Early Personalities

Last night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, my mind drifted back to the boys' relatively short stay in the NICU. I don't know why I was thinking about that... my mind works in really random ways!

Anyway, I was thinking about something one of the NICU nurses had said about Chase. Chase was only about a week and a half old when one of the nurses told me that Chase was going to be our cuddler. I thought that was a cute thing to say but I thought "how could she possibly know what he's going to be like a year from now even?"

Turns out she was right! Chase loves to be held. When he gets up from a nap he hates to be put down right away - he'd rather cuddle with you on the couch for 15 or 20 minutes. When I'm sitting at the table and I feel a pat on my leg and hear "mama", it's usually Chase asking to sit in my lap. Definitely our cuddly kid!

That got me thinking about the other two boys. Nothing was ever "said" about them like it was about Chase, but there were little quirks if you will. Tyler was a master wiggler in the NICU. He could break out of any swaddle the nurses put him in. We routinely would walk in to his little "room" and find him underneath his blankets and curled up at the far end of his isolett. It was pretty funny at the time! Tyler is still our wiggliest kid! He was the first to crawl, first to walk and is a ball of energy. Oh, and we still find him huddled in the corner of his crib with blankets piled over him.

Mr. Jackson is a little harder to describe when it comes to his NICU behavior. He didn't "do" a whole lot (although I distinctly remember him pooping on a Neonatologist during an exam once). However, Jackson liked to open his eyes a lot. When the other boys were sleeping, Jackson would have his eyes open and trying to explore his new world with them. As a result Nick and I spent a lot of time next to Jackson's isolett! There was something about those eyes that was just so joy filled. It was like he was smiling with them all the time! When I look at Jackson now and see him giggling, or looking with wonder at something, I see that say joy, those very same eyes.

Who'd of guessed that a tiny infant, even before their expected due date would have such personality that would still be present 20 months later!