Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Elsa is 5 months old! I know I haven't posted a lot about her growth, sleeping habits, eating habits, etc... I believe the main reason for this is because I have absolutely nothing to worry about with my angel baby. She is perfect, and has been since the day she was born. In the hospital, the nurse told me that Elsa scored 9.9 on the APGAR.

With Reagan, I worried about anything and everything. I think this is, in part, because I was a new parent (ie- clueless); and also because she was on the "more difficult" side of the spectrum when it comes to raising babies.

It is also so interesting to me that my little ladies, both of whom were made by the same parents, are very different.

With Elsa, I keep expecting to state that: "the honeymoon is over". But I am finding myself still blissfully happy.

Elsa's sleeping habits continually get better and better. For two months now, she has been consistently sleeping through the night for 11-12 hours. And when I say sleeping, I mean sleeping. I give her a bottle around 7 or 8PM, she goes to sleep; and I don't hear another peep from her until 7-8AM!

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child was my BIBLE with Reagan. I devoured that book trying to figure out the secret to get Reagan to sleep through the night. Reagan didn't let me sleep uninterrupted through the night for the first 9 months of her life (and that was only because I gave her "tough love" and stopped going to her when she cried). She did sleep through the night for a little while at 7 weeks, but that was short lived. For the most part, she would wake up twice a night to eat.

I was convinced that the children described in the book that slept through the night at 3 months of age were 100% fictitious. That is... until I had Elsa. I am here to tell you that I have a real, flesh and blood child that started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks.

I still love the book, but these days I only need to casually consult it to make sure Elsa is on track. She sleeps through the night. She has developed her 9AM nap, and in the past week her afternoon nap has developed too.

Elsa is such a happy little girl. She is quick to smile and laugh.

As far as size goes... Elsa and Reagan were about the same size when they were born. At Elsa's 4 month appointment she was a full two-inches shorter than Reagan was, at that age, and 8 ounces heavier! Oh, how I love Elsa's chunk-a-rific-ness!

A month ago, I started Elsa on "solids". She is the exact opposite of her sister. Elsa has such a sweet tooth!

Reagan loved vegetables, as a baby (and still does). Her favorite baby food was squash.

I tried to feed Elsa squash, and she cried. Literally. She would much rather have Apples or Pears. We're going to have to work on that.

Reagan's umbilical cord took six weeks to fall off. Elsa's took six days.

Both girls have things that are perfect about them! And both girls have some less than desirable trademarks.

For instance: one of the first things I thought about Reagan, after she was born, was that she had the most beautiful lips I have ever seen! This is still true. Her full-lips are gorgeous! Elsa's eyes are amazing. She has brilliant baby-blues (I'm hoping they don't change); and her eyelashes are long and curly.

If I had to give the girls funny nicknames, they would be: Barfy, and Tooter. Reagan has always had a hard time keeping her meals down. As a baby she would spit up copious amount of formula after EVERY feeding! As a toddler, I think the longest she has gone between throw-up incidents is 3 months. Reagan will vomit at the drop of a hat, and the "best" part is that it is always without warning.

Elsa, has more gas than the Hindenburg! The child "toots" like a maniac. And it is STINKY! When she was 2 weeks old, she was sleeping in the carseat, and I had a blanket draped over the top. My Mom and I heard Elsa in the carseat having her usual gas issues. Then we heard Elsa start crying, uncontrollably. My Mom went over and lifted the blanket, to take Elsa out of the carseat. My Mom's comment was, "No wonder you are crying, baby, it smells really bad in there!".

I guess it is true, that NOBODY is perfect. But my girls are pretty close to perfection!

And while Elsa has been an easier newborn.... my pregnancy with her was definitely not. I was sick with Reagan, but it was nothing compared to how sick I was with Elsa during pregnancy. After living through Reagan as a newborn I was worried about doing it again. But, ta-da! Miracle! Elsa has been an ideal baby.

On the flip side, after nine months of carrying Elsa I don't think I want to be pregnant. Ever. Again.

It's sixes when it comes to comparing labor and delivery with them.

And I do need retract a former statement I made on this blog. I believe it went something along the lines of: "there is nothing redeeming about being pregnant". After thinking about it I discovered that a few good things came from the times I was pregnant. The most obvious thing would be: the baby.

The not so blatant things are:

With Reagan- my far sightedness was healed! I found out I needed glasses in the 9th grade. I only needed to use them when I was reading, or when I was driving at night. My vision seemed to get worse over the years, and the glasses/contacts quickly lost the feeling of novelty and became an annoyance. Strangely, I found that when I became pregnant with Reagan I didn't have the need for vision correctors. And my 20/20 continued even after I delivered Reagan. I haven't worn glasses or contacts for nearly 3 years!

With Elsa- I went to see my Primary Care Physician shortly before I got pregnant because I had a lump on my wrist. She diagnosed it as a Ganglion Cyst and told me that it would need to be surgically removed. I didn't end up setting an appointment with the specialist she referred me to, because I got pregnant. I figured I'd get it taken care of after I had the baby. Turns out, I didn't need to. One morning, I woke up and it was gone. Never to return (I think?). From what I have read it is very rare for that type of cyst to go away on it's own.

Two miracles from pregnancy, and I don't just mean the little miracles we took home with us in the carseat.

I LOVE that my girls have two distinct personalities! I can only hope that their differences make them better friends (opposites attract type of principle).