I know its bad of me to laugh but...

[itsheresomewhere]

I find it hysterical. My very good friend recently had her 2nd child. All along the pregnancy, she talked about how many things she would be doing, bought tickets to concerts and plays and couldn't wait to take the baby. I tried to tell her each kid is different. I used to joke with my DH about how her first child pooped gold;). Well, the second baby screams non stop, doesn't sleep 6 hours a night like her first and spits up only on her good clothes. The baby is now 1.5 months and still does not sleep. BF called me today and said" I thought you were lying about kids being different." I just couldn't help myself and started giggling. I love her to death but this was just funny.

[dangermom]

:001_smile: I have a friend with a very easy oldest kid and then two Handfuls. She has told me about how when she had one, she thought parenting was really easy and why couldn't everyone else do it? Then, she had the next two, and :willy_nilly:

 

As SWB said, it's always best to have the easy one last--that way at least you get to think that you finally got it right!

[LaxMom]

I had the "awesome parenting" easy first child, too. I must have been smug about it 'cause these other three are off.the.hook! :lol: As of that's not enough, the first two are girls and I (mistakenly) thought I had a handle on it... Two boys. We've now had to make explicit rules about things I just never saw coming. Like pooping in the yard. :glare:

 

I don't mind if people laugh. I laugh at me, and the Universal Smackdown, too. (mostly. I didn't laugh about the pooping in the yard rule, or the need to add subsection B: no pooping in a bucket in the yard, in fact, if you're within 50 feet of a working toilet, you must use it. Not sure? Measure it out and, when you get there, use it) I must have really, really irked someone with my smugness. ;)

[StaceyinLA]

But seriously, all 4 of mine were REALLY wonderful babies/toddlers. My son probably kept me running a bit more as a toddler because he was just more active, but he was still not like some I've seen. Of course, I got mine as my kids became teens. :tongue_smilie:

 

That said, dd has a beautiful baby boy who is, without a doubt, one of the grumpiest, most demanding babies I've ever been around. He is definitely one to build patience! Thank God dd is EXTREMELY patient with him (I honestly don't know if I could've done as well, which is why God gave him to her and not me). When he is happy, there isn't a more smiley, talkative, laughing baby, but when he is grouchy, beware! :tongue_smilie:

[lisamarie]

As SWB said, it's always best to have the easy one last--that way at least you get to think that you finally got it right!

 

:iagree: I had the easy one last. Had all my pregnancies/birthings/infant stages been as easy as it was with #3, I probably would have had 3 more kids. I always hated those moms who breezed through pregnancy/labor/infant stages and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. Yup. Some babies are just easier from the start.

[Jen in PA]

DH had this surprise when DD was born. Apparently my stepson was one of those really easy babies, and DH had no idea about the other sort.... the type I give birth to. :D

[Lucy the Valiant]

:lol: I know the glee you speak of.

 

I'm on the other side of that fence - we had identical red-headed, hell-on-wheels colicky twins right out of the gate, and it hasn't slowed down since. (Don't take that wrong, we adore them.) We were in absolute SHOCK when our singleton DS was born - he was so EASY!

 

(So of course we assumed that all singleton babies were easy . . . and had another one. :lol: Yeah. Theory disproved. Scratch that - theory blown to shreds by the cutest little 2 year old grin you've ever seen. Don't fall for it.)

[eternalknot]

I had the "awesome parenting" easy first child, too. I must have been smug about it 'cause these other three are off.the.hook! :lol: As of that's not enough, the first two are girls and I (mistakenly) thought I had a handle on it... Two boys. We've now had to make explicit rules about things I just never saw coming. Like pooping in the yard. :glare:

 

I don't mind if people laugh. I laugh at me, and the Universal Smackdown, too. (mostly. I didn't laugh about the pooping in the yard rule, or the need to add subsection B: no pooping in a bucket in the yard, in fact, if you're within 50 feet of a working toilet, you must use it. Not sure? Measure it out and, when you get there, use it) I must have really, really irked someone with my smugness. ;)

 

OMG subsection B :lol: that KILLS me :lol:!

 

I live with four boys. They don't poop in the yard, but we have no real need for sprinklers because they keep it sufficiently watered IYKWIM. When they were younger, my grandfather was on the patio with his cigar and newspaper and thought a bird "got" him. Starts cursing, looks up, and sees six of his grandsons in the trees, bare footed and bare bottomed, hands on mouths, eyes wide open.

 

Oh, boy, he starts shouting and cursing even louder in his native language (that always makes the boys laugh!) and shaking his fist up at the tree. My grandmother and I were laughing so hard that our stomachs hurt for hours. I had forgotten about that day. I'm so glad you reminded me, that's a great memory for me!

[Trilliums]

:lol:

 

parenthood!

 

Both my kids were fairly easy, but I remember being totally shocked by how different they were from the very start. Their personalities showed from birth! What one liked, the other didn't. It was like starting all over again figuring out what to do with the baby. :)

[LBS]

Older son loved getting out of hot diapers early summer when he was pretty young, so we thought we were magic at potty-training/learning and put him into little underpants. He just loved learning to aim his little wanker at things. He'd sneaky-pee in things, trashcans, decorative vase, pot by the fireplace, pencil cup on my desk, laundry baskets (dirty or clean), Dad's work boots.......the pooping in the yard thing was not so bad, cause the dog would eat the evidence. They would scream at him to come get it, when they did it. "Puppy eat da poopy." We live in the country.

 

Mine were all easy babies, except for not sleeping so much. They were storing up for later.

[gardenmom5]

sometimes you just have to laugh. ds3 is much younger than his sisters - they were in college when he was born. 1dd came home and was a blessing in giving me a break, and 2dd was still away - but she heard all about how hard 3ds was. she is the pied piper with kids (seriously - she could give lessons), she knew what to do. :lol: 1dd and I were positively laying for her. Here - have fun, when she came home. didn't take long. :smilielol5: did I mention 3ds was a then undiagnosed aspie?

[sbgrace]

I've always felt if I had one of my twins as a first born I would have thought myself a pretty stellar parent. He's so much easier to parent than his brother.

[hollyh]

My hardest was first (she still is the hardest). My mom always told me that all babies weren't like her. I didn't believe her- I thought it was normal for babies to cry non-stop, be up all night, never sleep through the night until almost 3, etc.. I just got my easy baby on #4. This one is simple. Sleeps all the time, never fusses, etc. Wow. What a difference. :D:D

[tex-mex]

Oh my word... the OP has the perfect topic!!

 

I have this friend who is notorious for being "perfect". She got married at 24 and immediately wanted to teach other wives about marriage. ;) At 24. She would be very uppity about who was her friend and parties at her home were Jane Austen-like with delicate china teacups, lace tablecloths, and crystal.

 

Years later, she was pregnant and for months we all had to endure her plans of only giving the soon-to-be twins organic food, a fantastic wardrobe, and being an outstanding parent. :001_rolleyes: Us older gals who had children and were married for 25+ years tried to politely tell her that once kiddos arrive... all bets are off. She did not believe us.

 

Now her twin toddlers are close to 3 years old. And we call them the Dynamic Duo. The house is always in chaos. The pricey infant wardrobe was never worn and she ended up giving them away or selling them. She never got to use the organic food puree blender and used to feed her kids Taco Bell. The twins are hilarious but quite a handful -- so much so that the mom is afraid of them. So they get no discipline and rule the roost. Two nights ago, they destroyed their bedroom (shredded mattresses) and the parents got no sleep trying to put the room back in order. This experience has HUMBLED my friend greatly -- and now does not boast or brag anymore. Pride comes before a fall, kwim?

Edited April 13, 2012 by tex-mex

[mom2myboys]

Ah, gotta love Karma. She has always come around to bite me in due time too. :lol:

[bettyandbob]

My MIL was the third child of five. She was a very good baby and in general easy kid. Her mother used to say it was good she was not first, because she (MIL's mother) would have thought there was something wrong with the boys.

 

My mom says something similar about me. She says I must have known I was a surprise baby because I was always easy.

[TXMomof4]

My MIL was the third child of five. She was a very good baby and in general easy kid. Her mother used to say it was good she was not first, because she (MIL's mother) would have thought there was something wrong with the boys.

 

My mom says something similar about me. She says I must have known I was a surprise baby because I was always easy.

 

:iagree: I had three girls the exact ages of my best friend's three boys. Boy howdy - I was a judgemental little brat. "Why doesn't she control those boys? What kind of mother lets their son pee in a sandbox? I would *never* let my 4 yo climb on the counter!!!"

 

Then I had ds and had to eat every stinking one of my words. Ds still pees outside when he's busy - and he's 6. I caught him on top of the fridge when he was 18 mo. Now, he's the sweetest, most beautiful child ever, but he certainly had me eating a lot of crow. I called bf and apologized profusely.;)

[ktgrok]

yup, I'm glad my hard one was first. Although I was judgemental the other way. I thought that people whose kids slept well, etc must be doing horrible things to their children. I thought putting your kid in sunday school or daycare was horribly mean. This of course because MY kid would have been traumatized beyond words. It wasn't until my social butterfly came along that I realized wow, some kids just are easy and it isn't because they have stockholm syndrome, lol.

[trailofsparks]

Well, the second baby screams non stop, doesn't sleep 6 hours a night like her first and spits up only on her good clothes. The baby is now 1.5 months and still does not sleep.

 

My 2nd was like this (after having a perfect first;)). I wish I had taken my db to a chiropractor. Db was born sooo fast.... I've wondered for yrs if an adjustment would have helped since nothing else did.

[Kathryn]

I had the hard one first. There's a reason there are four years between them.. I'm not sure what I'd prefer, I tend to think I'd prefer the opposite because perhaps the older one would then be helpful instead of constantly making more problems and encouraging the little one to be bad.

[Amber in SJ]

I didn't mind the infant stage, love baby stage, toddler stage, even love the kid stage.

 

Somewhere around 11 the wheels fell off the cart & I became the parent to the most evil, mean, crazy adolescent on the planet. All the screaming she didn't do as an infant was done at this point. I honestly thought one of us was not going to make it. She is now the most lovely, college-bound, 17yo you would like to meet.

 

A wonderful friend of mine who is expecting #7 and whose oldest is an 11yo boy witnessed my dd's adolescence and would give me helpful advice as often as she could. She tells me she knows none of her children will be difficult adolescents because, "They respect me and we just don't have that kind of relationship." Luckily, I am in the place where I can smile & tell her, I really hope that is true.

 

Motherhood has humbled me in ways that I never thought possible.

 

Amber in SJ

[GailV]

yup, I'm glad my hard one was first. Although I was judgemental the other way. I thought that people whose kids slept well, etc must be doing horrible things to their children. I thought putting your kid in sunday school or daycare was horribly mean. This of course because MY kid would have been traumatized beyond words. It wasn't until my social butterfly came along that I realized wow, some kids just are easy and it isn't because they have stockholm syndrome, lol.

 

I asked the doctor what was wrong with newborn dd2 because she was sleeping 3 hours at a time for something like 14 hours per day -- it felt like all she did was sleep. The doctor pointed out that that was pretty normal. Well, there you have it -- I had no experience with normal. Just like you, I had thought the people whose kids slept that much were either lying or doing something really weird to the child.

[Trish]

I didn't mind the infant stage, love baby stage, toddler stage, even love the kid stage.

 

Somewhere around 11 the wheels fell off the cart & I became the parent to the most evil, mean, crazy adolescent on the planet. All the screaming she didn't do as an infant was done at this point. I honestly thought one of us was not going to make it. She is now the most lovely, college-bound, 17yo you would like to meet.

 

A wonderful friend of mine who is expecting #7 and whose oldest is an 11yo boy witnessed my dd's adolescence and would give me helpful advice as often as she could. She tells me she knows none of her children will be difficult adolescents because, "They respect me and we just don't have that kind of relationship." Luckily, I am in the place where I can smile & tell her, I really hope that is true.

 

Motherhood has humbled me in ways that I never thought possible.

 

Amber in SJ

 

Really, she's on #7 and still hasn't learned not to prognosticate what her children will or won't do several years hence? haha! Well bless her heart.

[itsheresomewhere]

I knew I could giggle here about it.

[elegantlion]

I have no doubt I have been blessed with an easy kid. He was an easy baby, which was good as I had NO experience with babies. He's easy going now at 14 1/2.

 

I know my odds, so another child was never it the picture. :lol:

[Julie Smith]

My Eldest never did a little cry that lead to a loud cry. He just went from totally quiet to screaming as loud as possible! I can't even calling it crying.

 

I was told this was because they learnt the only way to get attention was to call loudly and I should have just came to them before they got to that volume. Mind you when he was born they took him away to sit under the lights? because he had jaundice. Well they returned 15 minutes later because he apparently woke up all the babies in the baby room. He was kicked out, and only a few hours old. :)

 

When Eldest would wake up in the night it was sound asleep then take a deep breath and scream!! I was the worlds fastest draw on my booK. I even slept topless to decrease the amount of time it took to cork that baby. He could be easily heard from upstairs bedroom to basement bedroom with doors closed.

 

My youngest would get upset and hold his breath to the point he turned blue and one time induced a seizure. :glare: That was from about 10 months to a 2 years. At least he wasn't loud. But I admit I prefer loud SCREAMING to not breathing.

[Rhonda in TX]

I have a friend whose first baby, while very fussy, turned into the most obedient toddler I've ever seen. You told him "no" once, and he never did it again. It was unbelievable. Then #2 came along (a girl) and all bets were off. My friend told me that she thought she had it all figured out after her first, then her DD showed her she didn't. :)

[famof5redheads]

My first was my toughest, but it's hard to know for sure because Dh and I were so ignorant of what life with baby is really like until it happened. By the time #2 came we had a routine and she fit right in there. With #3 I did strap her in the Baby Bjorn and go to the grocery store, the pumpkin patch and a concert at week 2...but it was The Wiggles not Bonaroo. I say it takes a good six months to a year to get to a new "normal" after each kid.

[gardenmom5]

A wonderful friend of mine who is expecting #7 and whose oldest is an 11yo boy witnessed my dd's adolescence and would give me helpful advice as often as she could. She tells me she knows none of her children will be difficult adolescents because, "They respect me and we just don't have that kind of relationship." Luckily, I am in the place where I can smile & tell her, I really hope that is true.

:smilielol5: :lol::smilielol5::lol: :smilielol5:

 

 

just you wait henry higgens.

 

My easiest babies were my hardest teens . . . .

 

eta: my sister has two girls, eight years apart. she was very indocrinated in that "it's environment" dogma, so boys and girls would all be the same except for the way we treat them. I about fell on the floor when she told about taking three 12 yo boys out in a canoe. :smilielol5: she got a good reality check. . . .

Edited April 13, 2012 by gardenmom5

[elise1mds]

Karma is awesome. After I had DS, I met a woman with a daughter a year younger. She simply COULD NOT understand why I couldn't 'just talk to him' whenever he was in the midst of a meltdown. She just bent down and told her 1-yo what was expected, and it all went swimmingly. We didn't become close until after her son was born. I'll never forget the day she called me in tears out of the blue and said, "My son is doing a crocodile death roll while screaming his lungs out, and I can't make him stop. How do you handle this???" I was very proud of myself that I didn't laugh until I got off the phone. We've been very close friends ever since.

[A.Balaban]

I have a friend who is currently PG w/ #1. Oh, I can't wait. :lol:

[Rhonda in TX]

My sister (mother of 4) says that if you haven't had a difficult child, you just haven't had enough kids. :)

[jujsky]

I'd never wish a screaming baby on ANYONE! DH and I were both horror-story babies, so we knew unless we majorly lucked out, any bio kid of ours would be the same way. DD was so bad that we had some random stranger show up on our door at 10:00 one night to make sure we weren't beating her :glare: The first 2 years of her life are a sleep-deprived haze. I remember bits and pieces, but that's about it.