Pages

Monday, April 27, 2009

We Know Nothing


Ben and I thought we had figured babies out-- we already had one, after all, and we figured out how to keep her happy and healthy thus far. Well, surprise, surprise, we actually don't really know anything. Or at least we know very little.

Based on the prototype of Zosia, we assumed that all babies like to be swaddled, like to be in a swing, like to be shushed, and need to be on a very strict schedule. Over the first couple weeks of Zosia's life, we learned that these four ingredients were absolutely essential to her and our emotional wellbeing. So, of course, we had all of our requisite supplies ready for Lily, assuming that she, like Zosia likes all of these things. But apparently, she likes none of them. I'm not complaining-- Lily is actually one of those rare "easy babies" that I used to read about and doubt existed. She likes to be unswaddled, actually prefers just lying on her back (rather than in a swing or carseat), and does just fine without any white noise. And she is sort of okay just setting her own schedule-- she falls asleep when she feels like it, and then can be awake for what I consider to be unreasonably long periods for a newborn (like, 3 hours) all the while remaining totally happy.

So now, of course, I am convinced that there are two types of babies: the Zosias and Lilys of the world. But I'm open to being proven wrong.

No comments: