Anonymous
Post 07/27/2019 00:29     Subject: Re:If you had a unicorn baby
I had a unicorn baby, it was all good except that horn really hurt during the delivery. Otherwise, she's a peach!
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2019 00:16     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote:Uptight people provide their babies with structure and consistency, and babies love that. I have 2 "unicorn" babies, but it's not magic. I am super vigilant about everything regarding their sleep.

Wanted to say also, for people who say they did "nothing different" between first and second kid: I wonder how this is true, when actually your second child's environment is already so different from your first's by virtue of having a sibling. You personally could be doing the same thing, but the conditions are really different. If your second is colicky, it might be because your first child is preventing you from giving your second child enough calmness and routine. If your second child is the "unicorn," maybe you had a more chaotic house when your first was born, but now you've settled into a calmer routine because you have a child. I think sometimes people don't think about these things.


I agree. I'm type A but maybe don't show my true colors. I try to look more laid back than I am. I'm strict but loving. I don't play with bed time and I always put babies to sleep awake.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2019 00:07     Subject: Re:If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote:Three unicorn babies. Oldest was hell on wheels as a teen and is now a delight at 25. Middle kid was a whiner as an elementary school kid; now a mesch at 23. Youngest was a tyrant until about age 9; now a gem of a young woman at 19. DH is laid back; I'm pretty calm, but can explode at times. One thing I've learned in a quarter-century of parenthood -- you are not in control. At all. Dog is my copilot.


Love this. All three of my kids are very different. Don’t ask me how it happened.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 14:35     Subject: Re:If you had a unicorn baby
Temperament? Fussiness? Amount of crying? General difficulty? That's Baby's personality. You get what you get.
STTN at 12 weeks? Babywise.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 14:21     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote:OP, I say this kindly: this way madness lies.


Yep. My first was like yours, my second was the "unicorn". Same parents, same lifestyle, just different kids.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 08:24     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
My kid was a great sleeper but now that she's four and knows that mommy and daddy to a bunch of fun stuff after she goes to bed she has FOMO and keeps trying to sneak downstairs to see what we're doing under the pretended of needed "water/potty/more hugs" etc.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 05:29     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote:My #1 was literally screaming his head off in the delivery room. And did not stop till maybe 6 months. The doctor could not believe how loud he was. He did not sleep or eat well. Hated the car. This was not parenting based. He did however morph into a fabulous laid back teen and young adult.

And nobody wondered what was wrong with him? Let me guess? Colic? IMO, just a word for "we have no idea what is bothering your baby." Imagine an adult screaming for hours and people saying, some people are just difficult? I think something is wrong, there is a difference between a newborn screaming all the time and a 7 month old not wanting to be put down and crying.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 05:05     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote:My two best friends have unicorn babies and I truly don't know what they have done differently. Their babies both STTN for 12 hours by 8-10 weeks completely on their own. They have no problems napping pretty much anywhere. They have very happy temperaments and barely cry and are happy to play alone for quite a long time on the play mat or bouncy seat.

My baby is the opposite - needs constant attention and always wants to be held. Still wakes up 1-2x per night and is a crap napper. Isn't content for more than a couple minutes when playing. Hates the car seat with a passion which makes driving really hard.

Ironically, both of my friends are pretty high strung and not relaxed at all (which they happily admit to and joke about). Their DH's are both a bit more laid back. However, my DH and I are both very relaxed and easy going.

One thing I have thought of is that my baby was born at 36.5 weeks and both of their were born at like 41 weeks - wonder if that could have something to do with it. Mine also has reflux and neither of theirs do, which could contribute somewhat to the discomfort ours faces.

Humor me - if you had a unicorn baby was he/she full term? Are you and DH both super laid back? Were your other kids the same way?


If your friend's kids can nap "pretty much anywhere," then they are probably getting the sleep they need during the day, and that's why they are so calm and also sleep well at night. It sounds like you got a baby who doesn't sleep in the car seat, but you're still trying to take your baby places, and thus messing up their daytime sleep? Also, it's possible your friend's are specifically timing their babies' naps - like, making sure they are on the way home from errands at the time their baby is going to be getting sleepy. Or maybe they take stroller walks timed with when their child is getting sleepy. That's the stuff I would do. It might've looked like my baby was happy to "sleep anywhere, anytime," but there was a lot of timing and planning involved.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2019 05:01     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Uptight people provide their babies with structure and consistency, and babies love that. I have 2 "unicorn" babies, but it's not magic. I am super vigilant about everything regarding their sleep.

Wanted to say also, for people who say they did "nothing different" between first and second kid: I wonder how this is true, when actually your second child's environment is already so different from your first's by virtue of having a sibling. You personally could be doing the same thing, but the conditions are really different. If your second is colicky, it might be because your first child is preventing you from giving your second child enough calmness and routine. If your second child is the "unicorn," maybe you had a more chaotic house when your first was born, but now you've settled into a calmer routine because you have a child. I think sometimes people don't think about these things.
Anonymous
Post 07/25/2019 21:33     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Anonymous wrote: Hi! I had a unicorn baby and she turned into a devil toddler. She’s now a recovering devil 3.5 year old but we still have many rough days. That make you feel better?!
also- husband and I are. It’s super high strung. Second kid had reflux and was a terrible sleeper and had to be held ALL the time and was always screaming for 7 months. He’s the sweetest little toddler now.
Anonymous
Post 07/25/2019 21:31     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
Hi! I had a unicorn baby and she turned into a devil toddler. She’s now a recovering devil 3.5 year old but we still have many rough days. That make you feel better?!
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2019 17:20     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
My #1 was literally screaming his head off in the delivery room. And did not stop till maybe 6 months. The doctor could not believe how loud he was. He did not sleep or eat well. Hated the car. This was not parenting based. He did however morph into a fabulous laid back teen and young adult.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2019 17:00     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
#1 was unicorn baby. #2 should be glad her sister was so effortless. Otherwise, I would have been one and done.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2019 16:57     Subject: Re:If you had a unicorn baby
I had fraternal twin girls born at 36 weeks, one with reflux and one without. Both slept 12 hours by three months with zero crying and no Ferber or anything like that. Both have always been awesome sleepers, although the non-reflex one went through a few nights around age 2 and is still the one more likely to wake up in the middle of the night and need something (although that happens maybe 3-4 times a year, max). I'm totally Type A, my husband is a little less so. I actually think having twins made us chill out - there's no way to hold two babies all the time, so our kids were pretty good at being left on a mat or in a chair or something and they loved the stroller. I think they were awesome probably 2% of what we did and 98% because we got super lucky.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2019 16:39     Subject: If you had a unicorn baby
My second baby is a unicorn and we did nothing differently from our first.