Flashback Friday -- Comparison is Not ALWAYS the Thief of Joy

Look at those cute little precious faces up there!  Hahaha.  As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I've taken pictures of ALL of my babies at the three month mark.  And while you can DEFINITELY see the family resemblance, they each have their own unique "look" as well.  For today's flashback, I thought it would be fun to go back in time and take a closer look at each kid at this age.  And -- just for kicks -- I'm going to rate them on a scale of 1 to Sophie as for how difficult a baby they were to take care of.  Hahahaha. 

Grace was a 1.  She was easily the best sleeper and lowest maintenance of my babies.  In short, she was a dream.  Which was a blessing because I was also taking care of a high(er) maintenance toddler at the time as well.  I'm pretty sure Grace spent the first 3 months of her life swinging in the swing so that I could deal with Ethan.  ;)

I'd give Jane a 2 or 3.  She was a really happy and easy baby as far as temperament went, but she wasn't the best sleeper.  Once she found her thumb, though, it was a game changer and she slept like a champ from the time she was 4 months old until the time she stopped sucking her thumb at about 13 months.  (And since then, she's been an on again off again terrible sleeper.)

  

Alex was right smack dab in the middle -- a solid 5.  He wasn't the easiest baby, but he also wasn't the hardest.  I don't remember him having as many sleep issues, but he was a little higher maintenance than Jane and Grace when he was awake. 

Ethan was probably a 6.  He wasn't fussy so much as very high maintenance.  As long as he was being held, he was fine.  :)

I'm gonna have to give Isaac an 8.  He's almost as bad a sleeper as Sophie was.  And even though I wouldn't call him colicky, he certainly has his moments of fussiness.  And he's a bit high maintenance as well.  Despite all of that, he can also be really happy and is still a fun baby and everyone loves him.  :)

Finally, we have Sophie.  There is no number on the scale to rate this little supermuppet.  She was one MISERABLE little baby, and she helped us to feel her feelings as well.  Hahahaha.  This child never slept for more than an hour or two at a time, she screamed a good 80% of her day and night, she was constantly ITCHY for the first 4 or 5 months of life thanks to oozing, rashy eczema from head to toe, and she had MAJOR acid-reflux, causing her to projectile spit-up after every feeding.  I love this picture of her, though, because I feel like it really captures her split personality.  When she's happy, she's super happy.  And when she's not, she's an angry little elf.  ;)  Hahahaha.

While it is certainly true that comparison CAN be the thief of joy, sometimes the opposite is true instead -- because everything is relative.  And it is this relativity that helps to put things in perspective.  I'm convinced that Isaac doesn't seem nearly as hard to take care of because I've already taken care of another baby who was off-the-charts difficult.  And while that knowledge and perspective doesn't help to infuse me with a couple hours more sleep when I need it, it DOES help me to keep looking forward, knowing that even truly difficult times (and sleepless nights) will eventually come to an end.