Who's who? (Diaper checks are for sissies!)

There's something gratifying about being able to tell your children apart from one another. It helps, of course, that they're not identical and that they have different anatomies, but apart from what is revealed by a quick diaper check, they do resemble one another, don't you think?

Some of the first differences we noticed and still go by include Sarah's heart-shaped face vs. Juan's round face; Sarah's darker, more plentiful hair vs. Juan's lighter hair; Sarah's long, elegant fingers and toes vs. Juan's shorter, stockier deditos; Sarah's vertical frown line on her forehead vs. Juan's horizontal frown line on the bridge of his nose.

But Sarah and Juan are most mutually self-differentiating when they're in motion. Juanito's stock posture gives him an air of Captain Kirk on the control deck: hands out to his side, low and relaxed. He will be a confident, if skeptical leader.

Sarah, meanwhile, is more Adrian Monk (from the TV show, Monk, which I watched a lot of while pregnant), her hands and feet crossing slowly, flourishing and weaving as she takes in the scene before her. She might solve a crime! Swaddle Sarah as tightly as you can, and her escape-artist hands will free themselves-- and awaken their owner-- within the hour.

But what I love most these days are the things Sarah and Juan happen to have in common, due probably more to their developmental stage (remember: primitive creatures) than their personalities.

Rooting: Both kids are charming rooters; this is what they do when they're hungry. Like baby birds, they open their mouths, and with eyes closed (or, extra hungry, wide eyed and wild) they shake their heads back and forth as if saying "no" when in fact they're all about YES: feed me, feed me. The idea being that if they move their mouths back and forth, sooner or later they'll find something nourishing to latch on to. There's this wonderful moment when they find contact with the nipple, but they're still in the throes of "no" wagging, so that for a few seconds before the latch, they're furiously avoiding exactly what they're seeking. I'll miss this when they grow out of it, but I guess it's a good thing to grow out of, no? I mean, I can't really see an adult endearing himself to others with this wild-eyed, open-mouthed, wagging-head dance. Unless you're Mick Jagger.

Startle reflex: Stop a minute and listen to all of the noises that make up the white noise in your environment. Now, pick the most unlikely of the member noises, like clicking your mouse, and imagine being utterly surprised by that sound-- so surprised, in fact that you just have to throw out your arms and legs as if you were riding a big ol' Harley. That's the startle reflex, also called the Moro reflex. Both Juan and Sarah are masters of startle, resembling mad little orchestra conductors getting after the second violins for missing a cue. Be ready! Here we go! Now, PLAY!

Squeaking: Both kids do it, but Sarah's especially fond of squeaking. I think it goes with stretching, which both babies now do with gusto, as well as yawning. Oddly, none of the sounds generated by Juan or Sarah-- including outright screaming-- startles the other in the least. No, that would require a terrible sound, like the sound of a Post-it being removed from its dispenser in the next room.