<p>Carolyn, I saw a picture once of someone who hung their Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling due to either a dog or a baby (I can't remember which). It's worth a try.</p>
<p>sjmom2329, TJFH is most definitely a second child, and if he'd been the first there probably wouldn't have been a second.</p>
<p>HOWEVER. I am here tonight, misty-eyed, to buy everyone a round of whatever you're having. Himself finally admitted (after being quizzed by me, after seeing another parent's post on the Parents board) that yes, he'd received his PSAT score report, and reluctantly dug it out of his backpack where it was festering with the rest of the papers he's been filing there since the school year started. Lo and behold, he had done even better than his practice-PSAT last year, and will qualify as a National Merit Commended student this year. As I proudly applauded his efforts, he looked down and said, "But... I'm so <em>stupid</em>." :( So I made his favorite chili for dinner, trying not to cry, and we're going out for ice cream. (Not that I need ice cream, but twist-my-arm for a TJFH Celebration.)</p>
<p>I try not to brag on my kids, and there are SO MANY more able and focused and achieving kids around here (in real life and on CC) for whom accomplishments come more naturally. (Around here, National Merit Commended would be almost a yawn most of the time. But it's such a Big Deal for him!) So I thought I'd just say a little something in praise of the kids like TJFH who sometimes get lost in the shuffle. I am beside myself with joy, truly. Drink up, friends! And love on all those kidlets, for all the good in 'em!</p>
<p>Mootmom - congratulations to your son! Give him some motherly love, and let him know that he is a SMART kid. Achieving commended status is quite an accomplishment. I hope his school makes a big deal out of recognized students (we got yard signs!).</p>
<p>Mootmom, a hearty congratulations to your son! It's hard to follow an older sibling sometimes. You and he should be very proud. Enjoy your ice cream and we'll all have a glass of something in your honor.</p>
<p>p.s. My pediatrician once said the same thing about my youngest, and yes, he would have been an only.</p>
<p>Those second ones may kick butt in the real world. We don't know, as moms. All we can know and remember is how their cheeks looked when they were infants and asleep. So our job is to reflect that unconditional love in their being to them. I am sure mootmom you do that for TJFH. I called D Wolverine as a little girl because she was so fierce - name who they are and love them.</p>
<p>Right? Or else throw them out the window and generally society doesn't feel too kindly towards that behavior:)....</p>
<p>Alumother, I have no doubt my second one will kick butt. He's experienced and has become quite proficient at kicking mine! (The thing is mine DID NOT sleep as an infant. I guess he was saving up for his teen years.) And he still has those cute cheeks.</p>
<p>TJFH did not sleep ever either as an infant. And could sleep for days at a time now. It must be part of the job description!</p>
<p>It's my #3 (#2 bio, though) who never slept (he literally woke SCREAMING, 5-6x every night till almost age 4). He is relentlessly persistent (aka a total PITA) but very, very effective. He goes until he gets what he's going for. He also has complete zest and joy for life.</p>
<p>The funny thing-- when our older S, the mellow one, was little, we thought he was incredibly smart (which he was/is). Now, after #3, we look back at the video tapes of the older bro as a little boy and he looks like he is moving, speaking, and thinking in ultra-slo-mo. </p>
<p>Sometimes when I talk to littlest S's peers, they just seem like they're not-quite-bright, personality-free dullards. I know this isn't so of course! But our youngest has completely re-set the bar for normal energy in our house.</p>
<p>And yes, if he was #1 he'd be an only!</p>
<p>Yeah, neither of mine did the sleep thing as in "sleeping like a baby..." In our house that term meant, sleeping for no more than 4 hours at a time at night, or sleeping for no more than 45 minutes in the day, or sleeping only on Mom's chest as she lies prone and trying not to breathe on the sofa....</p>
<p>However, I had the real tough one first and still had number 2. Those hormones will make you do the dangdest things...</p>
<p>Oh god. It's all coming back to me. The food allergies. The asthma. The nap wars. The 1:30am awakenings. The coughing til they throw up in the middle of the night. </p>
<p>Quick. Tequila and lots of it.</p>
<p>Mootmom--I'm so thrilled for your S and his commended score! I hope he feels good about his accomplishment. The older brother is a tough act to follow.</p>
<p>SBmom--re: those <em>slow mo</em> regular kids. Years ago, a friend of mine who had a fast moving high maintenance toddler would refer to other children (the more compliant, easy going types) as "moist lumps."</p>
<p>My #2 S did not sleep as an infant either.</p>
<p>My baby sitters spent many hours being paid to let #3 sleep on their chests, while I ran around doing things that needed doing.</p>
<p>The transfer of sleeping baby from Mom's chest to Sitter's chest was of course executed with surgical precision, balletic grace, and moon-launch timing.</p>
<p>LOL!! moist lumps!!!! exactly.</p>
<p>D1 did not sleep through the night, ever??? I know we moved her out of a crib at age one & a half, which allowed me to sleep through the night, as she would come into our bed of her own volition...she is still an insomniac, but now she can sleep through the DAY! ;)</p>
<p>Thank God, mine got progressively easier! I can recall having D's room child proofed and, in the middle of the night taking my pillow and quilt, reclining on the floor of her room (she was old enough top crawl, but not walk) and I would desperately snatch moments of sleep whilst she crawled around and played in the middle of the night.....can you say zombie?!</p>
<p>mootmom, Cyber hugs and cheers for you. Poor boy. Some day he will find out that he isn't stupid--the opposite, in fact. That will be another wonderful moment, won't it?</p>
<p>One of mine is gnashing his teeth about a B+ that should be an "A". Me, I am giddy with joy. At long last, after visits to more worrisome territory, he is down to that half-a-grade increment of determination. I knew the day would come but it has arrived earlier than expected. Merry Christmas to us! (He is the one who didn't sleep through the night until he was eight months old).</p>
<p>Mootmom, congrats to your son. I think it IS very hard to follow a really successful older sibling. I also think that success in life is often a matter of the personality traits our more difficult kids have, rather than just high test scores/GPA.</p>
<p>In our case, S1 was almost an only -- colic for 6 months, didn't sleep longer than 2-3 hours at one time for the first year, and didn't sleep through the night at all until 14 months. I think it's a sign of my eternal optimism that we went ahead and had S2. S2 was a little more mellow infant, but also didn't sleep through the night until about 13-14 months. I gave up while the kids were ahead! Like Somemon, it was easier for us when they were out of cribs. Many a night I found extra little people in bed -- I didn't really care where anyone slept, as long as they slept. S1 is now making up for all the lost sleep of his infancy, preferably during the daylight hours. It's driving me crazy, but he tells me that's how all the kids are in his dorm. I can't imagine how they'll cope if they ever get real jobs!</p>
<p>The National Merit Commendation will do wonders for his self-confidence, Moot. Congrats to you and TJFH! If your JFH is anything like my JFH was last year, extra mom congrats. His wires are starting to uncross. ;)</p>
<p>D was an only but she screamed at being put into her crib for sleep at six months. Shortly she was in a twin bed on the floor with side guards. Much quieter. She did <em>not</em> like the crib.</p>
<p>A first-time mom down the street had her baby two months ago, and I haven't seen her since. The new dad has been outside a lot...doing yard work and chatting with strangers about house projects. When I mentioned to him that my youngest is a Senior and will be out of the house next Fall, he looked at me like I was a divine messenger, Her Holiness the Dali Lama, sent to him to impart the wisdom that would pull him back from the clutches of the EvilNewborn.</p>
<p>I got the impression that he thought his wife had gone off the deep end, so I told him how, with my first, I was reluctant to eat a whole sandwich or even take a shower because the baby might need to be NURSED. You know, the total obsession that first-time mothers have with nursing? They're crazy-nuts about it --timing it, measuring it, keeping track of which side the baby likes best, hanging it out there for innocent bystanders to accidentally see and get an eyeload full of nipple so humongous they'd never be able to completely eradicate the image from their minds. Remember that, former nursing moms?</p>
<p>He looked so young and relieved...and grateful that an <em>older</em> (ahem) woman had explained something to him that doctors and baby books usually don't. Yes, his wife was acting bonkers, but it was okay, and they'd all survive. I told him that first babies always bring out the nutso in new parents. I kept my mouth zipped about all of the other stuff, like projectile vomiting and fevers that spike in the middle of the night. He probably hadn't slept on the floor of his baby's bedroom, yet. He'd never been to a teacher's conference. He'd never tried to teach his 15-year old how to drive. I didn't want to freak the guy out! :)</p>
<p>Sorry to butt in, but I wanted to serve some cyber Dom Perignon to all of you in celebration of my D's acceptance to her dream school and my gratitude for all of your wise counsel, pep talks, and calming influences. Cheers!</p>
<p>Cheers to our daughters. If I were to have to spend the holiday break with my daughter after EA rejection, I'd be sitting here slurping scotch rather than sipping champagne.<br>
And I also would like to thank all of you who have so generously shared your wisdom and experience. This has been a crash course for me over the last 8 months or so.<br>
Go bulldogs.</p>