The difference between the first child and the the sixth...

Just after our sixth child, Elizabeth, was born my parents came out to visit.  We broke down and let them purchase a TV for us.  The other day as I am flipping through channels I saw what looked like a newborn baby, so naturally I kept watching.  I love babies.  They just command my attention.  I think this show was about bringing a newborn home.  As I continued to watch this show I realized how these parents were trying to make everything perfect for this child.  They even seemed a little overwhelmed by the task.  This made me think back to the day we brought Rebecca home.  I was in awe at how cute she was and I too wanted everything to be perfect.  Now fast forward to Elizabeth being born and things are quite different.  While I am still in awe when I look at her, I don't have the time to try and make everything perfect.  Here are some of the differences I noticed.

• With our first, we wallpapered the room and had the crib set up MONTHS before she was born.  Our sixth was lucky to have a crib to sleep in.  (Thanks to some amazing friends, we were given a beautiful crib set; perfectly girly.  Otherwise she would have had the boys' John Deere set. )
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• Before our first was born I carefully washed all of her clothes in Dreft.  When our sixth was born I was lucky that I remembered to bring her an outfit.  It still had the tags on it.
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• I also had my bags packed long before our first child was born.  I may have even packed it when I found out I was pregnant.  This last time I packed the night before. 
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• At the hospital with our first baby I stayed two nights and listened to all the advice the nurses gave me.  With our sixth I asked to leave as soon as possible.  I had things to get done at home.  And the nurses hung out in my room and asked me for advice.
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• With our first child I jotted down every feeding time and wet/poopy diaper.  With our sixth I scheduled in her feedings and after two weeks finally realized that she hadn't pooped since we left the hospital.  

After all these differences between my first and my sixth, the others fell somewhere in between,  I can definitely say all of my children are as wonderfully content as I am.  They all have their own unique personalities and I have loved every minute of watching them grow!