Polar opposites

Its amazing how 2 kids from the same parents, in the same house, being brought up the same way can be so opposite in the most basic ways.

Sam had his 1 year check up today. Overall, he's great. He finally gained some weight and is up to 20lbs 11oz (just under the 25th%) and is 29.5inches (about 50%). The big concern, on our end, are his eating habits. He is fighting us every chance he gets on everything from milk to ice cream. He doesn't want anything to do with most real foods. He has his favorites and that is all he'll eat all day, every day. When we try to introduce something new he screams and screams (and screams). I still feed him 3 times a day. As of tomorrow we are cutting out one feeding and we will either go cold turkey over the weekend or (most likely) I'll feel guilty and we'll slowly wean the last two feedings over the next couple weeks. I'm determined to be free by Thanksgiving though. The doctor suggested giving him chocolate milk (heavy on the chocolate--thats my kind of milk) until he'll drink it regularly. Also on the menu are milkshakes, yogurt smoothies, watered down OJ and anything else that has calcium that he will actually tolerate.

Ben was a picky eater, but we never had this much trouble with him. He took me, formula and milk with no problem and was weaned at 6months. Bottles and sippy cups were never an issue. Once he got used to a food, he would eat it with no problem.

Another big difference is his speech. You probably remember, I was panicked over Bens lack of speech. It was never a major source of worry, at least for the doctor, but he was definitely behind. Sam however, is ahead of the game in terms of speech. He is on the level of a 15-18month old. He knows mama and dada and most of the time will know who he is talking to. He can say uh oh, has said nana for banana (ok, just once on that one, but it counts) has said up and attempted to say more. I don't think we'll be bothering the Help Me Grow people with an evaluation for Sam like we did with Ben.

Where Sam is behind is his gross motor development. In just the past week he has started sitting up from being on his belly and consistently pulling himself up. By now he should be a bit more confident in those two activities. Fortunately, the doctor gave us a tip to help him along and is positive he will be completely on track by his 15month appointment.

As nice as it would be to have a little girl one day, I don't think I would know what to do with myself if I did. Since they typically develop faster that boys, I wouldn't have all this stuff to worry about. What would I do with all my free time????

I should mention that even though we are moving at a snails pace with the potty training, we are still moving. Ben asked to wear underwear last night and went all night with out an accident (the first time ever). He has already asked to wear his underwear after nap time again. I can't wait to be diaper/training pants free for at least one kid.