Comparing my two children is, as they say, apples and oranges.

Jesse is now 6.5 months old and has slept through the night a mere 3 times despite attempts at training.  Emma, on the other hand, first sleep through the night at 6 weeks and then continued to do so more often than not her first year.

Jesse falls asleep for the night at as early as 6:45 PM and needs nothing more than a pacifier and comfort toy.  Emma, on the other hand, cried every night for about 18 months for at least 30 minutes, despite being tired.  She would usually go to bed at 9 PM.  She would request "pat-pats," music, needed to be swaddled for most of the first year (even though it just came undone).  I'm sure if I had been counting, I could only count on one hand times she fell asleep crying for less than 15 minutes.

Emma was a truly happy baby.  She was always content and smiling.  She was strong on her stomach and would reach for toys from a really young age.  Jesse, on the other hand, is a demanding baby.  If he sees something he wants he either violently grabs or yells (not cries) to get it.  He would like to lunge out of my arms if I didn't hold him tight.  If I lay him on his tummy, he usually just folds his head down in desperation and lets out a full on cry!

Emma was a voracious 6 month old solids eater.  By 7 months she had 8 teeth and was devouring boxes of cheerios.  She never rejected a single meal put in front of her.  Jesse is a social eater.  He will only eat when we aren't at home (like at a restaurant when he wants to join in) or when watching a DVD that I use to distract him and shove solids into his mouth.

Jesse is interested in things; Emma was interested in people.

Jesse is 10th percentile, Emma was 90th in height and 25-50th in weight.

I love them both, but they are completely different! 

This week has been really tiring.  There were a whole bunch of out of the ordinary meetings and activities and then there was the issue of needing an oil change.  We were almost double the mileage past needing one.  This is what happens when you spend 68 days waiting for a move.  You lose track of getting normal things done.  Finally we got it done today and had the brakes inspected.  Turns out our brakes (that were perfect on August 1 when we drove across the country) are wrecked and need urgent repair.  We have only one vehicle right now so add in the absolute necessity of getting those brakes done tomorrow.  This means that I have to drive Jeff and Emma to school for the fourth day in a row this week.  Usually, I only drive Mondays and Jeff does it the rest of the week.  However, every day has been some strange deviation in schedule. So anyway, tomorrow there are millions of things that could be done, but safety is first and brakes will be repaired after I drop them off. 

Today while Jeff was getting the oil changed at 3 PM, both my kids were asleep.  I had a choice between listening to another online lecture, cleaning, or napping.  I chose napping.  I'm usually not a napper, but with Jesse's apparent inability to sleep at night (despite letting him cry it out), I'm having to choose sleep as my wisest option as often as I can.

It's unsatisfying for me to have to live life at this level right now, having room only to prioritize basic necessities like sleep and safety.  The efficient person in me can't stand this, but it is what it is.  Hopefully after tomorrow we will have a safe vehicle to drive around!