The One Thing You Shouldn’t Do With Your Kids… compare them. But I’m going to do it anyway. I think it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences between siblings! How can two little people be so alike and so different at the same time? It is seriously amazing.

  • Ace was born at 40 weeks and 4 days, and I went into labor naturally.
  • Lou was born at 42 weeks exactly, and I was induced the day before.
  • Ace was 8 pounds at birth, and 19 inches long (although I do think he was longer and the nurse just had trouble measuring him, at his one week appointment he measured 21 inches).
  • Lou was 8 lbs and 14 oz, and 21 inches long.
  • Both Ace and Lou gained an entire pound in their first week, likely to the fact that they both had reflux and nursed at all hours. Both kids were born with laryngomalacia, an airway disorder, but both had mild cases that didn’t require surgery. Ace also had a few other birth anomalies that Lou didn’t have, like a kidney issue and an umbilical hernia.
  • Ace slept through the night at 26 months, once I night weaned. Before that he woke to nurse pretty much every hour for two years straight. It was rough.
  • Lou started sleeping through the night at a few weeks old, stirring only for a moment to eat two or three times. However, once her teeth started coming in her sleep went downhill, and we are now at 1-10 wake ups per night. I’m guessing I will have to night wean her as well, and I’m not sure I will make it til 26 months this time around. In short, my babies just aren’t passionate about sleep the way I am!
  • Ace smiled at three weeks old.
  • Lou also smiled at three weeks old.

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  • Ace sat on his own at 4.5 months old.
  • Lou sat at 5.5 months old.
  • Both kids started army crawling at 5 months and real crawling at 7 months.
  • Ace hated all foods (even ice cream!) and didn’t eat solids until he was in feeding therapy at 14 months old.
  • Lou loves all purees, no matter what flavor, except for ginger. She is just starting to eat non purees at 12 months old. She may also need a few sessions of feeding therapy due to excessive gagging (a common occurrence in children born with a malacia) but we are waiting it out for another month or two.
  • Ace had his first cold at 11 months old.
  • Lou had her first cold at three weeks old. And again at 2 months, 3 months… and so on. Much harder to control the environment when you have two kids, including one in preschool (AKA germ city).
  • Ace started walking at 14.5 months old.
  • Lou started walking at 9.5 months old.
  • Ace said his first word at 7 months old, and by age 1 he had over 50 words.
  • Lou said her first word at 10 months old, and at age 1 she has about ten words, and seems to learn a new word every week or so.
  • Ace has been outgoing and friendly since he was an infant, and has always happily waved to strangers and made friends instantly (just like his dad!).
  • Lou is much more shy and reserved, and tends to stick near me when other people are around. She is not a fan of interacting with people she doesn’t know (just like me!).

Obviously this list could go on and on. As I put this together, I was actually surprised at how many differences they have. My kids look like twins. They make the same facial expressions. If Ace didn’t have wild red hair as a baby, I wouldn’t be able to tell their photos apart. But they clearly have very individual personalities, abilities, likes, and dislikes, just like any set of siblings do. What stands out to me is that Lou is more physical, while Ace is definitely more verbal. He walked on the later side, but he talked very early, and was saying full sentences a few months after he turned one. Lou walked fairly early, but still has only a few words. I am so excited to see how their personalities will change and develop as they get older and their worlds expand!

If you have more than one child, are they more alike, or do they have more differences? I am especially curious to hear about groups of three or more siblings!