Differences

When I was pregnant with Annie, anybody and everybody warned me how your second was always a handful.  I would just smile politely and reply, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."  Every time this would happen, I would begin to wonder how different children could be.  All my friends with multiple children always said how their kids were all different, but they didn't always say one was more of a handful than the others.  They would simply comment about their preferences, and personalities, and what not.  I wondered if this was present from birth, or if they grew into their own over time.  So, lets fast forward to now.  Emery is five.  Annie is three months. So far, they have been very different little creatures, and here's how:

Sleeping:

Emery was an easy sleeper.  I would put him in his swing and he would be asleep in mere seconds.  He didn't want to be rocked.  He didn't want to be cuddled.  He didn't fight sleep.  Its almost as if he embraced sleep, even as a very tiny baby.  He came home from the hospital sleeping through the night, if I would let him.  There is a phrase: never wake a sleeping baby.  I did not follow that rule with Emery.  I was always waking him up to eat.  I wasn't always successful in the waking process either.  The boy just slept anytime, anywhere he pleased.
Annie has not been an easy sleeper.  She doesn't want to be put down.  She wants to be loved, and rocked, and cuddled.  She does fight sleep.  It almost seems as if she doesn't want to miss out on anything.  I'm constantly attempting not to wake her up, once she is asleep.  Oddly she doesn't get cranky while fighting sleep.  She just constantly moves and wiggles.  The more tired she is, the more she tries to wiggle.  If Emery embraced sleep, then she repels it.

Eating:

Emery wasn't the easiest eater at first.  I wanted, desperately, to breast feed him.  He had no interest in breast feeding.  As fast as my milk came in, it dried up.  He just didn't want to work that hard to get a meal.  (He wanted to sleep)  So, at a week old, we started attempting formula.  My husband drove to Wal Mart at one in the morning after a can of formula, because I was crying and in hysterics because my milk had dried up.  It hurt my feelings badly.  I swore if I ever had another child, I wouldn't even attempt breast feeding.  I couldn't feel like that big of a failure again.  Everyone said breast feeding was "the natural thing" to do, and I had failed.  I kept wondering how I could fail at something so "natural."  Feeding Emery didn't get much easier from there.  We tried what seemed like a million types of formulas.  None seemed to agree with him.  He would projectile vomit.  He would get constipated.  It was ROUGH.  I began rice cereal with Emery at five weeks old (I know, I know... wait till four to six months of age, blah blah).  I was hoping that the tiny amount of cereal would help him keep his food down.  Our doctor was okay with it, and encouraged me to use a small amount of prune juice or dark Karo syrup to help with constipation.  Things were slightly better.  He was still vomiting, but at least it wasn't projectile.  And, he wasn't as constipated.  At about four months, I started him on baby food.  It was like the kid was born to eat with a spoon.  And oddly, once I began feeding him baby food, he stopped spitting up, and he was no longer constipated.
When I was pregnant with Annie, I swore I would not breast feed.  (Remember, I'm a major failure, or so I thought)  I had sent in for various coupons from different brands of formula and that was that.  Until about a week before she was born.  I had found out I was group B strep positive.  I know this happens to a lot of a pregnant women.  But it worried me that she would get sick.  So the idea of breast feeding began to implant itself.  It started out simply.  I rationalized that I would just breast feed in the hospital so she could have colostrum.  And then I rationalized breast feeding for one week so I could make sure she got all the colostrum.  And then I rationalized, that I didn't know how long I would breast feed, but that I would try, and I wouldn't kick myself WHEN (notice I didn't say if) it didn't work out.  When she was born, she breast fed like a champ.  Breast feeding her was easy.  It was fun.  It proved my theory that I would never be able to breast feed completely wrong.  I breast fed her, exclusively for 8 weeks.  I weaned her after that because I thought I was going back to work full time.  But God had other plans, and I'm lucky that I don't have to work full time.  So, we are now on formula.  I miss breast feeding her sometimes.  But this is what is working for us and she is doing well with formula.  She is now three months.  I've just recently (in the last week) started giving her rice cereal.  She doesn't like eating with a spoon.  She wants to suck on something while she eats.  And that's okay.  She's still a tiny baby.  We have many, many years to prefect eating with utensils. She also has no constipation issues thus far.  So, all in all, Annie is an easier eater.

Attitude:

Emery was laid back.  He didn't get mad.  He smiled and laughed at everyone.  Emery didn't get fussy until he was held to much.  He loved his swing.  He also loved to be on a blanket in the floor.  He didn't love watching TV or playing with toys.  He just entertained himself.
Annie is another story.  Annie gets bored quickly.  She wants people to entertain her.  She prefers to be held.  She isn't quick to smile.  She makes you work for her smiles.  Annie is constantly in motion: wiggling around, trying to figure out how to move, holding her head up, and looking at new things and figuring out her world.  She lets you know when shes done and ready to move on to the next activity with a fuss.  If I'm busy and can't get to her quickly, her fuss becomes a scream.  She makes sure we know she's there (as if we didn't already know).  If I'm involved with other activities (cooking, laundry, playing with Emery, bathing Emery, ect) I have this little rotation to keep Annie happy.  We use the play mat, let her watch ESPN (this is her favorite channel, and it thrills me), put her in her swing, put her in her bouncy seat (which she likes the least), put her in her crib to stare at her mobile, and if i can safely baby wear, I sport the moby wrap with her.

Soothing:

Emery, again, was laid back.  He was happiest in his swing.  He was a home body.  He would fuss if we were out and about for longer than he wanted.  As soon as we got him back home, all was right with the world again.  No binky (or paci, or pacifer, or whatever other slang term you use), no favorite blanket, no thumb sucking.  As he has gotten older, he does have two stuffed animals he sleeps with now.  One is George (the curious George monkey) and another is a blue dog that a dear friend of mine got him when he was born.  He named the blue dog Jelly puppy.  Shhhh.... don't tell him I told you he sleeps with stuffed animals.  He wants it to be a secret because boys aren't supposed to have stuffed animals (so he thinks).
Annie is, what I like to call, a partial binky baby.  She takes it when she's tired, and it soothes her to sleep.  When she is (FINALLY) asleep, she spits it out.  Over the last couple of weeks, I've also noticed her sucking on her fist.  I wonder if it will develop into thumb sucking when she figures out how to not close her little fingers around said thumb.  I've tried to encourage methods that help her self soothe.  Ultimately, I'm what she prefers.  She is happiest being held.  And when shes sleepy, its me that she wants.  It almost seems as if, even at this early age, she's decided daddy is for playing and mommy is for cuddling.  Not that I mind.  I love it that she likes to cuddle.  It's a good feeling.

So, has my second child been a so called handful like so many people wanted to predict?  Yes and no.  I take a moment to add that with Emery, I had very little baby experience.  My baby experience before him consisted of looking at babies and thinking, "oh, how cute.  I'm glad that it isn't mine."  When I had Emery.  I was nervous about everything.  Cory, my husband, was great.  He had tons of baby experience from younger siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins.  When I had Annie, I was, and remain, much more calm about all things baby.  I am greatful that Emery was a laid back little guy because if Annie would have been first, I think I would've had anxiety attacks daily (or maybe evenly hourly, ha ha).  That being said, I don't so much see Annie as a handful.  It could be worse.  She could scream 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and she doesn't.  She could be colicky, and she isn't.  Annie was lovingly made and the changes she has brought to our home have been wonderful.