TRAILBABY

As I mentioned in my last post, I came up with a nickname for Trailbaby. It sort of just came to me one day when I was with her.

When I look at her it is like deja vu. I see the Peanut. Visually, she looks exactly like the Peanut at this age (minus a little fullness in the lips). However, Trailbaby's demeanor and behavior is nothing like the Peanut at 3 weeks old.

The Peanut, although an awesome toddler was quite the challenging infant. She had colic from about 2 weeks until almost 10 or 12 weeks. Not just for a few hours either. I remember it starting at 2 pm and lasting close to midnight. Vans and I were beside ourselves with worry thinking something was terribly wrong with her.

She had to be swaddled like a burrito every time she was put down to sleep. She needed her pacifier or else we were left with blood curdling screams that were so loud that even our friends remember how loud her vocal cords were at only 3 weeks old. She came out in the delivery room screaming "put me back in" and continued screaming for probably the first hour. Still, I cannot deny she is probably the best toddler around. She speaks her mind, she says please and thank you and may I often. Other than her less than stellar bedtime routine (which I suppose we're to blame for that) she's truly one special child. I barely remember that whenever she got teeth she got them FOUR.AT.A.TIME and had all of her teeth including molars before she was two.

Trailbaby could not be any different. Swaddling? What is that? The kid hates the swaddle and prefers to sleep free and clear and in her own crib mind you! At three weeks old versus sleeping in mom and dad's room (ahem, like the Peanut did for a long while).

content and smiling

Luckily it took me only the first few nights to realize that she does not like to be bound up. Sure she has that nervous twitch all infants have but it doesn't wake her at all. You know what else doesn't wake her? The vacuum, the blender, the phone, the doorbell and most importantly HER SISTER! Trailbaby can sleep through it all! She also came out in the delivery room with one cry and then that was about it. She's an observer for sure. She just likes to take it all in.

She also eats well and poops well leaving us with very little worry. At three weeks she is already 9.5 pounds and passed her two week checkup with flying colors.

My stepmom said that sisters are like two different flowers from the same garden. I like that because it is so true. I expected the girls to be different just not so different at birth. I figured I'd have one tomboy and one princess. One runner and one mountain biker. I still might I suppose. I know that Trailbaby will grow up watching her sister and want to emulate her at times. Hopefully she'll pick up on all the good behavior the Peanut has and skip the few drama sessions we have when she's overtired or hungry.

One of the biggest differences though between the Peanut and Trailbaby however I already mentioned; her vocal cords. Trailbaby's trachea is not fully formed or "firm" yet. It is a common thing among infants and it generally means she has a raspy breath and sometimes difficulty in swallowing a lot of milk at once. It is nothing to be concerned about. However, before realizing she had this issue, I had started calling her ... Squeaker. I called her Squeaker because her cries are so soft that I can barely even hear her at times. Other times, she'll just look up at me and make this cute little noise, almost like a squeak. Hence the name Squeaker.

The Peanut & Squeaker

I am sure at some point in her life she will no longer "squeak" and will be as vocal as her older sister but forever in my heart, I will always hear that "squeak squeak" noise she makes as an infant.

Sisters

The girls