Trodgor and Ella Bo Bella

People are different. I know this. I have met many people in my life. And you know what? They were all different. Even people who are twins. Even people who are twins, were separated at birth, reunited at 41, featured on Oprah where a big deal is made out of the fact they're both over weight truckers, with a penchant for checked shirts, married to women called Joan who also look like they're twins (to each other, not to the truckers) - even those people are different.
Maybe it's because I'm an only child. Maybe I just lack imagination. But every day I am surprised all over again by how different Troggers and EBB are from each other. I knew there would be boy/girl differences. I knew there would be age differences. But deep down I kinda thought that EBB would be more-or-less just a version of Trogdor. Yeah... not so much

1. Differences in the pregnancy. Warning - vomit is mentioned frequently in the next paragraph.
For Troggers I experienced a day or two of feeling queasy and I got a bad cold at around 6 months. All in all it was a breezy, easy pregnancy which I smugly and mistakenly put down to my own will power. While I was pregnant with Ella I did not experience a vomit free trimester. First trimester = 'morning' sickness which occurred at night as I was trying to get home from work. Many a journey was interrupted by me fleeing from the bus to vomit into public bins. Classy. Second trimester = three stomach bugs and a cough which was so violent it would trigger my gag reflex and I would vomit. Third trimester - reflux like I can't even describe. Vomiting stomach acid is less fun than vomiting any thing else I can think of. I lost 7kg by the end of the pregnancy.
Troggers was also a very busy baby. He would kick and kick and kick. It was like he was building extensions in there. When he pushed his little arm or leg out I was never sure if it were a limb or if he had just finished erecting a pagoda. Ella was a much more chilled baby. Occasionally she'd roll over. Every now and then she might have a stretch. At times the doppler would pick up refrains of what sounded like "Don't worry be happy" echoing in the waters...

2. Differences in the first month. Trogdor was awake and alert and just thrilled to be on the other side of the womb. Ella slept. In every 24 hour period she was awake for maybe 6 hours all up. At the end of the first month I felt like I had hardly bonded with her at all. In fact some times it surprised me to find a baby on my boob, asleep in my bed or in the pram as I pushed it down the street. As a mother of a new born I never expected my first reaction to hearing my little one cry to be "Oh that's right. I've had another one."

3. Boob is no longer a cure-all. Whatever was wrong with Trogdor, whether he were hungry, sad, happy, scared, bored, sick, tired, suffering existential angst,  it could all be fixed by popping a boob in his mouth. Ella is not so easily placated. Honestly I can see now that in life pre-EBB I completely believed every thing could be solved by lots of boob and lots of co-sleeping. EBB has taught me better. Of course, she might want boob but only if she's hungry. Conversely she might need to be carried so she can see over your shoulder room to room until she falls asleep. It's possible that her nappy is ever so slightly damp and must be changed IMMEDIATELY. She could need to lie in a darkened room while some one gently kisses her face. She might need to be carried cradled in arms listening to Prog Rock (Porcupine Tree for preference). Do not attempt to play Pop at this point. It will not be received well. In short she is a baby of decided tastes and she accepts no substitutions.

4.Sickness.  Trogdor was better at being sick. When Trogdor had a cold all he needed was some one to sleep next to him and he would tough it out. Not so with EBB. Gentle whispers of "It's alright. Mummy's here" in the middle of the night are greeted with hysterical wails. "Yes woman, I know you're there," her little shrieks seem to say, "now how are you going to fix me?"

5. Nom noms. EBB loves her food. Trogdor spent weeks staring at us while we were eating and making little chewing movements with his mouth. When we finally let him have some pureed apple he was kind of interested but the novelty value wore off pretty quickly. EBB on the other hand really didn't seem to be all that enthused at the idea of eating solids but one day I tentatively offered her some mushy fruit just to see what she thought. I nearly lost my hand. She loves to eat. Already she's desperate to move on from fruit and keeps eyeing off her brother's Vegemite toast. Maybe she'll be Australia's youngest Masterchef?

The fact is the biggest difference between them is that she is my Ella Bo Bella and he is my Trogdor. It seems silly now to expect them to be similar to each other when they are so busy being themselves. They are so unique and perfectly their own person. It seems amazing and yet so obvious that I could scour the world and I would never find them replicated. It's an amazing gift and a profound responsibility.