My son has never taken a bottle, slept his first five-hour stretch when we were still in the hospital, and is happy to play independently for stretches of time. My almost 4-year-old daughter required bribery to finally give up her bottle at well past 2, still gives us a 3 a.m. wake-up call a few times a week, and would prefer to never be in a room without at least two other people present and ready to entertain her. Those and the million other differences between my two kids have taught me that they come prewired with their own personalities and unique traits, and this fact is both humbling and somehow stress-relieving (i.e. their entire futures and mental states are not totally on my shoulders).
