Two

My baby turns two today. As think back about that day two years ago, I realize that from the start she was not going to be overshadowed by her two big sisters. She was going to make sure we all knew she was around. Right from the start, she dared to be different.

She was breech, so we needed to try to turn her. She wouldn't budge. We were able to deliver her vaginally (thanks to a wonderful doctor who let us try as opposed to the hospital's rule of c-section only for breech babies). 45 hours later (as opposed to 8 hours and 15 minutes respectfully for the other two) she decided to enter the world. Right away, she showed us another difference from her sisters. She took to the breast without any problems. She was a champion nursery from day one! She nursed until almost 10 months old (both her sisters were done by 2 months), when teething interfered with her nursing (her sisters cut there first teeth both at six months, a full 4 months earlier than her).

Sleep however was a different story. For the first three months of her life, she would not sleep unless held in the crook of my arm. At three months, we finally had to improvise. We had her swaddled and snuggled in the boppy pillow in her bed to sleep. Of course, she was still waking up every two hours to eat. At 7 months, we finally stopped swaddling her (she liked it). By 8 1/2 months, I tried getting her to sleep longer through the night without nursing. At 10 months, she finally started to sleep through the night. Her sisters were both sleeping through the night by 2 months. After she stopped waking up at night, I finally realized how clear I could think. It was like this huge fog just lifted. And it was scary. I don't know how I functioned or survived those 10 months with little sleep.

Eating she was okay. She likes to eat anything so I cannot complain there. The only thing is, she is a non-stop eater. She will eat all day if we let her, but she isn't big. She is actually on the small side for her age. She used to be so small but have these big rolls on her thighs, it was so cute. Now she's grown out of the rolls. But she still eats constantly. I swear people think we don't feed her.

She was always an easygoing baby. She was usually very happy and generally a pleasure to be around. Now that she is bigger though, she likes to push the little babies around. We are working on it. I worry that she will be the school yard bully when she is bigger.

She is also one of the only two year old I know with a coffee addiction. It's not my fault, honestly.

When she was born, she came out with bright blue eyes, as opposed to the slate gray that her sisters had. By 6 months they were still very blue. By this age, both her sisters had brown eyes. At two, she still has very gorgeous blue eyes. Both husband and I and both our parents (and my siblings) have brown eyes. For brown-eyed parents to have a blue eyed child, it is a 1/4 chance as it is a double recessive gene. And it also means that we both have to have relatives (somewhere) on both sides. My family likes to joke that she belongs to the mailman.

And terrible twos. My other girls were not nearly as bad as she is. She can have every toy off a shelf in under 30 seconds flat. She has managed to disappear with 4 adults keeping an eye on her and walk close to a road once in under 10 seconds. She loves to pull out all the wipes in a container in under 5 seconds. She is a handful to say the least. I think it is more noticable because she was always such and easygoing child and is now a little terror. Meenie was a handful, but she was a handful right from the start. So her terrible two's were her normal everyday behavior.

She also has a great sense of humor. In the car, her sisters like to tell knock knock jokes. By 15 months, she would sit in the back seat and you would here "knock, knock". If you asked "who's there" she would smile and repeat herself.

At two, she still doesn't talk much (unlike her sisters) but she talks enough so you know what she wants. Her doctor says her speech is average for a two-year old, so at this time, there is no reason for concern. It also doesn't help that she has two other people speaking for her.

She is definitely going to make sure she is noticed and not pushed to the shadows. Happy Birthday to my little monkey! I hope you keep your independent ways no matter what other people think. You may be a handful, but we love you anyway!

Love, Mommy!