They are not the same

I forget sometimes the profound, inborn differences that are already evident in my boys.

Cooper loved sleeping in strollers and the car seat. He liked nothing more than a good stroller-nap. Cranky? Stroller! Falling apart? Car ride!

Grant does not fall asleep in the stroller. He will actively fight it by squirming, crying, and getting mad. He's basically got an anti-stroller nap policy. Even if he's tired, he'll fight it tooth and nail, opting to alternately cry and suck his thumb instead of sleeping. Likewise, he needs to be totally exhausted beyond reason to sleep in the car seat. Sure, he'll lie quietly in there, resting, but his eyes are open and he is NOT sleeping.

The boys are similar in their approach to napping and sleeping (when compared to the right ages) but the falling asleep differences are stark. For nearly a year, Cooper would get so strung out and panicked if we tried to let him fall asleep by himself that he'd either get diarhhea, vomit, or become hysterical with panic and scream himself hoarse. Needless to say, we rarely attempted this because it was clearly very traumatic to him.

Grant prefers to fall asleep on his own. His idea of a good way to fall asleep is to be laid in his crib, given a soft flannel receiving blanket, and stare at the wall while sucking his thumb. He likes the sound of the fan, but it isn't required. Rubbing his back is a neutral- he likes it, but not hugely. And that's it. If he's tired, he'll slowly fall asleep stroking his blanket and sucking his thumb. Done. And he's been like that since birth. Even as a tiny tiny baby, he didn't want to be held while falling asleep- he preferred to be swaddled and laid down.

And I think these two things are quite related. Cooper needed lots of stimuli to become quiet on the inside, somehow. Grant, on the other hand, likes to deal with it himself- I want the world to be sleepy so I can be sleepy.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out as they grow up!