Simon and Rose...Compared

I'm convinced that every parent of more than one child compares them.  There's really no way around it and it's not necessarily a negative thing either.  I've compared my two pregnancies.  I've compared my two birth experiences.  I've compared my two newborns.  It's just how it is.

So...You want the rundown?  Read on...

Pregnancy Stuff:
Testing...
Simon: Found out pretty much as soon as possible.
Rose: Surprise!  You're seven weeks pregnant!

Morning Sickness...
Simon: Morning sickness limited to, well, the morning.  Nausea but very little actual sickness.  (If you catch my drift.)
Rose:  Morning sickness pretty much all day long.  I got a few hour reprieve from about 11 am to 3 or 4 pm.  Horrible nausea but no sickness at all.  (Trust me...Nausea still sucks big time!)

Food Aversions...
Simon: The idea of eating chocolate completely disgusted me. (Sad.)
Rose:  The thought of drinking coffee totally turned my stomach.  (Even sadder.)

Cravings...
Simon: Holy crap!  I couldn't get enough potatoes!
Rose: Celery.  Celery was the most amazing food ever.  And pineapple.  And oranges.  Oh!  Sweet, delicious oranges!

Gender Reveal...
Simon: Found out on Christmas morning -- the tech wrote it in a card for us to open.  We had so much fun teasing family/friends that we were "having a baby" instead of telling them it was a boy right away.
Rose:  Found out at the US but didn't tell anyone for a few days.  Announced it Labor Day weekend with photos.

Total Weight Gain...
Simon: Unknown.  I didn't have a scale and stopped paying attention at the doctor's office around 32 weeks.  I'd gained nearly 30 lbs at that point.
Rose: I was 13 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight the day I gave birth.  I weighed in weekly through my entire pregnancy but tried not to obsess about how much or little I gained. 

General Pregnancy Stuff...
Simon: Pretty run of the mill.  Minor aches and pains.  Braxton hicks contractions and heartburn toward the end.
Rose:  Also pretty run of the mill.  More aches and pains and earlier onset of all of them.  Lot's of Braxton hicks toward the end and horrible heartburn!

First Days
Labor/Delivery...
Simon:  Induced four days after my due date.  Difficult labor and eventually a c-section.
Rose:  Repeat c-section one week prior to my due date.

Stats...
Simon: 7 lbs 10 oz, 20 3/4 inches long
Rose: 8 lbs 1 oz, 19 1/2 inches long

Eyes...
Simon: Newborn gray but with bits of blue.  They changed to a gorgeous steely gray.
Rose:  Dark gray.  No telling what color they'll turn to.

Hair...
Simon: Blonde.
Rose: Blonde with a slight red tint to it.  

First Outing...
Simon: My sister's wedding.  Less than six hours after we left the hospital.
Rose: The doctor.  Two days after discharge.

First Month
Sleeping Arrangements...
Simon: Our room.  1/2 the night in the bassinet and the other half in our bed.
Rose:  Mostly in the living room.  Her sleep patterns are super erratic at night and sometimes she's up for 2+ hours to eat before I can get her back to sleep.  Working on getting her to sleep at least half the night in the bassinet part of the pack and play.

Habits...
Simon: Binky addict.  No doubt about it.
Rose: Unknown.  She spits out the binky if I don't hold it in her mouth.  She tries to get her thumb in but ends up sucking her knuckle 90% of the time.

Biggest Hurdle...
Simon: MRSA.  Hands down, the scariest days of my entire life.
Rose:  Slow weight gain.

Weight gain...
Simon: Regained birth weight at 19 days.
Rose: Still working on it.

Feedings...
Simon: Completely bottle fed with mostly formula by one month old.
Rose: Mostly breastfed with just a little supplementing. 

Temperament...
Simon: Really laid back even as an newborn.  He really only cried when he was hungry or had a dirty/full diaper.
Rose: Tony jokes that she's a "drama queen."  (Please no!!)  That girl wants to be held ALL. The. Time!  I've been working on getting her to nap somewhere other than my chest the last few days.  It's getting better.

"Lullabies"...
Simon: Godspeed, You'll Be In My Heart, and Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Rose: I Hope You Dance, Slumber My Darling, and 10 Million Fireflies

Music/Artists that calmed the baby...
Simon: Katy Perry and Bon Jovi
Rose:  Taylor Swift (though it's hit or miss)

Pictures
First photo...
Simon:

Rose:

Newborn picture...
Simon:  Snuggled in Daddy's arms...

Rose:  A few days after we discharged...

Favorite "scared baby" photos...
Simon:  I seriously love this photo.  It's just too funny to me.

Rose:  This totally cracks me up.  And, for the record, Simon has been GREAT at hold his baby sister.