There is hope....

Our first born, Ellie Kate was born an easy-going, beautiful little girl. She slept wonderful, pooped wonderful (only a mother would say that), ate wonderful, etc. Then came day ten! It seemed at this week and a half mile marker - she woke up. She became the most high maintenance baby in the history of babies!

It began with what Ben and I have termed, "the six weeks of doom." For six straight week, Ellie Kate would start screaming at 9:00 pm, on the dot, and scream and scream and scream until 2:00am. Ben and I would take turns walking the house round and round and round. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, wouldn't ______ (insert whatever you want, because we tried it!). We read every book, asked every parent we knew, and visited every website, and nothing helped. We eventually joined Netflix and would pop in a movie at 9:30 because we figured out if we could trick ourselves into thinking it was day time, the screaming was more bearable. Not to mention that if we had to endure one more episode of the LATE LATE show, we were going to be institutionalized.

Besides the screaming episodes, Ellie Kate remained high maintenance about life. She suffered from what termed as "altitude sickness." If you were holding her, the minute you sat down, she would scream. We suffered just about every breastfeeding problem ever. She would only poop every 9-12 days, which my doctor kept insisting was normal, although I am still not sure I believer her. She hated her car seat and would scream until she got out of it. The list could go on and on....

All that to say, all my lovely first time-moms, we had our share of issues, but WE LIVED!!! I also want to offer some hope. Our darling Peyton, now four months old, is the most delightful child there ever was. After Ellie Kate, I was sure that it was something in our DNA and all of our children would put us through three months of craziness. Not so. Peyton nurses like a champ, poops great, is content wherever we put her, loves her car seat, pacifies herself to sleep with her thumb, and has slept through the night since three weeks old. No need to make that demanding first born and only child - endure - for who knows, your next one may surprise you.

Each of my girls have wonderful traits. While Ellie Kate continues to keep us on our toes in life, Peyton remains loyal and true. It takes all kinds to make up a family, and we are certainly doing our part to keep that statement true.

Here is a picture of my chill second born, Peyton, falling asleep on her back mat, thumb in her mouth, while her sister dances and sings around her....