm.  37 weeks came and went.  And so did 38.  Finally when I hit 39 weeks, I was desperate.  I had gone to my chiropractor for accupressure, eaten everything spicy I could get my hands on, I had even drank castor oil (I DO NOT recommend this unless you are mad at both your intestines and your toilet) and little miss princess was having none of it.  My OB/GYN finally began to talk induction and said that if I hadn't gone into labor on my own, we could induce around 40 weeks.  Plus, my ankles were beginning to swell and my blood pressure was starting to rise so it wasn't just for my benefit.  Probably more for hers so she wouldn't have to hear from me again for 6ish weeks. 

The point of all of this rambling is, Brock was scooting himself backward on his belly by 5ish months and Adrianna is barely sitting up unassisted (usually it's less than 10 seconds at a time before she faceplants).  I swore the entire time I was pregnant that I would not compare my children.  And guess what?  I did during my pregnancy with Adrianna and drove myself (and probably most everybody around me) crazy with the "Brock did this by this age, shouldn't Adrianna have done the same?"  Once I had my induction date, I swore that I wouldn't do the same thing once she arrived.  And what have I done?  The exact same thing.  I know that kids hit milestones on their own time and the pediatrician is not worried and I shouldn't be either.  And truthfully, I'm not worried.  I just constantly compare them.  And it's not fair at all.  They have completely different personalities (so far) and rather than fighting it, I'm going to try to embrace it.  Brock is the spitting image of his daddy in both physical and personality traits.  Adrianna definitley favors me as far as her stunning beauty but I will wait until she passes through the toddler stage before making any assumptions regarding her personality and mannerisms.

The point is, my kids are amazing and different and I couldn't be happier.  Besides, who wants cookie-cutter kids?  Variety truly is the spice of life and I like for my life to have a little kick.

P.S. Yesterday I had Adrianna lying on her back and as she reached for one of Brock's toys, she accidentally rolled over onto her belly.  Out of no where, she started trying to push up onto all fours.  She couldn't quite coordinate the arms and legs together but she got really close several times.  Eeeeek!