Since Eleanor and Miranda were born, we’ve been very aware of the differences in their temperaments. Here is the breakdown of these differences, according to the nine aspects of temperament as described by child psychiatrists, Chess and Thomas:
- Activity level: They’re about equal here–both are moderately active.
- Rhythmicity: Eleanor is a bit more regular than Miranda, i.e. pooping every 48 hours, eating about every 4 hours.
- Approach or withdrawal: Their initial response to new stimuli is about the same–both have positive approach. (This one may be too early to tell though.)
- Adaptability: Given that they’ve both been fine staying at my parent’s place overnight, I would guess that they’re both fairly adaptable.
- Threshold of responsiveness: Generally, Miranda has a slightly lower threshold of responsiveness than Eleanor. She startles more easily to loud noises. However, Eleanor is more sensitive to water temperature–she doesn’t like her baths to be as warm as Miranda’s. Eleanor also didn’t like the bright sunlight when we first took them out.
- Intensity of reaction: Eleanor has a higher intensity of response. When she’s upset, she cries hard, and when she’s happy she has a huge smile.
- Quality of mood: Miranda often has a serious expression on her face. I would guess that her mood is slightly more negative than Eleanor’s.
- Distractibility: They’re both moderately distractible, meaning if they’re crying, you can sometimes make them stop by rocking them, talking or singing to them, or giving them a pacifier. However, if they’re hungry, there’s definitely a “point of no return”, when there’s nothing you can do to calm them down, except by giving them the bottle.
- Attention span and persistence: Eleanor has a slightly longer attention span. She’ll watch her mobile for a longer period of time and suck on her pacifier for hours.
I’m realizing now that the girls are actually fairly similar. There’s something that these temperament traits don’t seem to reflect though, and that is Miranda’s desire to be held. It doesn’t matter who is holding her; she just loves to snuggle close to a warm body. Eleanor likes to be held too, but her response when she’s picked up is to actively look around, instead of burying her face in your chest like Miranda.